Customer Reviews

NorCross HawkEye F33P Fish Finder

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Unlike the Humminbird RF35, the Norcross Hawkeye can actually detect the fish!

I've used both, the Humminbird works fine as a depth finder, but has difficulty detecting fish. The Hawkeye, on the other hand, sees them.

Case in point, on a recent trip to Crane Prairie Reservoir (Oregon) we were looking for bass. According to the Hawkeye there weren't any fish when we checked their usual holding spots. When we finally moved over to the channel the Hawkeye started detecting fish (and we caught a few). Apparently the heat made the fish move to the deeper parts of the lake. Same thing happened on Paulina and Big Lava lakes. Without the Hawkeye we probably wouldn't have caught a thing!

Also, the Hawkeye uses plain old AAA batteries, unlike the Humminbird which uses an expensive lithium-ion 2450CR watch battery. (The AAAs seem to last longer, too.)

This is a portable fishfinder, and is good at what it does. I've used the threaded "broom handle" mount for the transducer to actually mount the transducer to the bottom of my kayak; then install/uninstall after each trip, rather than use the "float". It works great, marks groups of fish, the alarm is plainly audible, the depth seems accurate from informal and shallow water observation. The depth finder is actually the most valuable part of the tool, since it is using the depth and a chart where fish holding holes and channels can be discovered. Yes, the next step is to get a "real" fish finder, but for the money, ease of use, and portability...this unit is hard to beat.

I would of given it a five star rating except for one problem. An email message to Norcross solved my problem at once. Great response time. You have to seat the plug for the sensor in hard because it is a water proof connection. I tried it out a couple days later & it worked perfect. I have another brand that is remote & it straps to your wrist, but this is far better, larger display, better graphics etc. For an low cost unit & for portability it is great. I would purchase it again.

i purchased this fish finder for use on shore and i would not recommend it to any one for this reason absolutely horrible. the sensor that you throw out goes 35ft and the line sinks so they tell you on the package to purchase seperate float attachment. side scanning is ok but then you dont know if the fish are high or low in the water. However from my boat it works great it can shoot the the hull on some boats and ice when ice fishing which is a very good feature. so if your looking for a fish finder for ice or your boat then maybe consider this one but from the shore dont waste your money cause mine stay in my cabinet not my tackle box

This is great if you aren't moving too fast on the water. It tends to point slightly behind you. I wish it showed individual fish, but only shows schools of fish with one indicator. All things being equal, this unit is fun and informative for the money.
One other note: If the bottom is covered with lots of plantlife, it has difficulty determining the actual depth.
My recommendation? If you are looking for a 'gadget' to help you see what's down there and don't have a lot of money, buy it. It is fun while on a pontoon, dock, or float tube.

I don't fish, I Kayak. Bought it for a portable depth finder in the rivers and lakes I frequent. Works perfect for that and tells the bottom terrain.
Easy set up and directions. It is portable and water proof. I stick it on the kayak with velcro.

I received one of these last Christmas as a present. very cool perfect for the canoe on the lake.

which it was.

pros. - it does work... fish are indicated, depth is indicated, features and weeds are indicated. it works as advertised and is a very effective tool

Cons - three big ones you should be aware of
1. No way to tell what SIZE the fish are, the indication shows a school of 3 inch minnows the same as it does a 30" Chinook Salmon
2. The long cord is annoying to deal with, aside from the inevitable tangles, it sinks like a stone drasticly lowering the effective distance you can get the finder to work from you, the manufacturer suggests using bobbers to float the cord. Thats fine for trolling or casting but when your trying to survey a hole in a stream or river it doesn't work very well.
3. Water and this model of fish finder are apparently incompatible - third time out we were on a stream and the canoe tipped on a sweeper. Fish finder was in a ziplock butsome water managed to get in along the cord and into the unit. It stopped working after that. Basically if you drop the thing in water or even get a good splash expect it to stop working. I'd expect that for a cell phone or Ipod... you would think a fish finder would be somewhat water resistant given that it needs to work around... WATER!!!. Must be for those rare dry land fish you see in the supermarket. (BTW the Cell Phone which was completely immersed in the creek worked fine after it dried out, the fish finder still does not :( )

bought this item for a fishing trip to Canada, product worked just like it advertized, would recommend to anyone. For the price you cannot beat it.

I have only had the oppertunity to test this item for ice fishing, but from what i have seen its awsome.The see thru ICE option is incredible and very impressive.A little bit of water on the ice from a cup or bottle and your looking straight thru 3 feet of ice at the fish.Very nice size,portable.The sonar cable plugs in to the unit extremely hard so once its plugged in leave it there.Only complaint is that any large object on the bottom shows up as 3 diff sixe rocks,small/medium/Large,even if its a junked car,lol,shows as a Rock,or a tree trunk snag shows as a rock.Other then that i give it a 5 but for crappy bottom imagery i give it 4 out of 5

My son and I used this cool device on our recent fishing trip and it performed well. We spotted fish concentrations with ease in no time. This device is handy especially if you are renting a boat and have no time to waste to catch fish quickly. I love this device.

However, I would also like to see some product enhancements though.
1. Include a SAVE SETTING feature - this device does not save your settings. You have to re-set it each time you power up.
2. Include an instant fish depth numerical screen readout. The current design has graphical boxes that you have to arithmetically calculate each time it spots fishes (i.e. divide the depth by ten and multiply the shaded depth indicator box on the screen). No time for math --- only fishing!!