Purest, No electronics, yay or nay?

[TheBassWhisperer]

I was just wondering how many purest were out there and part of the community. I've got a Humminbird SI/DI combo I took off my old bass boat and was originally gonna put it on my yak but now I'be been tinkering around with the idea of selling it and I wanted some input from ya'll. I probably won't sell it but we'll see.

[Neo]

I only use my FF on new water. After I'm comfortable with a place I leave my battery at home. I think I've used mine 7 or 8 times all year. I have to admit having side imaging would be cool.

[Hanover_Yakker]

I agree with Neo - it depends on the body of water. If you rarely see unknown waters, then it is probably not the best option for you and would get little to no use at all. For me, it is a helpful tool when I am drifting in the salty bays and inlets. Bottom bouncing live bait and jigs can get expensive getting hung up all the time if you are fishing in unknown waters.

I have a DSI unit I use for the first few times I venture out on a body of water, then I leave it home unless I try out a new spot on that water.

[n2bassfishing]

I can't stand not to have it. Keep the unit and mount it on your yak. I just put on the SI a few months ago and wouldn't switch back again. I found a rock pile last night in 20 of water that I didn't know about last night.

[oubassman]

Depends on body of water. If you're fishing lakes/inlets/bays, etc where depths are greater & offshore locations matter more, than yes. But if you're fishing small to medium size rivers, then you might not need.

I've got a FF mounted on my Tarpon, but only use it in late fall-spring when water temps are cold. The deeper current breaks that really block current matter more than.

[flflash]

Most of the water I fish you can either see bottom or touch it with a paddle. About the only time I put ( SlideTrax are sweet ) mine on the yak is when I go fish the pits, they can be pretty handy there.

Boy can I tie up a flyline around a FF

[GlockGuy]

My first two kayaks had fish finders on them and while I didn't use them ALL the time, they did get used. However, they were also permanently mounted. Sure, I could pull the head unit off, but the mounts and transducer were there to stay.

My current 2012 Ride 135 doesn't have a fish finder yet. However, I DO plan to install one in the future, but the unit will be removable. I will mount the transducer on an arm or some other method to get it into the water but maintain the ability to remove it. I fish enough new water that it's worth having, IMHO.

Your situation seems to be a no-brainer, since you already HAVE the fish finder to mount. I would advise a mounting method that allows you to leave it at home or install it within a few minutes if you decide that you want it on there.

[dinosaur]

I've had my FF installed hardly a month ago. Went 4 yrs without it. I'm glad I have it now. Used it three times now and discovered things I never knew about the little lakes I fish. I'll leave it home once I know what is going on below the water's I fish.

[HookUp]

Purist.

Depth is determined either by sticking the paddle into the water or a spark plug tied onto a line w/ marks every 5'. Temp w/ a thermometer.

And if I haven't learned to spot fishy area's in rivers, I need to take up golf.

[Turtle135]

Fishing from 1 to 10 feet of water, I can leave the Piranhamax at home. Anything deeper and I use it extensively, particularly in the summer (pointless to fish below the thermocline in summer).