With so many different features (and such a variety of pricing options) choosing the best kayak fish finder to suit your wallet can be a daunting task. Perhaps this guide can help you find a clear answer with a bit less stress?
Important: As an Amazon Affiliate, I may earn around a 4% commission from qualifying purchases made using links on this page - this doesn't increase the item price for you - and is a good way to support future content if you find the article helpful (thank you). One thing that doesn't pay is for me to make bad recommendations...
Best Kayak Fish Finder: Premium Option
Garmin ECHOMAP UHD 73sv
An astonishing set of specifications - packed into a yak-friendly 7" (touch-screen) display. The screen is big enough to see everything clearly, while not taking up too much of the precious space available in a fishing kayak. You get:
It even supports Panoptix LiveScope sonar if you wanted to add that via separate purchase that lets you see your lure as it is retrieved (and eaten!) in real time. Given all this performance, the ECHOMAP UHD 73sv is actually a surprisingly reasonably priced "Premium" contender for best kayak fish finder.
Use the buttons below to check availability, further specs and current pricing (and make sure to select the particular transducer you want bundled with your unit):
Best Kayak Fish Finder: Mid-range Pick
Lowrance Hook Reveal 5 (with Splitshot or 83/200 Transducer)
NOTE: For the full Mapping Function, you need to select the "5" and not the "5x" option.
In order to retain a ton of performance while saving a chunk of change - a smart move is DON'T sacrifice too much of your budget to a larger screen. A 5" screen is a great compromise for being able to see for a solo kayak angler (and actually being a very convenient fit for the available space on a fishing yak).
However, to make a substantial saving - you'll need to miss out on the Side-view scanning and settle for Down-scan only on the Splitshot and 83/200 models (see the next option below for a surprise way to get Side-Scan though...)
Splitshot transducers have a slightly wider cone, while 83/200 have a narrower cone; though both are certainly focused on what is going on BELOW the boat.
The other area of price saving is the lack of touch-screen operation. However, the buttons are well laid out and give good functionality.
Because it has a good transducer (particularly for this pricepoint), you're already starting from the foundation of good signal capture. A fancy screen can't display crappy/poorly-resolved data and make it more useful. Use 800kHz for finer resolution (with the lower frequency for increased range).
Check out pricing, bundle options and availability via the buttons below (remember to get the "5" to get the full mapping functionality)
Mid-Price WITH SIDESCAN: Lowrance Hook Reveal 7 TRIPLESHOT
The performance of the Hook Reveal 5 has going for it PLUS:
Best Kayak Fish Finder: Budget Option
Garmin STRIKER Plus 4
So what if I told you there was a super-budget (super-compact) kayak fish finder with INBUILT GPS and Garmin's Quickdraw Mapping??
In reality, for this pricepoint, you can almost stop reading at the Quickdraw mapping facility and be in a decent position to make a decision...
So there you have it, three great fish finders (well, three plus one optional extra model tweak!) hopefully to suit all budgets. I hope that whatever fishfinder you choose it leads to many great fishing adventures and memories.
Paul
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