Best Bang For Buck Depth Finder - kayak

[Bassin_Harrison]

New to kayak fishing, I've had my lure 11.5 for just over a year now and I want to start adding on to it. I'm looking to add a depth/fish finder at the moment, but I have no idea what makes a good one and what the price ranges are. I'm sure I could research them just like I normally do with my fishing stuff, but I figured I'd ask around here first. 

 

I'm on a budget, but since I'm not sure how expensive a decent one is I don't know where to set the bar so any recommendation is welcome. If you need anymore info before giving any suggestions let me know and i'll do my best to provide it. 

 

Thanks, 

Harrison

[schplurg]

Garmin Strikers are very popular, cheap and loaded with features.

 

I got the Garmin Echomap Plus 6 inch for $300 at Bass Pro a month or so ago (on sale). I love the bigger screen and it has even more features than the Strikers I looked at. Glad I went with that over the cheaper 4 inch Strikers.

 

I wouldn't have bought it at full price. 300 was my upper limit. Excellent unit for the price.

 

Edit to add: It's still on sale

https://www.basspro.com/shop/en/garmin-echomap-plus-63cv-with-gt20-transducer-fish-finder-chartplotter-combo?searchTerm=echomap plus 63cv

[flyfisher]

Picking a kayak fish finder is no different than a boat with two exceptions.  First being transducer and mounting that and how big of a screen you think you can handle on your boat.  Other than that, the same process applies.  

I have a helix 5 DI/SI model and I wish i would have gotten a larger screen and my next one I will probably go to a 9".  Side imaging of some sort is great on a kayak and saves you time paddling over dead water.  If you don't fish offshore much then honestly a depth finder won't benefit you other than something to look at and water temperature.

[kjfishman]

If your on a budget the Lowrance Hook2 4x is $99 or less. Garmin Strike 4 is also in that price range. Garmin Striker Plus 4 around 139 with chart plotting.

 

[DogBone_384]

I have 2 Lure 11.5’s and have Lowrance Hook5’s on each. I’ll take some pictures and post them tomorrow when I get home from work.

 

The battery is stored in a Pelican 1150 that’s Velcro’d to the hull inside the hatch.  The battery box is removable by a Battery Tender quick connect.

 

I also use Mileaukee M12XC batteries.

 

 

[kayl.]

Garmin Echomap Plus IMO

I run the 93sv, but the 6" and 7" units are solid too.

[Bankc]

There are three basic features that may be beneficial on a kayak.  First is GPS mapping.  You may want a fish finder with GPS maps that come with it.  Sometimes you can buy the maps afterwards and upload them to your fish finder, but they tend to be pretty expensive that way.  So if you want mapping, it's best to get the maps with your fish finder.  The different companies of fish finders use different mapping software, but they're all fairly similar.  The biggest difference will be whether or not the company you choose has the lakes you frequent mapped out.  Some lakes will be on one companies software, but not another.  But that other company might have a different lake.  To know ahead of time, you might have to do a bit of research online.  You can usually go to the companies various websites and see which maps exist for which lakes.  And some maps are better than others, in that some have more detail than others.  

 

Second is down imaging, down scan, or structure scan, or whatever they want to call it.  It's where the fish finder has a high frequency option that gives a much higher resolution picture of the bottom of the water body below you.  It doesn't pick up fish, so it doesn't replace traditional sonar, but it is useful for looking at what's on the bottom (tress, rocks, sunken ships, etc.).  

 

Third is side imaging, side scan, or whatever.  It's the same thing as the structure scan, but it points out to the sides, rather and just shooting straight down.  The down side to this is they usually require much bigger transducers.  

 

So basically, you'll want to determine your budget (remembering you'll need a way to mount it and power it), and then decide on which features you want.  You can get by without GPS, because your phone will likely provide that.  Down imaging is useful, but you can often tell what's down there anyway by seeing what's around you (like if the bank is rocky, then it's probably rocky below you), and by reading what the traditional sonar tells you (big trees and rocks will usually still be identifiable on them).  The side scan is nice, but just like the down imaging, it doesn't tell you a whole lot that you wouldn't already know.  Then there are other options on bigger, more expensive fish finders, but they usually include stuff like wifi (to connect more than one fish finder on a boat), trolling motor controls, automatic, over the air updates, etc.  Basically stuff you're not likely to need on a kayak.  The only things your absolutely need are a good sonar, color display, and temperature reading, and pretty much all of the fish finders these days from the major brands have those.

 

I have the Lowrance Hook2 5 with side imaging.  The transducer is about a foot long, so I have to mount it over the side of my kayak which pulls the kayak off to the side a bit.  The one without side imaging has a transducer small enough to fit in a scupper hole.  If you have good eyesight, then a 4-5" screen is plenty big, because in a kayak, you'll never be far away from it.  Also, the smaller screens take up less space and require smaller batteries.  

 

Your best bet is to just find a couple in your price range, and then view some YouTube videos on them to get a feel for what they provide.  For the most part, anything from Garmin, Hummingbird, or Lowrance will be a quality product.