Review of Vexilar's SonarPhone T-Pod

For a few years now, I've been trying to figure out how to tell depth and temperature while on my inflatable pontoon. As I've gotten into experimenting with trolling from it using crankbaits or Lindy rigs, being able to tell the depth and the structure has always been an issue as there isn't a good way to put a full fledge sonar on it.

Added to that, is that most sonar, while less than before, are still fairly expensive with many costing more than my pontoon was. If I was vertical jigging, there wasn't a problem, as I bring along my Vexilar Flasher and simply put it on a pontoon and drop the transducer in and I've got instant readings right below me.

But trolling with an iceducer, doesn't work and upgrading to a regular transducer for it would cost more time and money to get it, then build something that would work on the frame of the pontoon. Enter Vexilar with a new and improved technology for fishermen like me.

I obtained the SonarPhone T-Pod from Vexilar to use this season. This is the unit I'd been waiting for to help me with identifying structure and depth and finding fish from shore or from my pontoon.

The SonarPhone series has been out for a few years now, but I decided to get one this year after getting some advice from fishing friends on it and how it could help me on the pontoon. So far all I can say is that it was worked great!

Once I connect my phone to it through the wi-fi signal the T-Pod puts out (doesn't use any data), I've got near instant access to a full fledge sonar reading without the sonar price right on my smart phone. I have used the T-Pod nearly every time I've been out this spring and summer and it has proved itself in every way for what I was looking for.

It is great for trolling and getting depth and structure readings and it is a good way to see if any fish are around if casting it from shore, though make sure you've got a good stout pole to cast it out with as it has a little weight to it.

I tied on some 20# braided line to it and attach it to one of the rings on the pontoon and it simply trolls directly behind it, giving me the information that I had been craving. A great example of the T-Pod in action was on a recent trip to Angostura Reservoir here in the Black Hills. I used the bobber to give me depth and structure information as I was trolling along the shorelines looking for walleyes. Without it, I wouldn't have known the information that I needed to help pinpoint where the fish were at.

While I didn't catch any big fish, I did catch them nonetheless thanks to the T-Pod. If you don't own a big boat or own a kayak, float tube, or small pontoon, or even you are just a shore fishermen, be sure to give the SonarPhone T-Pod a shot. It can do so much to help you be more efficient and successful on the water.