Humminbird 120 Fishin' Buddy 4-Inch Waterproof Fishfinder

I took the Humminbird Fishing Buddy to a NYC watershed this past week and used to for the first time. It was great. The reservoir I fished ran deep (180 max) with several sharp drop-offs, so I figured it would be a good test of the fish finder's ability. Clamping it on to the canoe took 3/4 minutes and was simple. The transducer and screen module slip right in and out of the clamp which was great for approaching shallow water (popped it out and tossed it in the canoe). It took me an hour to learn how to use it correctly. We were drift fishing and at first I tried to catch fish directly under the canoe, which didn't work because of the drift. I then realized that I should have my bait drift trolling 30 feet behind the boat so I could adjust the depth of the line/bait to match the depth of the fish as I saw them. I used depth hunter color coded line (different color every 25 feet) tied onto a good leader so I knew exactly how deep my bait was. It worked beautifully. My buddy hauled in 2 gorgeous 20 and 22 inch brown trout and I got a 16 and 18 inch brown trout and a 18 inch smallmouth using this technique. I just bought a drift anchor so I can drastically slow down the canoe in current/wind and fish directly beneath the boat using the fish finder (jigging for summer lake trout in the Adirondacks next week). The readouts on the screen were crystal clear and marked small, medium and large fish at their exact depth. Most importantly, I was able to see where in the water column the fish were holding, which is important as their depth changes day to day with the weather, barometric pressure and temperature.The only drawback was that when paddling at a moderate rate the fish finder (with the transduce rod in the water about a foot and 1/2) began shaking like crazy, so, any time the boat picked up speed I had no pop the transducer out and put it in the canoe.Suggestions:1. Use color coded depth line. Without it, even though you know where the fish are, the depth your lure/bait is at might not be near the fish. 2. I bought a 25 dollar c-clamp Eagle Claw rod holder on amazon. It's awesome to use with the fish finder for drifting/trolling.Overall, this thing is great. Buy it! For the price, it drastically enhances your fishing and is easy to use.

This is a great, truly portable fishfinder. It performs very well, the side-scanning feature works well and something typically found only in much more expensive fishfinders, and rarely in something portable. The temperature reading is quick and seems to be accurate. I like that it has its own power source (AA batteries -- just buy some rechargeables) rather than requiring a 12v source, the screen is decent resolution, the functions are fairly easy to figure out without consulting the manual all the time (you may need to glance through it the first time, especially if this is your first fishfinder), and the craftsmanship is excellent.All that being said, I purchased this fishfinder for my fishing canoe, and it doesn't work very well for that. The canoe is just too shallow of a hull, so when you clip the fishfinder to the gunwale, the transceiver hangs down pretty far under the surface of the water, making the depth reading a little inaccurate. I guess it might actually help the sidescanning feature. I'm probably going to devise a higher mounting point for it (using the thwart on my canoe) so that just the transceiver is in the water. I think that will also help with the wobbling that occurs in the cup mount when I'm trolling along at higher speeds. If you're not feeling 100% confident in your mount location or if you encounter a lot of wobbling with your style/speed of boating, you may want to rig a leash on it. I could easily see losing this to Davy Jones' Locker.I also purchased the carrying case for this. It was a little on the pricey side, but it works very well to protect this device, and I'm glad I sprung for it.All in all, a very nice fishfinder -- not perfect (hence 4/5 stars), but it's probably the best portable one on the market today.

I bought this fish finder late last year and put batteries in it when I got it so I can play with it a little. Started using it this spring with the same batteries and it works great, used the unit about 4 times all day long and still did not change the batteries yet. This fish finder is great for a small boat "I have a 12 footer". It is very easy to use but you need to take it out of the water when your moving. The bracket that comes with it makes it easy to do that, you can tilt it out of the water or pull it right off the mount (pops off easily) out of the water to place inside the boat. You cannot leave it hanging in the water at speed it will pop off the mount. The mount lets you rotate the unit around very easily and the unit itself is pretty rugged as well. Again for a little boat this is perfect if I had a bigger boat I would opt for a fish finder with a permanent mount.Notes:Very PortableEasy to useRuggedGood battery life

For what this is it works OK, It is a good option to have a depth finder and water temperature gauge in this price range in a self contained unit. I have used it 5-6 times and it helps so you know your water depth and temperature and if there is any structure under you but it rarely shows fish under you when I know they are under me because I am catching them and it is an inconvenience to take it up and put it back down every time you move spots because you have to reset it.

Never have used or owned a fish finder, but after a little reading, decided to buy this one. Instructions were simple, finder is rugged by today's standards. I have a newly restored 17' Navarro Loon cedar strip canoe. Used the fish finder to cut down on my paddling to find place to fly fish. The depth gauge and fish finder screen is more than adequate and the battery life is good as well. I built a wooden bracket to match the canoe and attached the finder to it. The fish alarm is not too loud and lets you know that your over a "source" while paddling. I also liked the fact that you can "see" the bottom terrain. All this in a small, light package. Price was reasonable, considering all the functions. Yes, I would recommend this fish finder.

I really like this fish finder. A few too many false signals but its still a lot of fun.

Just okay....

Very good for the money. would give it 5 stars but it does not work well in any sort of choppy water.

Great

worked great ensure you remove from holder when not trolling. tied safety rope in case it went overboard