What Kayak Fishfinder Screen Size Do You Have?

[Koz]

I have the Lowrance Hook2 5 with the tripleshot transducer on my kayak but I'm finding the screen size is too small for my liking, especially trying to pick apart detail on my sidescan. I'm thinking of getting a 9" Hook Reveal for my aging eyes, but that may be too big, especially because I would have to mount it on the rail. My pedal drive is in front of me, and it makes no sense to mount it beyond the pedal drive because it would defeat the purpose of having a larger screen and it would be a pain to have to reach the buttons.

 

With the larger screen I'd probably have to take my YakAttack CellBloc off of the rail as well.

 

So, what size fishfinder do you have on your kayak and where is it mounted?

 

Another thing I'm trying to find is just the fishfinder unit without the transducer since the transducer that came with my Hook2 works with the Hook Reveal, but the Lowrance site shows them only sold as a package.

[Choporoz]

Garmin 73SV mounted on rail near my right thigh.  It is only in my way on rare occasions skipping or jerking when my boat alignment is less than good 

[flyfisher]

I have a 5" but if I did it again i would get a 10" if it was in the budget.

 

[FryDog62]

If I had to do again I would get an 8-10 inch screen with the ability to add  Livescope/Live Imaging. The time of year that I fish freshwater (winter/pre-spawn), the fish are moving and show up well on that technology. I also plan to fish salt where fish are always moving in/out with the tide along with seasonal migration. 

[Jmilburn76]

Helix 5 mounted to the rail on a Ram 1.5". Have it sitting fairly close to me but a larger unit would always be nice as my vision changed after my head injury last year.

[GTN-NY]

I had the same problem with the hook5. I couldn’t see the screen with my old eyes. I moved up to a Garmin 7. The unit seems big but I can see it

[casts_by_fly]

Helix 7 on a yak attack mount with an extra arm.  I have the base mounted pretty far up the rail but the extra arm brings it back closer to me when I sit.  When I’m standing fishing I pivot at the bottom pivot and the screen is almost waist height. 
 

i would go bigger to do it again or when this one dies. When I am moving around and mapping a lake with autochart and trying to learn the bottom, I want gps, side scan, and 2d running. I can do it now with a 70/30 split in favor of side scan, but a 9” screen would be better. When I a fishing I’ll usually just leave side imaging on with a slow scroll rate so I can take a peek every now and then if I missed a piece of cover (especially the side of the boat I’m not fishing primarily)

[Boomstick]

I have a 9" Garmin EchoMap mounted on the dry pod of my Bonafide SS127. It's a pretty standard setup for this kayak. Because it's center mounted, the 9" unit doesn't get in the way.

 

My kids have the 7" EchoMap that is side mounted. The 7" units work but the 9" might get in the way on the side track.

 

I definitely like the 9" screen, it's easier to see especially when I am running sonar, downvu and sidevu all together which is a common display for me

[Koz]

19 hours ago, Choporoz said:

Garmin 73SV mounted on rail near my right thigh.  It is only in my way on rare occasions skipping or jerking when my boat alignment is less than good 

 

 

I started with mine in that same place, up close to my seat on the right side, then moved it to the left side because I'm usually casting to the left and I can easily see the screen while fishing.

 

However, that means it's a tighter space between the unit and the pedal drive when I'm reeling in a fish, so for this weekend I'm going to go back to the right side. But since the arm is mounted to my CellBloc I have to take it apart first. 

 

But - I'm also thinking about getting some velcro and mounting the CellBloc to that either behind or under my seat. This will allow me to mount the transducer arm and the unit lower on the rail.

 

So many choices...

[DogBone_384]

I have a Hook2 5” on my older Lure 11.5 and an Elite Ti7 on my Overdrive model.

[padlin]

I have a 5" but need to squint to see it, forget it if the sun is out.

[Bankc]

I have a Hook2 5, and it's fine for me in my kayak. 

 

First, if you haven't had your eyes checked in a while, do that.  Almost everyone will eventually experience a decline in eyesight as they get older, and lots of problems can be fixed or treated.  

 

Secondly, do you have a sun shade on it?  I have to have a shade on mine, or it's useless on most days, even cloudy ones. 

 

Third, make sure you're not wearing polarized glasses, or if you are, take them off when viewing the screen.  Polarized glasses don't get along with LCD screens, because LCD screens are polarized themselves. 

 

If all of that checks out, then the best you can do if go to the store and try out a couple of fish finders in the store.  Test them from the distance that you've got yours mounted at to see how they compare.  Also, test the 5" screens at the store to get a baseline, as the store's lighting will be a lot better behaved than what you'll experience on the water.  It might also be wise to cut out a piece of carboard and place it over you existing fish finder and sit in your kayak with it, to get a feel for how big is too big.  

[J Francho]

I have a 5 and a 7, and the 5 is plenty. 

[Koz]

4 hours ago, Bankc said:

I have a Hook2 5, and it's fine for me in my kayak. 

 

First, if you haven't had your eyes checked in a while, do that.  Almost everyone will eventually experience a decline in eyesight as they get older, and lots of problems can be fixed or treated.  

 

Secondly, do you have a sun shade on it?  I have to have a shade on mine, or it's useless on most days, even cloudy ones. 

 

Third, make sure you're not wearing polarized glasses, or if you are, take them off when viewing the screen.  Polarized glasses don't get along with LCD screens, because LCD screens are polarized themselves. 

 

If all of that checks out, then the best you can do if go to the store and try out a couple of fish finders in the store.  Test them from the distance that you've got yours mounted at to see how they compare.  Also, test the 5" screens at the store to get a baseline, as the store's lighting will be a lot better behaved than what you'll experience on the water.  It might also be wise to cut out a piece of carboard and place it over you existing fish finder and sit in your kayak with it, to get a feel for how big is too big.  

 

I wear glasses and have my eyes checked regularly. I can see the screen fine in sun or shade, but it's hard to pick out the detail. And here I am talking about side scan. I have no issues seeing sonar or down scan. And no, no polarized glasses. Just my regular eyeglasses.

 

[Bankc]

On 5/2/2022 at 4:32 PM, Koz said:

 

I wear glasses and have my eyes checked regularly. I can see the screen fine in sun or shade, but it's hard to pick out the detail. And here I am talking about side scan. I have no issues seeing sonar or down scan. And no, no polarized glasses. Just my regular eyeglasses.

 

Just the side scan?  I had a problem with the side scan on my Hook 2 recently.  It slowly stopped showing detail over the course of two years.  It would still show the bottom and all of the bottom contours, but the bottom started to look barren, even when I passed right by a tree.  Turns out, my transducer was wearing out.  I've learned with these Lowrance Tripleshot transducers, they're pretty fragile.  Don't run them out of the water, and don't allow them to bang on things.  Replacing my transducer fixed it.  I also got the BPS "extended warranty", which I almost never do, because I figure I'll be replacing it again in another two years.  

 

Also, you may have to turn up the contrast on the side scan or adjust the palette.  I have my contrast usually around A5-A10 (auto plus 5-10).  Especially if you have it set to 800 kHz, which seems to not produce as bright of an image as the 455 kHz.  

 

Or maybe you're right and you just need a bigger screen.  Even if it is a transducer problem, replacing the whole system might make more sense in the long run.  I considered it, but didn't want to spend that much money just yet.

[Fishingmickey]

Running a 93SV side mounted w/1.5" ram ball.

FM