Fishing has been around since the ages of early man. Though many hobbies have been introduced over time, it remains one of the best options for passing your time nowadays. This does not, however, mean that the line and hook that worked for anglers in the past will suffice today.
Without the right tools, fishing will become a frustrating hobby, and you will not catch anything. Thankfully, Michigan’s hunting stores now have various equipment with the latest technologies guaranteed to transform your fishing experience.
One of these is a fish finder. This equipment ensures that you do not spend an entire day on the water fishing at the wrong spots. It uses sonar technology to help you locate the spot with the most fish and guide your fishing.
New ones even have compasses, GPS navigation, and marine radars to help you find your way. The transducer will send and receive the sonar waves in your fish finder and is among the crucial elements that should guide your pick.
The following are the transducer types for fish finders, based on their mount.
Thru-Hull
This is installed at a parallel angle to your water’s surface and should have a tilt of 5–10 degrees to enable an accurate depth measurement. Thru-hull transducers have a threaded bronze, stainless steel or nylon shaft that is passed through a space in the bottom of your hull.
They can be shaped like round mushroom heads or football and should be flush, or semi-flush mounted. A tilted element transducer is a form of thru-hull transducers that is semi-flush mounted.
Although challenging to install, thru-hull transducers give the best signal quality. They are often used on sail, power and displacement boats.
Transom Mount
These have an adjustable-angle bracket that will be bolted or screwed to the transom. The transducer will hang behind and below the hull.
Transom mount transducers are designed for steel, aluminum, wood and fiberglass hulls with jet and outboard drive propulsion systems. They are easy to install though they might be affected by turbulent water flows.
In-Hull
These are mounted on the inner side of the hull’s bottom and will send signals through it. They are used on trailered boats and vessels with stepped hulls where they will be stuck to the hull using epoxy or silicone.
They should be installed close to the centerline of your vessel so that they are below the water throughout. In-hull transducers should be installed on solid fiberglass hulls so that their sensitivity remains unaffected.
Trolling Motor
These are permanently installed inside or clamped to the outer side of the propeller hub of your trolling motor. The transducer is aimed at the remote pedal of the trolling motor and has a horizontal signal range.
Its beam can be electronically or mechanically adjusted. Though accurate, the technology of these transducers is relatively new, and they are thus expensive.
These transducers can be made of stainless steel, plastic or bronze. Plastic transducers are not used on wooden hulls since the contraction and expansion of the wood might break their housing. Stainless steel transducers are ideal for aluminum hulls while bronze ones suffice for wooden hulls.