NorCross HawkEye F33P Fish Finder
by NorCross Marine Products
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List Price: Our Price: $49.99 You Save: $40.00 (44%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Buy Used: from $46.32 (click here) Category: GPS or Navigation System See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of NorCross HawkEye F33P Fish Finder
Customer Review: Great portable fish finder/Depth indicator
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought this Hawkeye for a recent fly-in fishing trip to Canada, for it's light weight and size. For the money, I didn't expect much out of it, but I was pleasantly surprised by it's performance. I used the broom handle feature and a clamp to attach it to the rear of the boat. The 20 - 25 ft. cord is plenty long enough, and comes with a built-in velcro strap to secure the unused cord. This unit gave consistent readings of depth and detected fish better than I thought it would. It worked well at trolling speed, but went WACKO at higher speeds - Not a big deal........ The features all worked very well. The audio beep, the backlight, the bottom detection, Etc. The AAA batteries lasted for the entire week, two/three fishing sessions each day, each session lasting 3 - 4 hours. Doing the math, I had this unit turned on for a minimum of 35 hours, maybe as much as 45 hours, and the batteries are still working. Take an extra set, just in case, but don't over-do it. The ONLY problem that I had with it, was that it quit working for a short period of time. I had it laying on the boat seat in direct sunlight in the middle of a very hot day, and the display would not read any depth or mark fish. I listened to the transducer and heard the faint "clicking" sound, indicating that the unit was working. I picked it up and it was VERY HOT to the touch. I turned it off, covered it with a towel and let it cool down. I turned it on for the evening session, and it came on and worked fine for the rest of the trip, making a mental note to keep it out of the direct sunlight in the middle of the day. Kind of a pain, but for the money, what more can you expect. The case is made of black plastic which absorbs heat. If Norcross were to use a lighter color of plastic, this probably would not have been a problem. Because of this, I give it 4 stars instead of 5. Very happy with this unit otherh wise.Customer Review: Must have portable fishfinder - great product for the money
Summary: 5 Stars
* Does what it says for a great price (bought here for $45)
* Accurate depth finder
* Doesn't show you a bottom "scan", it detects fish and indicates the relative depth.
* Has an audible alarm for fish detection.
* Detects the bottom type: structure and grass.
* Super portable and works fine in my plastic (rotomold) kayaks
* Can connect the detector to a broom handle, and point it in any direction underwater
I use this for kayak fishing, and the fisherman's bottom line - I've been catching more fish since I started using it. Couldn't find it anywhere before it got re-stocked on Amazon. My biggest concern was installation in the kayak. I found I could simply set the detector inside the bottom of the kayak, and it worked fine. No need to glue it in. The manual has a note about not working through plastic, but it works great on my two kayaks (a Native Watercraft and a Wilderness systems, both sit-in). The key is that you usually have to place the detector on the bottom first, then turn it on. It will then properly calibrate to shoot through the hull. (Assuming you're not using a sit-on-top with a double hull)
I would have paid $40 for a good portable depth finder alone. Kayak fishing on the Chesapeake, knowing your depth is key to finding fish. The other great feature is the bottom type detector. Oyster beds show up in the small "rock" icons on the display, which allows me to set up right over the bed. The fact that it also has a fish detector is a bonus. For those of you used to more expensive fish finders, the only downside to this device is that it does not have a scanning display. It uses algorithms to detect the bottom type (eg rocks, grass) and fish, and then indicates that on the LCD display.
Customer Review: not bad for the price I guess
Summary: 2 Stars
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 :( )
Customer Review: Great for Kayak and small boat fishing.
Summary: 4 Stars
I finally got to use this now the lakes are unfrozen around here. I've gotten to use this in a river and on a few lakes now. It pick up the fish realy well in both it takes a little getting used to. The rock sensor comes on if there is anything solid under you, you have to figure if its a tree, big rock or something else. Weed sensor is pretty accurate also it will read even a tiny bit of weeds under you. The depth is very accurate also just can't troll the sensor very fast or it will read sideways in the water. Only thing I wish this fish finder told you was the size of the fish. It picks up the fish you just have to figure out what it is. I was picking up everything from schools of fish to a lone fish in 19ft of water just couldn't tell what they were had to catch them to see what they were. Thats the only reason I gave this 4 instead of 5 stars. It seems fairly durable as far as waterproof I'm not dipping it in the lake to find out it did get a few splashes from paddling on the kayak and still works perfectly. I like this finder cause you dont have to lug a big or buy and expensive battery for it and is very easy to carry with you. It is not a burden in my kayak this finder is perfect for anyone looking for a cheap and small model for a small boat.Customer Review: Well worth the money.
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought this product before christmas mainly for the ice fishing season. When it arrived, I found that the unit was a little more basic than I thought originally. Only three buttons to navigate the machine, so reading the manual is kind of important. I mainly bought the machine because it said it will read depth and structure through the ice. I thought for such an inexpensive unit, it would never work shooting through ice. It took a minute, and I had to scrape off a lot of snow, but sure enough, it read depth and structure through ten inches of black ice! I drilled a hole in the spot to confirm this and the reading was only off by a few inches difference! The drawbacks on this machine are that, with the sounder and cord, it is extremely bulky and will not fit in the provided cloth pouch. I wish there was an option for a shorter cord, since I highly doubt i will need fifty feet of readings while ice fishing. The unit also should be kept warm, as when I was fishing in sub freezing temps, it would lock up and would require me to reset the unit and put it in my jacket to warm up. All in all, its not a bad investment if you would like to know the basics, water depth, bottom structure, and fish presence.