Do you really need a fish finder on your kayak? There are really a few things that I would like to consider before answering this question.
- Where are you fishing?
- What kind of waters are you fishing?
- What are you fishing for?
If you fish a lot of smaller lakes with shallow grass, you don’t necessarily need to spend money to get the best kayak fish finder.
Now, fishing on bigger lakes that have deeper and clear water, investing in a fish finder will be very beneficial for you.
On a larger water body, you will easily be able to see at what depth the fish might be holding at. You can also see what depth you are actually sitting in.
And as you know, this information is very important if you want to have a great time fishing. With that being said, here is a list of some of the best fish finders for kayaks.
Table Of Content
- 1 Top 10 Best Kayak Fish Finders 2020
- 1.1 1. Garmin Striker 4 – Best GPS Fish Finder
- 1.2 2. Deeper Smart Sonar PRO – Best Fish Finder Under 300
- 1.3 3. Vexilar SP200 T-Box Review – Best Fish Finder Under 200
- 1.4 4. Garmin Echo 300c – Best Fish Finder For The Money
- 1.5 5. Raymarine Dragonfly 4 Pro – Best Fishfinder For Kayak Fishing
- 1.6 6. Signstek FF-003 – Best Portable Fish Finder
- 1.7 7. HawkEye Fishtrax 1C Review – Best Fish Finder 2020
- 1.8 8. Lowrance Mark-4 – Best Fishfinder GPS Combo
- 1.9 9. Raymarine Dragonfly-4 Pro – Chirp Fish Finder
- 1.10 10. Lowrance Hook-4 – Best Castable Fish Finder
- 2 How To Choose The Best Kayak Fish Finder?
- 3 Frequently Asked Questions
Top 10 Best Kayak Fish Finders 2020
1. Garmin Striker 4 – Best GPS Fish Finder
This fish finder just makes it a whole lot easier to find fish. It allows you to mark your favorite spots which means that you can come back later and fish in those places.
This fishfinder comes with a GPS of very high sensitivity and so allows you to navigate very easily with the waypoint map. This will help you to go through locations like docks, brush piles and stumps and very quickly so.
This map will also help you to find your way quickly back to your boat. In addition, the screen which this fishfinder comes with is also designed so that you can see the speed of your boat.
This will help you to know whether or not you are going at the right speed. The Sonar history rewind helps to go back to the memories whenever you want. It lets you go back through sonar images so you can go back and mark waypoints you missed the first time.
There is also Garmin CHIRP transducer included providing better clarity and detail. The chirp transducer can also send a continuous sweep of frequencies with different ranges instead of just one. What’s more? This fishfinder comes with a portable kit that allows you to simply pack it and carry it anywhere.
2. Deeper Smart Sonar PRO – Best Fish Finder Under 300
Deeper Smart comes with an integrated GPS. With this fish finder, you can simply sit on the shore of the water you want to fish in and map it out and figure out which parts of the water you want to fish in.
All you need to do is cast out your fish finder and reel it in, and you can clearly see the depth of the water. It also comes with a good Wi-Fi connection to let you transfer data to your tablet or phone, so you can have all the information you need while you fish.
No matter the angle you are using, the Deeper App helps you to convert your data to one that is easy to analyze. This also comes with sensitivity and fish alarms that let you know when the kind of fish you want is around, so you can easily get the kind of fish you want.
The wide beam scanning frequency also helps to make sure that you can cover large areas in a short period of time. This makes sure that you can save time and energy while still having a very productive fishing experience.
The rechargeable battery it comes with can also last for up to 5 hours before going out making sure that you can fish for long hours before any interruption happens.
3. Vexilar SP200 T-Box Review – Best Fish Finder Under 200
If you are looking for a kayak fish finder to work easily with your smart devices, then this fish finder is one of your best bets and will do really great.
Vexilar can work hand in hand with your smartphone to get sonar readings. It uses patented Wi-Fi signals to transfer data to your tablet or smartphone, so you can also be sure of a good connection.
It even has an app that you can download into your phone for free from the App Store and which works with both iOS and Android devices. It also comes with a neoprene armband which enables you to have safe and easy access to the display of your phone at any given time.
It includes an indicator to tell how deep the water is as well as its temperature at a point in time. There are also audible alarms to let you know when the fish of your choice is within reach.
This will save you from the trouble of struggling to find just what you want. It will also help to save your time and energy. These alarms are also included to let you know the strength of your battery as you fish.
4. Garmin Echo 300c – Best Fish Finder For The Money
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This one works perfectly if you are on a budget and don’t want to spend a lot. If you do not want to break the bank just to get a fish finder, Garmin Echo has your back.
It also comes with a very clear display as well as a great tracking technology to let you see clearly into the water, track the fish and pick which one you want.
You can also be sure that you will not lose sight of the sonar history as depth ranges change. This fish finder is also very easy to install.
You simply need to use its versatile trans mount and its transducer, and it’s quick release tilt mouth which is both included in the box. This fish finder is quite really simple to use and makes for a good fishing experience. Great value and ease, all in one package.
5. Raymarine Dragonfly 4 Pro – Best Fishfinder For Kayak Fishing
GPS navigation, advanced dual channel CHIRP sonar, and high definition back-lit display are some of the things you can look forward to on this kayak fish finder.
These are definitely some of the most important things a good fish finder should come with. This fish finder will provide you with a clear vision of the underwater, so you can easily sight which fish you want to catch.
Apart from just being able to sight fish, you will, of course, be able to see other elements under the water and know what you are dealing with.
You will also get great precision guidance with its built-in 50-channel GPS, so you know exactly where to go and where you can choose to let go. In addition, there is a built-in Wi-Fi, so you can stream sonar live and straight to your tablet or smartphone.
This fish finder will in all, provide you with an excellent vision of the underwater, helping you to easily locate your prey and have a good catch. If you are looking for that simple and easy fishing companion to assure you of a great catch and a wonderful fishing experience, you just might have found it. So, Raymarine Dragonfly 4 Pro is the best fish finder for the kayak.
6. Signstek FF-003 – Best Portable Fish Finder
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Whether you are a pro or just a newbie to the fishing business, this fish finder will work perfectly for you. It is quite really easy to use and works in all bodies of water from lakes to ponds to oceans and rivers.
It also uses sonar technology to help you find the perfect spot for you. Also, it uses sound waves to display the contours at the bottom of the water, to indicate how big or small a fish is as well as to tell the temperature of the water.
With this, therefore, you can tell what water temperature you have to deal with, the contours at the bottom as well as the size of fish to look forward to.
This will also help you to decide whether or not you want to go on with a particular fishing spot. It also comes with an alarm to let you know when there is a fish as well as how deep a particular spot is.
With this, therefore, you can certainly not miss the fish you have been looking for. You will also love that this fish finder comes with a good LED display for a perfect viewing experience.
7. HawkEye Fishtrax 1C Review – Best Fish Finder 2020
This comes with very great features to help identify the best fish dwellings. You will, therefore, be led, with this, to that perfect place where you can find all the fish you want and then you can choose.
This comes with a full-color high definition VirtuView TFTN display to provide a perfect clarity of vision. It also includes an auto-zoom tracking button which makes prey targeting a whole lot easier since you can just zoom in on it.
It comes with three operating modes to make sure that you can catch more fish no matter the environment you find yourself in. It also has two operating frequencies to help in fine-tuning sonar readings whether you are in deep water or shallow water.
In addition, it includes alarms to let you know when the kind of fish you want is close-by. It also comes with a soft touch interface to enable you to set your fish finder to just the way you want to have it.
There is an intelligent sonar included so that you can tweak your fishfinder to any fishing technique or platform you want whether it is a kayak, a boat, a canoe or any other. It also allows you to add accessories for this purpose.
8. Lowrance Mark-4 – Best Fishfinder GPS Combo
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Here is another excellent fish finder to help you go through the waters and find just the right kind of fish. This uses its LED grayscale display to provide you with a very excellent viewing experience no matter the boating condition you are in.
You can just be sure that no matter what the case is in the water, you will be able to see clearly with this. It includes an ultra-accurate internal GPS antenna as well as a quick release tilt.
The menu it comes with is also really easy to use so even if it is new, you should not have any problems finding out how to use it.
Therefore, whether you are a pro with fishing and fish finders or you are just new to it, this fish finder will show you just how to use it. This fish finder is a very excellent asset to help you track and find the right fish easily.
You can be sure that it will provide you with overall excellent fishing experience. If you are a newbie looking for which fish finder will suit you best, you might want to consider getting this. And if you are a pro, that’s fine too.
9. Raymarine Dragonfly-4 Pro – Chirp Fish Finder
This one is another excellent kayak fish finder which also comes with a good Wi-Fi connection, so you can easily share sonar readings to your phone without any hitches.
And more than just that, you can also just rewind and save the days catch on your and share later with your friends and family. It is also optically bent to provide sharp colors as well as wide viewing angles.
Therefore, this will allow you to see your prey from a variety of angles and know exactly how it truly looks. In addition, this fish finder is designed to keep away any internal fogging, so nothing blurs your vision.
There is also a temperature sensor to help you know what temperature the water is at. It also comes with maps for various waters so you can easily navigate locations and go through the water to pick your preferred spot. .
There is, in addition, a Micro SD memory card reader which you can use to save sonar screenshots. This fish finder provides good connectivity, excellent viewing as well as a remarkable fishing experience. And you will definitely really love how it can help you to save memories to share with your friends and family.
10. Lowrance Hook-4 – Best Castable Fish Finder
Lowrance is another great fishing companion you should not regret buying. This is a high-resolution fish finder that also comes with an excellent four-inch color display.
It provides an excellent view of the boat to let you see your target fish as well as other elements under the water. It also comes with a down scan overlay technology which helps to downscan the imaging on to the chirp sonar.
There is, also included, an advanced signal processing system to enable you to see the fish as well as the structure and the bottom of the water clearly without needing to adjust the settings manually.
This provides for a stress-free fishing experience. With this fish finder, you can also just easily go back to see sonar history including location, fish target as well as structure.
It also comes with a multi-window display to let you choose from a number of pre-set page layouts according to what you want. This fish finder will let you go through the water with ease, providing an excellent view so that you can make the perfect catch and in good time.
Great viewing, a perfect history tracking as well as a perfect catch are some of the things this fish finder is sure to give you.
How To Choose The Best Kayak Fish Finder?
So, you are shopping around and looking for the best finder for kayak or just checking out YouTube videos and reviews online and still don’t know which one to get, let me save you all that time and effort.
In this section, I’ve compiled all the information that you need to know when shopping for a kayak fish finder and possibly find the best one for your needs. Here are the things that you should consider.
Budget
First off, how much money are you willing to spend on a fish finder? How often are you actually going to use the unit? Don’t buy them for the looks or just because everyone has one.
Mounting a fish finder on a kayak looks cool alright, but if you don’t even know how to use one, don’t buy one. On the flip side, if you already know how to use one and know what you need it for, then consider how much you are willing to spend.
Having a kayak itself will cost a lot of money. On top of that, there are all the fishing accessories like rods, reels, baits, and other accessories. Combine all of those, and your kayak is already getting heavy enough.
I’ll talk about the weight later in this guide. For now, I’m just summarizing the basics. Now, calculate how much you are willing to spend based on what I just said.
Your frequency of use will greatly impact how much you are willing to spend for a fish finder. Go with the best one if you fish a lot. Or you can go with a mid-range model if you don’t fish very often.
Interface
This section includes both the screen and the buttons to navigate the fish finder. Whatever the model you choose, it needs to have great features. However, having all that feature won’t result in the best one.
The unit should also be easy to use so that a beginner can use with rather than just pressing a lot of buttons randomly. The interface should not have too many buttons, or else it will confuse someone who is just starting out.
The instructions should be clear and easy to understand. The screen should be large enough to see properly.
DownVision & Sonar
The Downscan or Downvision feature is the new technology that gives you a live image of what the sonar is picking up. Some will only have the traditional sonar, and for a beginner, reading the sonar data can be really confusing.
As a beginner, traditional is very hard to read, and that’s why you should select a fish finder that does downscale and traditional sonar. That way, you can learn what you see on the sonar when you run both the Downscan and sonar side by side.
To do that, having a large LCD screen helps a lot. Some fish finder will allow you to run them on top of each other.
Chart Mode & GPS
Some models will allow you to run Downscan and chart mode at the same time. For example, if you want to mark a specific place on the map, having the chart is helpful.
Raymarine fish finders come with Navionics. It gives you a preloaded card with data of any lake that you want to fish. Those data are really accurate and highly detailed. It’s not just Raymarine; there are other brands that also come with this feature.
Obviously, you would need GPS on your fish finder to do all the stuff that I just said. That’s why it’s a good idea to buy a GPS/fishfinder combo. Without a doubt, those units will be very effective and efficient.
Transducer
If you want to find the fish into the depths, the main component that does all the hard work is the transducer. It’s a sonar system that will shoot beams to any particular angle.
This angle can range from 9 to 60 degrees, and that’s why it’s important that you look at the cone angle. A bigger degree of the cone will allow you to larger areas. If you want to find fish in shallow water, go with a fish finder that has a transducer that can shoot wider beams.
Installation
The unit you choose should be easy to install. You already have enough things to worry about, and you certainly don’t want to add the frustration of installing a fish finder.
Fixed or Portable
There are some models that are small enough to fit into your pocket. That means you don’t have to worry about installation or to have a dedicated power source for your fishfinder.
The downside is that they will be less powerful. The fixed units are the best, but you will need additional accessories like a power source, mounting kits, and all that, but the result is worth it.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is the easiest way to mount a transducer on a kayak?
There are two ways that you can do this. You can attach it to your trolling motor, and there are some models that require you to attach them directly to the bottom of the transom.
2. Do I need a power source for fixed fish finders?
Yes, you will need a 12-volt marine battery to power your fish finder.
Final Verdict
What is the best fish finder for a kayak? It is a common question for all fishing lovers. The above-reviewed products are some of the best kayak fish finders there are on the market. If you are looking for that perfect fishing companion to help you navigate the water and find your best fish, then here, you have them.
These fish finders come with those essential features which every good fish finder should have to ensure a great fishing experience. Just go through the above list and take your pick and you can be sure that whichever one you pick will serve you just perfect.
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