Raymarine Dragonfly Fishfinder/Chartplotter

Just this past Saturday I was lucky enough to install the latest and greatest from Raymarine Electronics, the Dragonfly.

The Raymarine Dragonfly is a new breed of GPS Chartplotter and Fish finder combo that is a perfect addition to any kayak. I installed the unit on my Hurricane Aquasports Skimmer 128 and used a marine silicone to glue the transducer in the hull. The Dragonfly mounted great on my kayak using the supplied swivel mount that the head unit can be easily removed from. This unit also only has one plug in the back which makes connecting and disconnecting a breeze. This unit has the new CHIRP technology for beautiful down vision soundings. (This is the reason I am drooling). The chartplotter is also very detailed with the Navionics Gold charts installed for the United States.

Now on to the good stuff!!!

My first run of the Dragonfly was for the IFA Kayak Tour event in Louisiana this past Sunday. I wanted to fish a location that would have some shallow water areas but also deeper water to see how this unit shines in both conditions. One word sums it up IMPRESSED!!! In shallow water up to around 2.5′ of water the Dragonfly never skipped a beat. Perfect bottom readings showing grass, hard sand, and rocks were very easily seen on the bright color display. Speaking of bright color display, it can be seen in direct sunlight. I made sure I had my back to the sun and tried reading the display in direct sun light with polarized sunglasses on and off and there are no problems at all! I paddled over to the MRGO rock dam and just kept looking at the display amazed at what I could see. You can easily distinguish rocks, crab traps, crab trap lines, and most important, schools of fish. Schools of fish show up great and larger fish feeding or hiding around structure are shown in great detail. Paddling past a crab trap float I followed the entire line on the screen down to the bottom to the trap itself. Even more impressive you could make out grass on the line. I will have actual screen shots next time I return to the water. This unit never skipped a beat, never blinked, never lost bottom, just kept on impressing me with what I can now see below the water’s surface. The trout just have no chance come winter time in their hiding holes.

For the kayak fisherman I cannot stress this unit enough, it is the ticket and I am very impressed to say the least. I really cannot wait to get on the water again to look at what I have been missing in the waters I have been fishing for years!

These pictures really do not do the Dragonfly justice. What I was actually seeing in real fishing situations it was amazing to see!

Next chance on the water I will save some screen shots and talk about what we see and how this unit benefits you in different situations.