ESP or Fishfinder?

So...do the majority of you all run a fishfinder, or just fly by the seat of your pants and rely on Mother Natures signs and good old fashioned luck to locate fish offshore in your kayak?
Seems like a fishfinder would take up space, add weight, and take alot of baths on a kayak. I do like the idea though, and read that people do use them so--what say you?
Is there a "best" brand or model?
I do appreciate the input.
Charlie

Most, but not all folks are running depthfinders. They are very useful for finding the deep holes, drop offs, submerged weed edges etc in lakes and rivers. One of my favorite spots in the Willamette is a shelf that drops from about 30' to 120' over a very short distance. There is nothing visible on the surface to indicate the severity of the drop. I like the depthfinder for finding the edge of that ledge and then dropping anchor fairly precisely so that when I scope out I will be right on the edge of the drop. To be honest I have only seen fish on my depthfinder a handful of times in the 20 years I have owned it. My depthfinder is big, heavy and does not know many tricks, but it tells me the depth of the water and can discern hard from soft bottoms (and weeds as a thick soft bottom). That is the basics of what I consider necessary. Sure I would love to have one of the new models with GPS, SD slot, recallable memory, (blueray player streaming Netflix, ha ha) but I do not see the need to spend the cash while I have one that works. In the end it is a tool, a powerful tool, but its effectiveness is mostly in the hands of the user. Figure out how much effort you want to put into learning how to use it (tweaking sensitivity, surface clutter, etc) and then buy appropriately.

Charlie,

Go with what you can afford. I mostly use mine for knowing the depth rather than the fish lying abilities. With the newer/nicer ones there are creature features that make finding fish more scientific than artistic. Do you want an integrated GPS on your finder? Color or grey scale? Down/Side Immaging? 3.5 or 5 inch screen? (I dont know of anyone going with a screen larger than that on a kayak... but what the hey? You could be the first on the block!)

I personally like the Humminbirds, but thats probably like a Ford vs Chevy thing. Check out the 385ci that is meant for installing on Kayaks at a decent price. I ended up splurging on a 597 HD DI Combo. I love it, but its way more finder than I need, and find myself fiddling with it when I would rather be fishing.

Where and how you mount your FF is also just as important so that it is:
a. readily accessible at your fingertips to mark nav points, change modes, etc.
b. out of the way enough to not interfere with your rod and line
c. stowable- for transport as well as surf launching (if applicable)
d. choose your transducer mount wisely. Do a search on here as this (damhik) topic comes up often, or you may end up re-doing yours several times like many of us.

Ok... so that is my input anyway.... hope this helps.
Erik

I use mine to find the depth and "see" bottom structure. I can "see" fish with it, but don't really use it for that. I have an older portable Piranha 4 I've had for nine years that still works just fine. I was thinkin of gettin a new one with gps so I can go out fishing for Kings in the Bay and not worry so much about the fog.  Other than that, I don't really need a new one.
I'd probably be better off just getting a handheld gps that I can take anywhere.

My old Piranha has helped me to locate the old creek beds and deep spots in some impoundments that I fish, as well as tell me the depth when i'm out on new waters over submerged terra incognita.

I'm a structure hunter myself.  I can also pick up thermoclines in deeper water, and see fish sitting near it. 

As for taking a dunking, most of the ones used here Humminbird, Lowrance, Eagle etc.... are waterproof and some even float. Just be sure to pack the dielectric grease into all the electrical connections.

Sounds like a bunch of great advice.
I am not a big technology guy myself--but I can sure see where having GPS would make me way more comfortable on the average summer day when the fog could roll back in most anytime. I have quite a few nearshore waypoints I could add too.
I have also had great luck marking schools of rock/baitfish from a boat--but as some pointed out marking salmon, especially in a river is much more rare. Structure is always a key too--I like my fat lings--maybe even a halibut!!!
I suppose I will fish freshwater a bit--but salt is what I really crave.
Thanks again all!

Charlie, 
Since I got my yak and joined the forum i'd been wrestling with the same question and I chose to add a Humminbird 160 to my boat over the holidays. I chose the 160 because it was reasonably priced at $99 and although I could have afforded a fancy depthfinder/GPS, I couldn't justify spending more on the depthfinder/GPS than I did on my yak (especially when I hadn't yet included the map costs).  Plus I have a handheld GPS that has been great.  The 160 has dual beam 20 and 60 degrees, is water proof and is pretty much a plug and play unit. The added weight of the 160 itself is very minor.  The weight comes from the battery.  I chose a 12V 7ah measuring 6" x 2.5" x 4".  There are other options to reduce the weight but the sacrifice is electrical run-time.  I decided to use the closed cell foam and water method.  It worked and works great!  My hardest thing was finding a pool noodle at this time of year (I doubt my nephew will notice 6" of missing pool noodle when his pool is back in operation this coming summer).  My 160 is not the portable style, but with mounting the mounting bracket to a scotty and having the transducer easily accessed, i'll be able to simply transfer the unit to my 12' aluminum when I take my kids out.  The one thing that I am not 100% happy with is that I didn't notice that my depthfinder was not the International Version which means I cannot change the units of measure.  It's not a deal breaker for me and doesn't warrant an attempted return but I can see myself creating a conversion table and laminating it for when I can't get maps to match the fixed units on my depthfinder/ff.  I was also a little surprised at the lack of fish that would display but the depth is quite accurate (as confirmed by my downrigger). I guess I assumed there were a lot more fish than there actually are.

Charlie...  Since you plan to fish the salt IMO a depth finder is a must. I will flat out say someone with a depthfinder will out fish someone without one day in day out.   It will show critical structure which as you know is the key to Lings etc.  It will also clearly show schooling fish like Blacks which you can then accurately target in the water column.  A unit that incorporates GPS within the depth finder is what I would highly recommend as its allows you to mark structure and then accurately make repeat passes over the prime fish holding territory.  A eagle cuda 350 is a inexpensive unit that gets the job done for about $200, I've had mine for 5-6 years with no problems.  There are nicer models and I will upgrade sooner or later but I have nothing bad to say about the Cuda 350

Big DITTO in how just knowing the depth and structure below you can be a great aid in finding fish.   I can't say I have that much faith in the fish finding feature yet but perhaps more experience with it will help. 
I will also second pelagic paddler's comments on the Cuda 350 sMap
I enjoy the exercise aspect of kayak fishing.   So beyond keeping track of prime fishing spots,  I like being able to keep track of distance traveled and, at times, what my top and average speed is.    Kind of like a bike computer for the water     

I don't know about the Cuda 350 but fishfinders in general pelagic is dead on.
When the bite or the finding is slow, getting back on top of that one small school saves the day.
Seeing the bottom contour real time and knowing when you have entered/passed your structure alone is worth it IMO.
ESP... Extended Salt Paddling. Versus catching fish.

Charlie...  Since you plan to fish the salt IMO a depth finder is a must. I will flat out say someone with a depthfinder will out fish someone without one day in day out.   It will show critical structure which as you know is the key to Lings etc.  It will also clearly show schooling fish like Blacks which you can then accurately target in the water column.  A unit that incorporates GPS within the depth finder is what I would highly recommend as its allows you to mark structure and then accurately make repeat passes over the prime fish holding territory.  A eagle cuda 350 is a inexpensive unit that gets the job done for about $200, I've had mine for 5-6 years with no problems.  There are nicer models and I will upgrade sooner or later but I have nothing bad to say about the Cuda 350

+1  finding structure and staying on top of it is key to limiting out and having a great time.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk

Charlie...  Since you plan to fish the salt IMO a depth finder is a must. I will flat out say someone with a depthfinder will out fish someone without one day in day out.   It will show critical structure which as you know is the key to Lings etc.  It will also clearly show schooling fish like Blacks which you can then accurately target in the water column.  A unit that incorporates GPS within the depth finder is what I would highly recommend as its allows you to mark structure and then accurately make repeat
passes over the prime fish holding territory.  A eagle cuda 350 is a inexpensive unit that gets the job done for about $200, I've had mine for 5-6 years with no problems.  There are nicer models and I will upgrade sooner or later but I have nothing bad to say about the Cuda 350

+1  finding structure and staying on top of it is key to limiting out and having a great time.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk

+1

One thing I've noticed since starting to fish from a Kayak is that I am fishing a lot of water that I havn't fished before.  Having a depth finder has really helped with me learning the new terrain.

If you can afford one, get one.

Charlie...  Since you plan to fish the salt IMO a depth finder is a must. I will flat out say someone with a depthfinder will out fish someone without one day in day out.   It will show critical structure which as you know is the key to Lings etc.  It will also clearly show schooling fish like Blacks which you can then accurately target in the water column.  A unit that incorporates GPS within the depth finder is what I would highly recommend as its allows you to mark structure and then accurately make repeat
passes over the prime fish holding territory.  A eagle cuda 350 is a inexpensive unit that gets the job done for about $200, I've had mine for 5-6 years with no problems.  There are nicer models and I will upgrade sooner or later but I have nothing bad to say about the Cuda 350

+3

+1  finding structure and staying on top of it is key to limiting out and having a great time.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk

+1

Charlie...  Since you plan to fish the salt IMO a depth finder is a must. I will flat out say someone with a depthfinder will out fish someone without one day in day out.   It will show critical structure which as you know is the key to Lings etc.  It will also clearly show schooling fish like Blacks which you can then accurately target in the water column.  A unit that incorporates GPS within the depth finder is what I would highly recommend as its allows you to mark structure and then accurately make repeat passes over the prime fish holding territory.  A eagle cuda 350 is a inexpensive unit that gets the job done for about $200, I've had mine for 5-6 years with no problems.  There are nicer models and I will upgrade sooner or later but I have nothing bad to say about the Cuda 350

Though there is something fun about "fishing by the seat of your pants" I kinda figured technology would trump my native fish finding abilities--especially when it came to structure. The Cuda 350 sounds like just my cup of tea!
Looking forward to getting out with you sometime soon!