Customer Reviews

Humminbird SmartCast RF30 1.25-Inch Water Resistant Fishfinder

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

When I used this fishfinder for the first time, I was somewhat disapointed. I usually fish from the boat in depths of between 18 - 25m, so I did when using the fishfinder for the first time. I ancored my boat in a depth of 20m and then cast the RSS into the water. However, the display did not show me the ground, it only showed 0.0m, there were a little bit of waves but only about 10cm, moving closer to the shore, the FishFinder started working at a depth of 17m. Therefore do not expect the Fishfinder to work at depths up to 100ft (30m) unless the water is flat as a mirror.

This product just does not work. I've ordered three different models, ranging from the basic RF30 to the RF40 and none of them are worth the plastic they ship in.

First of all, the battery on the watch display lasts for about one day's worth of fishing, and they cost about $6-$8 to replace. In terms of their abilityi to find fish, it cannot distinguish between a school of small feeder fish, and when I say small, I mean tiny and a 10lb bass. I actually watched fish ranging from 2-15 lbs, swimming directly under the sensor and it would not alert me to their presence. I cannot believe that Hummingbird can get away with actually marketing this product. It's trash!

I got this as a gift and had very little confidence that it'd be a good product. It sat in my closet for months then I finally put it to use at Tom Lake in northern Minnesota. My brother and I (avid fishermen - especially my brother) tested it this past weekend and were amazed to say the least. First, we compared its depth readings to his Lowrance, and they were the same, so we started to believe that it could at least guage depth. We trolled all evening and pulled the green device on a spare poll behind the boat. After a little while, it found the structure and drop-offs at the bottom of the lake and even painted fish where we got nibbles and pulled some in the boat. In turn, we gained more confidence in the device. We ended up "mapping" out severeal parts of the lake within a few days, and the consitency with the smartcast was very surprising. We went over the same spots with the same results. We dragged it behind the boat all weekend as we trolled, and it proved very accurate and effective as a depth finder. Not to mention a fish finder. There were several times it showed fish on the display and we got hits and/or caught walleye. None of us thought it'd be good at it, but it was.

It's not the most advanced device, but it does do a good job. One piece of advice: read ALL the directions! It will make it a more effective device as there are different settings to utilize. For the price, it's well worth it. It did everything that was expected and more. Used it for three days straight with success.

I found that the censors don't last more than 2 times out.Can get expensive at $24.99 a pop.

While I have covered this item in my blog, it has had mostly performance and battery problems; sent back 3 times for repair. Great idea with depth and fish size monitor, but when it "worked", it gave false positives and missed many fish; can't say depth finder was accurate. Most of the time the monitor was blank -- no fish, no depth.

I really like this product. The first time I used it I caught fish where I hadn't been sure there were any before that. Each time I've used it, it has lead me to the right place to catch fish.