Best fish finder for a kayak?

[Ohioguy25]

I found this one - https://www.amazon.com/Garmin-Striker-Transducer-Fishfinder-Traditional/dp/B017NI17HQ

 

looks like an incredible deal but upon reading the reviews it appears you need a separate on board battery, sounds cumbersome. Do they make one that is self powered/self contained? I’d like to keep it as light as possible as I’ve already got 30 lb of gear on board.

 

[MN Fisher]

Best you're going to find is an 'ice fishing kit'...but that includes a portable battery. I don't know of any sonar unit that's 'self powered', most AA, C, D batteries don't have the reserve to run a unit like this more than an hour...maybe.

 

Best bet is to get a light, rechargeable battery -this one is a 10AH, will run that Garmin all day long, and only weighs 7 pounds.

https://www.amazon.com/SLA1097-Power-Patrol-Rechargable-Battery/dp/B004J2TEKW/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=12v+10ah+battery&qid=1599959799&sr=8-4

[diehardbassfishing]

Self contained units are mostly like toys in comparison to a "real" finder.

 

There are good Li-Ion battery choices out there.

Sealed lead acid too - but not as compact.

 

 

Karl

[Ohioguy25]

1 minute ago, diehardbassfishing said:

Self contained units are mostly like toys in comparison to a "real" finder.

 

There are good Li-Ion battery choices out there.

Sealed lead acid too - but not as compact.

 

 

Karl

What about this one? https://www.amazon.com/Talentcell-Rechargeable-6000mAh-Battery-Portable/dp/B00MF70BPU

 

How do you keep them and fish finder from getting wet?

[MN Fisher]

2 minutes ago, Ohioguy25 said:

What about this one? https://www.amazon.com/Talentcell-Rechargeable-6000mAh-Battery-Portable/dp/B00MF70BPU

That'll work - that's 6AH - so at least most of the day.

2 minutes ago, Ohioguy25 said:

How do you keep them and fish finder from getting wet?

That battery you linked would need to be protected somehow. The one I linked is like most outdoor-rated batteries and is pretty water-resistant...long as you don't dunk it, it'd be fine.

 

The finder itself...I don't worry about splashes or drips on my Lowrance Hook2 - that Garmin would also be pretty resistant to splashes...long as you don't dump buckets on it. Fish finders are designed for being on the water - even light rain isn't going to hurt them.

[Ohioguy25]

4 minutes ago, MN Fisher said:

That'll work - that's 6AH - so at least most of the day.

That battery you linked would need to be protected somehow. The one I linked is like most outdoor-rated batteries and is pretty water-resistant...long as you don't dunk it, it'd be fine.

 

The finder itself...I don't worry about splashes or drips on my Lowrance Hook2 - that Garmin would also be pretty resistant to splashes...long as you don't dump buckets on it. Fish finders are designed for being on the water - even light rain isn't going to hurt them.

Cool, thanks. How helpful would this be to me on a small river, borderline creek? It’s around 3-5 ft feel on average but there are several deep stretches and holes. I feel like locating the fish is half the battle. How wide is the radius? Is it easy to distinguish bass from other fish?

[MN Fisher]

Just now, Ohioguy25 said:

Cool, thanks. How helpful would this be to me on a small river, borderline creek? It’s around 3-5 ft feel on average but there are several deep stretches and holes 

Something that small, narrow and shallow...it'll help you find the holes, but that's about it. The cone that the transducer sends out isn't going to show you a whole lot...you'd pretty much have to be on top of structure to see it...or on top of the fish to see them.

 

For the numbers - a 20^o cone (which is standard for most Chirp units) will only show you a 1.75' circle of the bottom at 5' depth, a 1.05' circle at 3' depth. Formula is (depth x cone angle x .0175 = diameter of 'shown' area) - https://www.iceshanty.com/ice_fishing/index.php?topic=206449.0

[GrumpyOlPhartte]

For what it’s worth, I picked up a Garmin Striker Plus 4 for my yak.  Very happy with the ease of use. Chose this model for two reasons; it has a slightly larger screen than the base model and it has a mapping function that, for me, has been useful in the small lakes I fish. Just as important is its readability in bright sunlight.  
 

As for the battery, I picked up a Noqua 10 AH battery and am really glad I did.  This thing is amazing! I typically use it for day trips and after six to eight hours it has never discharged below 25% - and I usually leave it on from launch to landing.  I don’t believe it weighs much more than a pound and measures 4” x 3” x 3”. It comes sealed in a thick rubberized material and a padded case. A recharger is included.  Costs more than SLA batteries but in my mind it is well worth the investment.

 

 

[Ohioguy25]

9 hours ago, GrumpyOlPhartte said:

For what it’s worth, I picked up a Garmin Striker Plus 4 for my yak.  Very happy with the ease of use. Chose this model for two reasons; it has a slightly larger screen than the base model and it has a mapping function that, for me, has been useful in the small lakes I fish. Just as important is its readability in bright sunlight.  
 

As for the battery, I picked up a Noqua 10 AH battery and am really glad I did.  This thing is amazing! I typically use it for day trips and after six to eight hours it has never discharged below 25% - and I usually leave it on from launch to landing.  I don’t believe it weighs much more than a pound and measures 4” x 3” x 3”. It comes sealed in a thick rubberized material and a padded case. A recharger is included.  Costs more than SLA batteries but in my mind it is well worth the investment.

 

 

Hell yeah! Is it useful at all on small rivers for finding smallies?

[GrumpyOlPhartte]

@Ohioguy25:

I don’t want to tie up the thread - I can be long-winded.  Anyway, I notice you mentioned that you are fishing in a small river so my first question is, “How do you plan to use the fish finder?”

 

The reason I ask is that if you are trying to see fish in shallow water, good luck!  I fish a shallow lake where the average depth is 10 feet.  Unless I am drifting, I very seldom mark fish; they just move before I get close enough for the sonar to pick them up - even on the wide setting. @MN Fisher covered that part of the issue very well. My personal experience has taught me that “fish finders” don’t find fish in shallow water if you alert the fish by making any noise such as paddling, rustling around in your tackle, or even casting. It’s actually amazing how much ruckus you create with a hard cast from a yak.  But, from my experience, I have learned there IS a good reason for having the Striker Plus 4 aboard. 
 

First, it allows me to “see” where there are even slight contour changes, underwater structures, weed lines, and so forth - even in shallow water.  Second, it allows me to set waypoints so I can return to these specific locations.  Third, if I find a spot where I catch fish,  I can paddle to where I caught them and set a waypoint. And finally, it allows me to produce contour maps of the parts of the lakes where I fish. I just have to remember that each waypoint marks the location to which I want to cast, not where I want to position my yak.

 

I guess my feeling is that in small, shallow bodies of water, I wouldn’t bother buying a fish finder to actually find fish ... but I would buy it if I want to be able to return to my hot spots on subsequent fishing trips.  For me personally that is the value of a fish finder.  It sounds like although your water is moving and mine isn’t, we face the same challenges. My thought is that if you use your fish finder as a glorified place marker you will probably put it to good use, but as a tool for actually “seeing” fish, you might be disappointed.

 

By the way, there is a guy on YouTube known as 1 Cast 1 Fish who has an extensive set of tutorials on the Garmin Striker 4 Series of depth finders. Very informative.

 

As a final thought, although I mention Garmin there are other fish fibers in the same price range that have similar capabilities.  I would recommend that you make sure the unit you buy has GPS and lets you mark waypoints if you want to save locations.  Or, if you just want to locate fish, you can pass on the GPS, but will probably not have much luck in less than 15 feet of water unless there is real heavy cover. Oh, and keep in mind that this is anecdotal info based only on what I have learned in the past year.  Hope this helps!  Let me know if you have any other questions and I will try to answer.

[Ohioguy25]

On 9/14/2020 at 2:03 AM, GrumpyOlPhartte said:

@Ohioguy25:

I don’t want to tie up the thread - I can be long-winded.  Anyway, I notice you mentioned that you are fishing in a small river so my first question is, “How do you plan to use the fish finder?”

 

The reason I ask is that if you are trying to see fish in shallow water, good luck!  I fish a shallow lake where the average depth is 10 feet.  Unless I am drifting, I very seldom mark fish; they just move before I get close enough for the sonar to pick them up - even on the wide setting. @MN Fisher covered that part of the issue very well. My personal experience has taught me that “fish finders” don’t find fish in shallow water if you alert the fish by making any noise such as paddling, rustling around in your tackle, or even casting. It’s actually amazing how much ruckus you create with a hard cast from a yak.  But, from my experience, I have learned there IS a good reason for having the Striker Plus 4 aboard. 
 

First, it allows me to “see” where there are even slight contour changes, underwater structures, weed lines, and so forth - even in shallow water.  Second, it allows me to set waypoints so I can return to these specific locations.  Third, if I find a spot where I catch fish,  I can paddle to where I caught them and set a waypoint. And finally, it allows me to produce contour maps of the parts of the lakes where I fish. I just have to remember that each waypoint marks the location to which I want to cast, not where I want to position my yak.

 

I guess my feeling is that in small, shallow bodies of water, I wouldn’t bother buying a fish finder to actually find fish ... but I would buy it if I want to be able to return to my hot spots on subsequent fishing trips.  For me personally that is the value of a fish finder.  It sounds like although your water is moving and mine isn’t, we face the same challenges. My thought is that if you use your fish finder as a glorified place marker you will probably put it to good use, but as a tool for actually “seeing” fish, you might be disappointed.

 

By the way, there is a guy on YouTube known as 1 Cast 1 Fish who has an extensive set of tutorials on the Garmin Striker 4 Series of depth finders. Very informative.

 

As a final thought, although I mention Garmin there are other fish fibers in the same price range that have similar capabilities.  I would recommend that you make sure the unit you buy has GPS and lets you mark waypoints if you want to save locations.  Or, if you just want to locate fish, you can pass on the GPS, but will probably not have much luck in less than 15 feet of water unless there is real heavy cover. Oh, and keep in mind that this is anecdotal info based only on what I have learned in the past year.  Hope this helps!  Let me know if you have any other questions and I will try to answer.

Thanks for the info! Def answers my question.

[DaubsNU1]

If you want something super cheap, look for an old Bottom Line Fishin Buddy....

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Bottom-Line-Fishin-Buddy-2-Portable-Fish-Finder-Depth-Locator-Canoes-Ice-Boat/324292235309?hash=item4b8152d02d:g:b4IAAOSwz~ZfW4eh

 

I've been fishing one for 20+ years...it is still on my boat now. Gives me depth, a look at the bottom composition, and water temp. Doesn't really mark fish...but it does what I need it to do, and runs on 3 C batteries for months. 

[J Francho]

I just put my 7 ah battery in a 1.5 L dry bag and run the cord out the corner. Make sure you roll it up at least three times. Never any water issue, even in a downpour. 

[moguy1973]

On 9/12/2020 at 9:32 PM, Ohioguy25 said:

What about this one? https://www.amazon.com/Talentcell-Rechargeable-6000mAh-Battery-Portable/dp/B00MF70BPU

 

How do you keep them and fish finder from getting wet?

No need to worry about the finder getting wet.  In fact, most are IP rated to be submerged without damage.  The Striker you linked is IPX7 rated which means it's waterproof to 1 meter for 30 minutes.  I had my echomap 73sv fall off my mount in rough water, found it, scooped it up in the net, popped it back on the mount, powered it on and it was like nothing ever happened to it.

 

As for a battery I use a Cabelas 8Ah sealed battery https://www.basspro.com/shop/en/cabelas-rechargeable-12v-battery?hvarAID=shopping_googleproductextensions&affcode_c=&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIg4Cn4vLt6wIVfv7jBx2OwAauEAQYAiABEgJrafD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

Works great and my kayak has a little battery pouch in the front of it inside the hull I put it in.

[Kid kayak]

As far as not marking fish on shallow rivers or waters I have no experience. I also am in the market for a kayak fish finder. Though I will say I've seen some crappie fisherman lighting up fish in shallow structure with their livescope  this in big bass boats with spot lock rolling motors.