Kayak Fish Finder

[nebkan]

Looking for help once again!  Got a great deal on my first fishing kayak, a Lifetime Tamarack angler.  Looking to find a cheap fish finder $200 or less.  I do not have a ton of DIY skill so I'm ideally not wanting to drill a bunch of holes into my kayak for the transducer.  I have been looking at the Hummingbird Piranha 4, the Lowrance 4, and Garmin Striker 4.  I am intrigued by the down scan, but was told that it will not work well through the hull and was also told that down scan only works if you are moving.

 

With that being said I am curious as to opinions or advice on which to buy and possibly how to mount the transducer.  Ive read quite a few people say that the arm mount for the transducer can get hung up a lot and cause issues.  Any advice/help is appreciated.

[CenCal fisher]

I had that same kayak a piranha max and then later a helix five. Both transducers had no problem shooting through the hull. My piranha max had down scan but was a useless feature on a small screen.

 

To mount the transducer in the hull I had some foam similar to the foam of a pool noodle that I cut out so the transducer fit in the middle. I glued the foam inside thenkayak then would place the transducer in the foam with a handful of water. I punched one small hole in the lid in the middle of my kayak to run the transducer cable out of the hull. I modified the rod holder that is on the side so that I could bolt my unit to it. I never had to drill any holes in my kayak

[nebkan]

11 hours ago, CenCal fisher said:

I had that same kayak a piranha max and then later a helix five. Both transducers had no problem shooting through the hull. My piranha max had down scan but was a useless feature on a small screen.

 

To mount the transducer in the hull I had some foam similar to the foam of a pool noodle that I cut out so the transducer fit in the middle. I glued the foam inside thenkayak then would place the transducer in the foam with a handful of water. I punched one small hole in the lid in the middle of my kayak to run the transducer cable out of the hull. I modified the rod holder that is on the side so that I could bolt my unit to it. I never had to drill any holes in my kayak

So down scan will work in kayak without the transducer touching water? Interesting. I would consider a bigger screen just wondered if down scan was worth it

[CenCal fisher]

14 minutes ago, nebkan said:

So down scan will work in kayak without the transducer touching water? Interesting. I would consider a bigger screen just wondered if down scan was worth it

It will work just don't have an air gap between the transducer and the hull of the kayak. I felt that down scam was worthless on a small display. The display didn't have enough pixels to show much detail and it was easier to find fish with 2d sonar. If you want down scan get a helix 5 or elite 5. Split screen is a nice feature when using down scan 

[Wayne P.]

11 hours ago, CenCal fisher said:

It will work just don't have an air gap between the transducer and the hull of the kayak. I felt that down scam was worthless on a small display. The display didn't have enough pixels to show much detail and it was easier to find fish with 2d sonar. If you want down scan get a helix 5 or elite 5. Split screen is a nice feature when using down scan 

 

Excellent suggestion. The down looking imaging will help interpret what is displayed on 2D sonar.