• You need to be a registered member of Barbel Fishing World to post on these forums. Some of the forums are hidden from non-members. Please refer to the instructions on the ‘Register’ page for details of how to join the new incarnation of BFW...

Smart cast

J

John Baker

Senior Member & Supporter
1000044417.png

My smart cast is sadly only working properly about half of the time I set it up.
What's my alternative? As I don't think their made any more.
I've those deepers. They just look over complicated harder to use as you'll need to hold your phone whilst trotting the float.
Cheers
John
 
The deeper is fine & the attachment on the phone works well. I was worried that i’d cast my phone off into the lake on a good cast but not, it’s really secure! Really easy to use and you can build a detailed picture of a lake in no time (without paying any subscription)
 
Used the deeper yesterday on a new stretch of river for snag finding and mine is one of the originals so must be getting on 10 years old and still going strong
Easy to use on your own, better still with a mate
I had the smart cast but with the little screen that folded up - was decent but the transponders( orange floats) didn’t last long.
 
Is it the receiver or the smartcast head itself? I was an early Smartcast adopter back in the day (at vast expense at the time) and went through several 'floats' as the batteries didn't last long and were sealed in. I dug it out a couple of years ago (with the intention of selling) but replaced the depleted float with an aftermarket version ('Lucky' Transducer) that had a watch battery screw cap access - success - it worked perfectly and I sold the unit.

One like this - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/17474665...mkcid=28&google_free_listing_action=view_item

Would def recommend Deeper these days if using with rod and line / mobile phone (they're sketchy on bait boats however IMO) . . . much better range / casting weight and quality than ye old Humminbird. Would def mount phone on a storm pole rather than the rubber rod mount - you're only one cast away from losing an expensive phone!
 
Chris Belcher said:
Is it the receiver or the smartcast head itself? I was an early Smartcast adopter back in the day (at vast expense at the time) and went through several 'floats' as the batteries didn't last long and were sealed in. I dug it out a couple of years ago (with the intention of selling) but replaced the depleted float with an aftermarket version ('Lucky' Transducer) that had a watch battery screw cap access - success - it worked perfectly and I sold the unit.

One like this - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/17474665...mkcid=28&google_free_listing_action=view_item

Would def recommend Deeper these days if using with rod and line / mobile phone (they're sketchy on bait boats however IMO) . . . much better range / casting weight and quality than ye old Humminbird. Would def mount phone on a storm pole rather than the rubber rod mount - you're only one cast away from losing an expensive phone!
Click to expand...
Hi Chris, did the 'lucky' float just work with the smartcast receiver? ie they worked on the same frequency as the OE smartcast floats?
 
Deeper all day for me.

As others have mentioned it's simple enough to use & the ability to identify weed is a massive plus. I fish the (featureless) Thames & it's been truly eye opening for me this season mapping what I thought were known swims.

I paid £70 off fleabay - they're often on Facebook so no need to spend silly money!
 
Adam Francis said:
Deeper all day for me.

As others have mentioned it's simple enough to use & the ability to identify weed is a massive plus. I fish the (featureless) Thames & it's been truly eye opening for me this season mapping what I thought were known swims.

I paid £70 off fleabay - they're often on Facebook so no need to spend silly money!
Click to expand...
What one do you have mate, there's quite a few models. Thanks
 
Stu Morgan said:
Hi Chris, did the 'lucky' float just work with the smartcast receiver? ie they worked on the same frequency as the OE smartcast floats?
Click to expand...
Yes worked immediately - same frequency / cheaper / slightly heavier so better range / updateable battery
 
Ashley Pickering said:
What one do you have mate, there's quite a few models. Thanks
Click to expand...
Any of the cheaper Pro models are fine for quick reference mapping at short range (topography etc) which for most rivers is sufficient.
The later Chirp models have 3x different beam widths for greater accuracy / image resolution (I have Chirp+2) but the latest Chirp+3 has the benefit of creating 3D bathymetric maps and also accessing these maps that can be shared etc - most of the Thames / Trent has probably already been 'done', so useful and saves you doing it yourself and risking expensive float loss on a river!

Main problem with Deeper is speed of flow which it can sometimes struggle to 'keep up' with on the phone app. On a lake / with a bait boat you can control this with retrieve rates / boat speed however would always recommend a WiFi range extender if you plan to use any of them in earnest as there is nothing more frustrating than losing the signal mid feature finding . . .
 
I subscribed for a year just to get a headstart on the shared maps locally and save time but have noticed that when i use mine it overlays the info on to the existing map (as expected) but the depths and contours are totally different than what is already there??
I can imagine slight variations due to water levels and silting up etc but they are way out?
The signal can be terrible in windy weather so try and map out in still conditions so cant blame that.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top