Report: Humminbird SmartCast Wrist Sonar

[River]

I have been using the Humminbird SmartCast RF-30 Wrist Sonar. Got it for $80 right after it came out. I haven't used it a lot yet but I think I know enough to give this report.

For those who aren't familiar with this: You put a watch on your wrist that is the reciever/display. Then you put the sender on a pole and cast it out to the area you want to fish. It floats on the surface, looks directly below, and sends a signal back to the wrist watch. Very cool.

I have a friend who calls it, "Dick Tracy."

It works well in most situations but the electronics aren't real fast. By that I mean if you cast the sending unit into a medium speed rapid it can't get a good reading because the bottom is going by so fast and the unit is bouncing in the rapid.

Also, I have noticed that you have to wipe off the metal contacts on the sending unit between each cast. They sense when the sender is in water and turn it on. If you don't wipe off the contacts they get crud on them and the sender doesn't turn on. The wrist receiver turns on with a button.

I use it from my pontoon boats. It did result in one chinook hookup last fall but I didn't get the hook set very well and lost it.

It was cool because I knew exactly where to set the depth on my bobber. The bite was within seconds of casting to the fish, but it happened so fast that I wasn't ready. :depressed:

[greenbuttskunk]

cool gadget!
So if you cast it out and a big springer nails it, do you look at the watch to tell you the weight and length of the fish on the other end? :grin:

[Steelie Steve]

Can it be rigged up for use as a bobber (or is it float) ? :grin:

Steve

[River]

Yes, it can be rigged as the bobber. But then you would need to have the wrist watch unit on all the time and I don't know how long the batteries would last. Batteries are replacable in the wrist unit but not in the bobber/sending unit.

I never tried it that way myself.