During the past months, I first had the Deeper CHIRP+ and then the new Deeper CHIRP+ 2 with me on my fishing trips for predator fish such as pike, perch, and zander. Fishing from the float tube and various other boats has given me a good impression of Deeper as an alternative to, let’s say, more traditional fish finders such as Lowrance and Garmin.
To me, it makes good sense to split my observations into before, during, and after fishing trips. However, before we go down that road, I would like to highlight the apparent attention to detail in the Deeper sonar itself and its accessories. You quickly notice that Deeper products and accessories have been carefully developed and perfected over time.
The Flexible Arm Mount is a good example. First, it is very solid. Second, the responsive design of the flex arm to which you attach the sonar allows Deeper to stay on the surface. This is important to maintain a good connection with your smartphone. When fishing from a float tube, you will often have lots of movement both from the water and from your body movements when you paddle to get around.
Now let’s take a look at my observations.
Before Fishing
The first word that comes to my mind is ‘compact’. I really appreciate the compact, easy-to-carry design of Deeper and its accessories. It means the world to any angler to keep the load at a minimum and travel light.
In my case, I have the opportunity to fish from a number of different boats available at our local fishing association. Not all of them are placed right beside the parking spot. And when you’re so close to taking your first cast, you simply don’t want to waste time walking back and forth to your car to get all gear into the boat. Traditional fish finders require an external battery and also often require a space-consuming transducer mount. Before starting to use Deeper, I would sometimes leave my sonar at home to avoid carrying the extra load.
Also, when fishing from a float tube, it is convenient that your gear takes up as little space as possible because of the limited storage space.
Another appreciated feature is the easy installation. You simply attach the Deeper sonar to the Flexible Arm Mount, and then you’re ready to sink the sonar into the water and connect to your smartphone. It doesn’t get much easier than that.
During Fishing
Choice of three angle beams
In the Fish DeeperTM app’s settings, you can easily change between three angle beams: wide angle, mid angle, and narrow angle. This gives you the option of taking a very detailed look at what’s trying to hide from you in the deep.
The wide angle is your go-to beam when trying to locate the fish. No surprise. However, I’m quite impressed by the accuracy of this beam. Readings are very clear and detailed despite the lower frequency than when changing to the mid and narrow angle beams. Even with the wide angle beam, I have no trouble tracking my lure when vertical jigging. And if you can see your small perch lures, then you can be sure to see the fish you are targeting.
When vertical fishing for perch for example, which you will often find in and around big pools of bait fish, it can be useful to change to the two narrower beam angles to tune in on the predators that you wish to hook up with.
Fish smarter, not harder
The Fish DeeperTM app stores data from your previous fishing trips. This means that you can see recorded scans and marked points of interest such as good fishing spots and your catches. With this data, you are able to optimise your fishing. I know, I know. Fishing is about enjoying your time, not optimising it. But let’s face it, you don’t always have unlimited time for fishing, so there’s good reason to be smart about it and get the most out of your precious time on the water.
Not all batteries are created equal
The new Deeper CHIRP+ 2 offers up to 15 hours of battery life. My smartphone is far from able to match that. So I usually bring a powerbank to keep my smartphone full of juice. My powerbank is safely stored in the Deeper Smartphone Case along with a charging cable. Actually, I don’t always use the case as intended, strapping it to my arm and storing my phone in it. I want to have easy access to my phone to be able to use it for shooting photos and videos as well, so when the weather is good, I use the case as a safe spot to park my smartphone.
Reconnecting with Deeper
Unless you have an extra phone or camera with you, you need to use your phone for taking pictures of your catch and your surroundings. You would think that it could cause problems to exit the app and use the phone for a different purpose. But it doesn’t. When you reopen the app, Deeper reconnects smoothly and continues its scan. In the rare case of issues, I simply restart the app to get back on track.
An obvious next step for my use of Deeper is to bring a separate device to connect to Deeper with. Using my phone has worked fine so far, so I haven’t had the need to take this step.
After Fishing
Ready for your next trip in no time
The new Deeper CHIRP+ 2 has about twice as long battery life as the CHIRP+. When fishing, I usually spend 4-8 hours on the water. This means that there’s lots of juice left when I get home and need to charge Deeper for my next trip. It takes no time to refuel and get ready for my next trip.
Reviewing your fishing trip
After a fishing trip, I enjoy taking a look at my scans and logs. When you’re in fishing mode on the water, you don’t have time to closely study the readings. It’s cool that you can access bathymetric maps and data on both your phone and the Fish DeeperTM web platform.
When reviewing the data from your trip, you will often come across fish that you missed and that you would like to log. Also, it can be quite entertaining to take a look at sonar readings just before a strike and during your fight with the fish, as you can see in the screenshot to the right. It will give some crazy images that you can easily share with friends or Instagram followers. Having all the data on your phone allows you to take a screenshot or make screen recordings in an instant. The app allows you to quickly scroll through your scan. Neat!
Smart, Compact Fishing Solution
Deeper calls it a smart fishing solution. I second that. It’s an absolutely ideal solution for my type of fishing from various small boats and float tubes. Using the sonar is very simple and intuitive. But at the same time, Deeper is an advanced tool allowing you to develop your skills and essentially your fishing. After all, that’s what it’s all about. Should you need support, Deeper has made lots of useful guides and info available on their website.
Lars Ottesen