Recently there has been an explosion of portable sonar fish finder devices. As a kid angler, I could only dream of getting my own boat and mounting a sonar to it. It seemed like an eternity till this dream could ever be realized. Now, you can purchase all sorts of portable fish finders, including several exciting models that sync with your phone via Bluetooth or WiFi. Many of these can be casted or trolled, allowing anglers to learn precious information on bottom contour and fish locations.
One of the more powerful portable options is the Fish Hunter 3D. This device is jam packed with fish catching tools, all packed into a ball-shaped sonar roughly the size of a baseball. Courtesy of the guys behind Fish Hunter, I've been using one on recent fishing trips and wanted to share my thoughts on it. I hope this review is useful for anyone considering such a portable fish finder!
Will I ever get tired of urban creek fishing? Tired of fish eager to bite, the thrill of finding a new spot smack dab in the middle of suburbia with no other anglers in sight? Tired of bass and sunfish fishing that doesn't cost me a ridiculous $12-$15 (cough Diamond Valley Lake cough) just to fish?
Received a friendly tip on this new urban creek from a great fellow angler. Tales of eager bass were readily received and I quickly hit the road. The creek had recently overflowed its banks, spilling the trash of modern wasteful life across the banks and leaving gross suds in the water. Still, the fish were incredibly eager to bite. I had a hit on my first cast, with a black Mangler 4'' swimbait (not my favorite lure but it got the job done), then landed another on the swimbait on my second cast. Nothing amazing, just typical urban creek bass (10'' or so).
I continued fishing the rest of the afternoon, catching green sunfish and largemouth bass with wild abandon. The greenies were everywhere, tearing up the bugs on the surface, chasing minnows and other forage in the shallows, competing with the bass for food. I didn't manage to land any massive fish, although I witnessed a fellow angler land a nice 20'' common carp (he promptly kept it for eating which was pretty disgusting considering the water quality) and I had two large bass chase my Mangler swimbait near the shore. I also used the Strike King Bitsy Pond Minnow (best lure for urban creek fishing, period!) extensively, landing the majority of my bass and sunfish on this versatile micro crankbait, 2lb mono fishing line and ultralite rod/reel. Here's a video I've put together, with underwater footage of one of the fish, of the trip to this urban fishing creek.
Graffiti and the other trash that people who don't respect the environment left were all over the place. One of my goals with these urban creek videos is to help raise awareness of the plight of many of these tiny watersheds; often turned into a dump heap or concrete gutter by individuals and authorities. With proper care and resources, these could be sparkling streams, free of litter and accessible for fishing and hiking to a public that knows how to properly dispose of their garbage. Sadly, that is not the case, at least not yet. Maybe, one day...
How much should an action camera with 4k video cost? $200? $100? $60? How about $46? The Eken H9 Action Camera is simply the cheapest 4K video option on the block today. It is really shocking how the price on these action cameras has dramatically dropped just over the last year. Still, what use is a 4K camera if it doesn't hold up under use? Is the Eken H9 worth picking up? Keep reading for my full review of the Eken H9, courtesy of GearBest and check out the sample footage while fishing and hitting up local beaches in California!
Features
Right out of the box you will notice the Eken looks very similar to the SJ400 and associated clones. It utilizes the typical boxy form-factor that GoPro helped popularize, complete with a similar waterproof case. The LCD screen on the back is a little larger than the stock SJ4000 screen at 2 inches from corner to corner.
Eken on left, SJ4000 on right
The Eken comes with the usual selection of accessories: waterproof case,USB charger, wall charger, belt clip mount, handlebar mount, adhesive pads, and several other angle attachments. The case features a single spring to open and close, nice large buttons that respond easily to being pressed. The case I received had a few very minor scratches on it, not sure if this is a quality control issue or if the camera was a refurb. The camera lenses itself was fine. All the accessories and the waterproof case use the excellent GoPro mounting system, so it is compatible with the generic chest mounts, head mounts, and other mounting gear I find useful when fishing or hiking.
Battery is a standard 3.7v action camera battery, the same you will find in an SJ4000, GitUp and so on.
Eken's menu is really easy to browse through. You can select Video, Photo, Burst Photo (3 photos in 1.5 s), Time Lapse mode, Playback, and Settings. The settings are also a snap to scroll through, and unlike the SJ7000, you can actually turn off/on the date/time stamp on both the videos AND the photos (shame on SJ7000 for not including the ability to turn it off on photos!).
Now, on to the 4K option: It's neat but really not as useful as I had initially hoped, as it is only at 10FPS. Eken also offers 2.7k at a slightly better but still not very usable 15fps, then 1080p at 60/30 fps, and 720 at 120/60 fps. Really happy with the 60 fps support for 1080p and the 120fps at 720p, definitely helps set Eken ahead of other similarly priced action cameras, in addition to the 4k option. Video field of view is at a nice 170 degrees, and the camera supports WiFi control through a local app (EZ iCam App is recommended from GearBest). Under the hood, Eken uses the Sunplus 6330M OV4689 chipset, one I have not seen in other cameras.
Performance
I took the Eken out to the beach recently while fishing and bodyboarding. Conditions were initially very bright, hence the faded, washed-out look. Eken does have adjustable white-balance options, which I did not tweak with too much (used default). I then took it out on a cloudy day for bodyboarding, which you can see in the video. Video turned out reasonably good, on par if not a little better than the SJ4000 or SJ7000. However, it was not as good as the GitUp or BlackVue Sport action cameras. Details were somewhat lacking in the video. The 60fps was smooth, but the 4k was mostly unusable due to the low FPS. I also discovered there is no playback viewing mode on the camera! Duhoh! You have to rely on the app to view playback, a definite missed opportunity in my book. The case worked great underwater, no leaks, and the buttons responded easily to taps when needed. Take at lok at the photos below, the frame-extracts definitely turned out better than the photos. Photos are shown unedited, unless otherwise noted, same with video.
Videos
Photos
(1080p Frame)
(Edited)
(1080p Frame)
(4k Frame)
(1080p Frame)
Full video review:
Conclusion
The 4K option is neat and it is impressive that at sub $60 camera can offer it, but it's really not that useful at 10FPS, nor is the 2.7k option. However, both the 720 and 1080p work well. They aren't quite as crisp as my beloved GitUp camera, but they are better than both the SJ4000 and the SJ7000 cameras, which are closer in price range.
Overall, The Eken H9 is an amazingly affordable action camera that offers solid video, unimpressive photos, lacks a useful playback feature, neat but not as useful 4K mode, and probably one of the better deals on a budget camera at this time. You are unlikely to find the array of video recording options on any other camera + waterproof case at this price. Check it out at through GearBest here (as well as their other action cameras, on Amazon (more pricey), Banggood, or through Eken's website. Tight lines!
Old report but still a goodie! Fished at a new spot for a couple of tiny bites. Frustrated, I drove home, but not before stopping to fish an old reliable urban creek in the Inland Empire.
Success! Missed two and landed two more, including a nice one (by urban creek standards) in 30 minutes. Hard to beat that!
Locating a tiny creek through online research and discussion with other fishermen, then hiking in and actually fishing it sucessfully is truly rewarding. Such was the case for one of my recent fishing trips in the San Bernardino National Forest.
Armed with my ultralite fishing gear, I located this miniscule watershed and proceeded to catch many healthy Redband-strain rainbow trout in less than an hour. All fish were quickly released back into their mountain stream environment, colorful patterns and all.
The creek has been through a lot, with natural disasters and manmade problems really hurting the fish population. Still, some fish still exist here, as evidenced in the video I took of the trip:
[2017 update: The SJ7000 is a still a decent camera, but it's been quickly outpaced by many other budget cameras. Consider the excellent Firefly 7S, a very budget-priced action camera with awesome features and fantastic image quality. Check out the review here and video here https://youtu.be/Vv3cAGdYJDI ]
Recently got my hands on the SJ7000, courtesy of GearBest, a new budget-priced action camera. Got to take it out on a long fishing trip to the Eastern Sierra. Check out the review AND the footage of the awesome fishing trip I had in this part of California!
Overview
The SJ7000 is yet another action camera aiming for the bargain market, with a host of neat features. At first glance, it looks just like the popular SJ4000, which I have also reviewed. In fact, it's basically a clone of it but don't take this as a bad thing! The cases are compatible, batteries, and even actual camera size are virtually identicle. Two main differences: SJ7000 sports a different software and the SJ7000 has a much larger back LCD screen, making viewing photos and adjusting settings much easier.
Yet another interesting and affordable action camera has been released, the Git1 action camera, from producer GitUp. I couldn't wait to get my hands on one, and thanks to the developers I was able to try it out, while surfing, fishing, hiking, and just plain relaxing a summer trip to one of the wonderful beaches we have in Southern California. With an impressive Sony CMOS IMX322 image sensor and 160 angle of view, I had high hopes for the Git1 and I was not disappointed.
Features:
The Git1 arrived in a smartly-packaged box and, and as the pro model of the GitUp Git1 action camera, it comes with a waterproof case and several attachments. These attachments include the typical GoPro style ones such as mounting pads, handlebar grips, angled brackets, and screws. You'll notice I said GoPro style, because all these mounts are GoPro attachment compatible. That's a huge plus and something I'm a big fan of, and that many action cameras have adopted. It's nice to have a virtual universal standard when it comes to different mounting options, because they're just so many compatible accessories that you can purchase through sites like eBay, including chest mounts, head mounts, wrist mount, floating devices, and much more. The waterproof case snaps snugly around the GitUp Git1 action camera. The latch for it is found on the left hand side, sort of a unique attachment that isn't often seen with many other action camera models. There's only three buttons on the action camera overall, and only two of these can be accessed through the waterproof case. Those buttons are the power / options, wifi/options, and the start / stop recording buttons. I found the mounting points on this camera allowed me to easily attach it to gear I already had such as my favorite chest mount. These two mounts make it really easy to record all the fishing action that is taking place in front of you be it on the water, on a jetty, hiking or otherwise.
Stopped by Jackson Lake, near Wrightwood, California. This little lake on the NE side of the San Gabriel Mountains is reportedly stocked with rainbow trout intermittently, in addition to have a popular of sunfish, catfish, and largemouth bass
However, when I arrived, I was taken back by the very limited amount of water that remained. It is just another reminder of California's current drought and another example of poor fishing in the region. The shoreline was receeded and the bottom of the lake was visible from the shore at most angles. Furthermore, most of the water reachable with a cast from the shore was less than 1ft deep. Very discouraging; the fish population is likely mostly gone as well. There was several 2-3" sunfish hanging around one set of reeds, but that was the extent of finned friends to be spotted.
Save yourself the trip for now, don't bother with this little lake! Hopefully the upcoming El Nino will fill it back up, for a long time.
I really enjoy action cameras, from the ultra-affordable models to the high-end hard to find versions. As such, I am always excited to come across new and unique action cameras. Thus, when I found out about the Cansonic UDV-888, I knew I had to try it out. It's unlike most any other action camera I have reviewed, as it combines a slick waterproof case design with a huge array of dash camera options.
The overcast sky and cooler temperatures made for a perfect day for a long hike back into the Los Angeles mountains. I grabbed my trusty collapsible trout fishing rod, backpack full of lures, and hit up a favorite mountain stream. The hike was fairly grueling but rewarding, with epic views and a enchanting creek in the canyon.
Water levels were fairly good despite the drought; the recent rain had kept the creek gushing along, with pools looking nicely full. I spotted several small rainbow trout in the first major pool, a good sign.
Fishing was back to the basics for me: cast, drift, and set the hook on the strike. I landed trout after trout, most small, but with an occasional larger model thrown in for fun.
I noticed each pool seemed to have 1-2 hefty fish, but they were very hesitant to bite and let the little trout hit the lure first.
All fish were safely released back into the creek to get bigger. Spent several hours enjoying this meandering stream but finally had to call it a day. Tight lines until next time!
Enjoy this short video from my trip to the beautiful Big Island, Hawaii.
Had a tough time figuring out the fish, didn't seem to run into quite as many predators as I did on the Garden Island last year. Still managed to land several interesting fish, plus the ever-present Lizardfish. Tight lines!
Took a brief trip to a favorite trout spot deep in the Angeles National Forest. Only managed to land a couple of beautiful but small rainbow trout. Still, very enjoyable, great scenery, and good to see the water flowing well!
Just returned from an absolutely outstanding bass fishing trip. It was truly one of the best angling adventures I have had as of late. My friend and I hiked in to a secret lake, hauling our heavy float tubes, rods, tackle, lunches, and more. When we finally arrived, we quickly setup our gear, then kicked out into the warm lake waters, casting a variety of soft plastic lures at fishy spots.
We were instantly rewarded with multiple hookups, lasting throughout the day. Even when I landed on shore to dry out for a bit, I continued to catch fish. All were solid, chunky largemouth bass, in the mood for fight, and they did not disappoint. After a thrilling tug-of-war, each fish was released. Take a look at the video; I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
Hiked at the wonderful Peters Canyon Regional Park recently. Cloudy day, but it was still a pleasant hike overall. I was most interested in the Peters Canyon Reservoir. I have heard many stories of fishermen a long time ago catching largemouth bass and catfish out of it, but now there is no public access. This seems to be the case for many reservoirs and lakes in Orange County, a disappointing change from other parts of the country I have lived in.
Of note, the recent drought seems to have hit the reservoir particularly hard. It appears to be very shallow, and looked no more than a few feet deep from the shore. I wouldn't be surprised if most of the fish in Peters Canyon Reservoir have been eaten by herons or raccoon's.
Next up in our review series on affordable action cameras and GoPro alternatives is the Krazilla Sports action camera. I was fortunate enough to take it on several fishing and outdoor trips recently and wanted to share my thoughts on this compact action camera.
