Fish Hunter 3D Portable Sonar Fish Finder Review

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!

More uRbAn CrEeK Fishing Fun: Bass and Green Sunfish + Underwater Video

[Video report, report with new photos!]

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...