Kayak Fishfinder: Yay or Nay?

[Koz]

For the past few weeks I've been debating whether or not to add a fishfinder to my kayak. What kind I get is not really the issue. It will probably be one of the 5" models with some basic mapping and plotting. Or maybe the Garmin 4" Vivid. But what I am looking for from other kayak anglers is how much they use it and if they find it useful.

 

Are you actually using it to fond fish? Or do you mainly use it for mapping, plotting, water temperature, and water depth measurement? Are you on big lakes or small lakes or ponds?

 

Lake Oconee is a big lake, but the furthest I have ventured out is about 4 miles from my launch point. I suppose if I spent all day fishing I would try as far as 10 miles from where I launch. That's a lot of fishable water to cover, and with all that water it's a lot different than lagoon fishing. Some days I find the bass, other days I get shut out. I'm wondering how much a fish finder will help as opposed to me spending more time on the lake and learning the rhythm of fishing this lake.

 

Work keeps me busy, so lately I haven't had a ton of time to spend on the water. I might get 2 or 3 hours out there, so I'm usually within 2 miles of my launch point. I have been studying the Navionics maps lately and looking at a few different areas to fish next, but I'm wondering if electronics will help put me on the fish any quicker. Thoughts?

[MN Fisher]

No kayak, but I find it invaluable on the canoe...even upgraded (as much as I could afford) from a basic 2-D (Hook 2-4) to a downscan with mapping capabilities (Striker 7cv). With the mapping running in the background, I have the split screen on 2-D and Downscan to find structure, cover and fish...it's really helped a lot to eliminate 'barren' areas and target apparently productive spots.

 

I DO have maps - Navionics app on my tablet which is mounted above the sonar.

 

Minnetonka itself is big - 14,000+ acres - but the bays I fish are only a few hundred acres in size. My other two main lakes are under 200 acres each.

[TcRoc]

Still learning to really read mine but mostly using it for water temp, depth and structure although most of the time have no clue what kind of structure it is hence the learning part lol. 

[Junger]

When I had my little 14' boat, I had sideview at the console, and downview at the bow. I fish mainly shallow, or heavy pad cover and really only used it for navigation and water temp. The only place I use electronics is at a local reservoir where I need to find drop offs, or structure, and I probably fish there a handful of times during the year. I probably didn't need any electronics to catch fish on that boat, along with the hassle of battery maintenance. 

 

[desmobob]

I love to have one wherever and whenever I fish.  I even use a Garmin Striker Plus 5cv on my float tube.  I'm always in mapping mode.  Sometimes you find things that aren't on the charts and it's nice to record them.  And charts don't show things like weed growth, changes in bottom composition or schools of baitfish...

[J Francho]

I prefer to have one that's fully capable at all times.  They don't get in the way, and GPS is always critical.

[MIbassyaker]

Yay, all the way. Even a basic unit with traditional sonar and mapping is huge value-add for just a couple hundred bucks -- in addition to depth, you can see bait, weedlines, the thermocline, distinguish hard from soft bottom, and so on. You can find subtle depth changes on an otherwise featureless area that fish will relate to, but may not show up on navionics or official maps.  With GPS ability you can mark and save waypoints when you find a good spot, so you can navigate back to them easily. 

 

[Fishingmickey]

Yes to the kayak electronics! It's pretty much a must for me now. If I was fishing shallow rivers and small lakes maybe not so much. But tournament fishing for bass it is a very helpful tool. I really like the Garmin Echomap 93SV series. 73 series would probably be fine too. Sonar, sidescan, downscan and maps. I often troll when moving from area to area and knowing whats passing under me as I am moving helps me find new promising areas to fish.

FM

[flyfisher]

Yup, I love mine.  I also wouldn't get one without side imaging.  The lakes I fish are mostly shallow >15' and it allows me to eliminate places that probably won't hold fish.  I also love the mapping and waypoint feature as I can mark something on my side imaging then use the casting circles on my Helix to let me know when I am in range of said waypoint without having to paddle over it.

[Dens228]

I love mine.  Has SideVu though.   I held off thinking it wouldn't help. I was wrong. 

I've found bass attracting structure in water I've fished for years that I never knew were there and now hardly ever let me down. 

[CountryboyinDC]

I have one that I put on my pedal drive, and I'm definitely an amateur in its use.  Mine is a Lowrance HDS with sidescan capability.  Without it, I doubt I could do much structure fishing at all. I would say the ability to leave waypoints is the most valuable.  It was a significant outlay, at least relative to a kayak (mine cost more than my first kayak).  But I take it pretty much every time I take out the pedal drive.  If nothing else, you can pedal around and put waypoints everywhere.

[Koz]

While a side scan unit is appealing, I think I may run into some mounting issues. My Seastream Angler has a pontoon style hull, and I'm not sure there's a good place to mount it. Honestly, I haven't really looked much underneath so I will have to check that out.

 

Are there mounting arms that can handle a transducer that large like say, the Lowrance Tripleshot? Plus, it's got to completely clear the bottom of the hull to be useful, and I imagine in choppy waters there will be some interference if it's hanging over the side.

[desmobob]

Check out fishfindermounts.com

 

That's where I got the mounting stuff to put my Garmin on any of my tubes, including my Outcast FatCat and Dave Scadden Raptor Light Speed X "pon-tube."

[Junger]

Another option for kayakers is to use a Deeper. The battery is built-in, and has a pretty decent charge. They make bendable arm mounts for them too. 

[Boomstick]

A fish finder is every bit as useful in a kayak as in a bass boat, in some cases more so. For example, having maps in a big lake is quite invaluable as you might have a day or two on that lake and there's no chance of being able to map it all, so the maps will tell you where to start. Yes you can get maps other ways as well but you'll have to remember to bring them with you if you print them from home.

 

As far as sonar, it's as useful as you make it. If you go to what you think is a good area, anchor and start fishing and aren't into exploring for a bit first, then maybe not. Personally, I find it valuable for finding brush piles and laydowns, rocks, drop offs that I otherwise couldn't see. Also sidevu is amazing for covering a shoreline.

 

If you are worried about being able to mount a transducer, you could also get something like a YakAttack Cellblock with the transducer arm that you can run off the edge of your kayak. All you need is a gear track to mount it to.

 

[Koz]

6 hours ago, Boomstick said:

A fish finder is every bit as useful in a kayak as in a bass boat, in some cases more so. For example, having maps in a big lake is quite invaluable as you might have a day or two on that lake and there's no chance of being able to map it all, so the maps will tell you where to start. Yes you can get maps other ways as well but you'll have to remember to bring them with you if you print them from home.

 

As far as sonar, it's as useful as you make it. If you go to what you think is a good area, anchor and start fishing and aren't into exploring for a bit first, then maybe not. Personally, I find it valuable for finding brush piles and laydowns, rocks, drop offs that I otherwise couldn't see. Also sidevu is amazing for covering a shoreline.

 

If you are worried about being able to mount a transducer, you could also get something like a YakAttack Cellblock with the transducer arm that you can run off the edge of your kayak. All you need is a gear track to mount it to.

 

Do they have arm units that can support the large side scan transducers? I'm no expert, but it doesn't look like there's a good place to mount one on my hull. There might be an area to do a scupper hole mount forward of the pedal unit. I'm not sure if there would be any interference mounting a downscan behind the pedal prop. There are no compartments to mount it through the hull.

 

 

[MN Fisher]

15 minutes ago, Koz said:

Do they have arm units that can support the large side scan transducers?

My Scotty 140 pretty much doesn't know my down-scan transducer is there. I think it'd handle a side-scan one no problem.

 

The 140 is a block mount - the Scotty 141 is the same arm but with a short track-mount. Add the universal sonar mount that clicks into the gearhead on the 141 and both your sonar and transducer are mounted in the same spot. (transducer arm is what's sticking below the sonar unit)

https://scotty.com/product/no-141-kayak-sup-transducer-arm-mount-w-gear-head-adapter-3/

[Boomstick]

15 hours ago, Koz said:

Do they have arm units that can support the large side scan transducers?

The YakAttack one works fine with a Garmin Gt54UHD. The newer GT56UHD is the same size more or less too.

[Darth-Baiter]

Fish finder - yes. I only have down imaging and I’m shocked how much information it gives me.   I fish bigger lakes that are sometimes a labyrinth.  That with my iPhone gets me back to the truck. If a pro-guide tells me, “they are in 5 feet of water “. I can’t target that depth. 
 

I once went over a submerged tree that looked good. I parked over it and saw fish in it.  I drifted off, and casted back. I pulled out 9 bass drifting on a wacky worm. I orbited that tree all day. 

[TnRiver46]

16 hours ago, Koz said:

Do they have arm units that can support the large side scan transducers? I'm no expert, but it doesn't look like there's a good place to mount one on my hull. There might be an area to do a scupper hole mount forward of the pedal unit. I'm not sure if there would be any interference mounting a downscan behind the pedal prop. There are no compartments to mount it through the hull.

 

 

That yak is a monster!!! Heck I’d probably put a picnic table on there 

[J Francho]

On 6/5/2021 at 7:42 PM, Koz said:

Do they have arm units that can support the large side scan transducers? I'm no expert, but it doesn't look like there's a good place to mount one on my hull.

Don't mount it on your hull.  It's a pain, and it's easier to damage the TD hull mounted.  With an arm, it just swings out of the way if you hit something.  There's a dozen or so arms out there.  The ones from fish finders are good.  I'm using a YakAttack arm on a RAM ball mount.  There's a magnet mount out there too that looks cool, but I haven't tried it.  I don't see anything on your hull that would prevent you from using a deployment arm.

[Bass Junke]

https://www.fishfindermounts.com/product-page/15mm-magnetic-transducer-mount-kit

 

This works pretty awesome. I bought the more powerful magnet for 10 extra bucks. I don't use it anymore, the Sea Ghost has a recessed compartment for a transducer. The issue with this is you need to be able to access the inside of the hull and the outside of the hull at the same time. I would have a hard time using this on the Sea Ghost because I have no access to the inside middle of my kayak if that makes sense. A magnet needs to be on the inside and outside and they have to be applied together. 

[Bankc]

On 6/5/2021 at 7:03 PM, MN Fisher said:

My Scotty 140 pretty much doesn't know my down-scan transducer is there. I think it'd handle a side-scan one no problem.

 

The 140 is a block mount - the Scotty 141 is the same arm but with a short track-mount. Add the universal sonar mount that clicks into the gearhead on the 141 and both your sonar and transducer are mounted in the same spot. (transducer arm is what's sticking below the sonar unit)

https://scotty.com/product/no-141-kayak-sup-transducer-arm-mount-w-gear-head-adapter-3/

That's what I use with my Hook2 5 tripleshot side scanning transducer.  It works great.  It holds it steady enough when I'm using it, and still has a bit of give if I hit something with it (which is rare).  Plus it's easy to pull up should I be sliding over some thick vegetation or branches, and for loading and unloading the boat.  

 

To me, the fish finder is more important than the kayak for fishing.  I use the sonar all of the time.  Not only for locating fish and structure, but also for finding the thermocline and finding transition zones.  It's your eyes under water.  On a small pond, it' not entirely necessary.  You can fish every part and figure what's going on well enough.  On a big lake, you'll spend years making detailed logs that won't tell you half of what a day with a sonar will.  Sonar is a difference maker.

 

GPS maps, down imaging, side imaging, and all of that fancy stuff is nice to have.  But none of it is mandatory.  Your smart phone can do GPS maps.  Sonar will tell you what down imaging shows if you learn how to read it.  And side imaging is more useful for large, fast boats than slow, nimble kayaks.  Waypoints are nice, but buoy markers do the same thing.  And you can usually get the lake temp online, and guesstimate what areas will be warmer and cooler anyway without needing a temperature sensor.  But there's really no getting around sonar.  

 

 

[pdxfisher]

I have  Garmin 106SV with an NMEA2000 network connected to  Garmin Steadycast on my Hobie Outback. I love this setup. I think that having maps, 2D and SV on the screen at same time is realky useful. The heading sensor really helps when I am fishing far from shore to help keep me lined up with the structure I am fishing.

 

Counter to some others I recommend the through hull mount, at least on the Hobie. A sidearm mount adds drag to pulls you to that side. I bought a 2nd used xducer for the rare occasions I am not fising out of my primary kayak.

[J Francho]

If it's the retractable Hobie mount, then absolutely use that. The OP doesn't own a Hobie though.