Kayak Fishfinder - GPS - Sounder Recommendations

[Gavmania]

Striker plus has quickdraw contour mapping. Makes your own chart . All too techo for my low brow knuckle dragging intellect.

Yup this looks great - got to see a garmin up close and personal - Anzac day - I was blessed to be asked out on a friends smartwave - and he had a garmin striker 5 I think - really clear and the easy 'mark' button with waypoints to show where you've been is just what I think I'll use.

Thanks Dedant this is up the top of the list for me.

Great to actually see one working and the features explained while on the water.

soooo much better than sifting through youtube.....

[Schiskafish]

Garmin striker 4Plus. Doesn't have maps but you can scan your own maps with their unique live mapping technology giving you contour lines, waypoints, fish spots etc. Great unit for $299. Plus uses CHIRP technology

N.B Make sure it's the 'plus' model. Go to Burnsco

[Gavmania]

Garmin striker 4Plus. Doesn't have maps but you can scan your own maps with their unique live mapping technology giving you contour lines, waypoints, fish spots etc. Great unit for $299. Plus uses CHIRP technology

N.B Make sure it's the 'plus' model. Go to Burnsco

ahhh thanks that might be the ticket for a cheaper entry. ta muchly

[Slugyak]

Keep an eye on Marine Deals as just got the 4cv with Chirp for a good price just got to find enough GOOD days to learn how to use it lol

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

[Marc N]

Garmin striker 4Plus. Doesn't have maps but you can scan your own maps with their unique live mapping technology giving you contour lines, waypoints, fish spots etc. Great unit for $299. Plus uses CHIRP technology

N.B Make sure it's the 'plus' model. Go to Burnsco

When you say, scan your own maps, do you mean, you can get some on a computer and download them to the 4Plus? or is it, just showing you where you've been?

Belay that: I've just checked and the interaction is done with ActiveCaptain and WIFI, WIFI only comes on Striker 7 cv and 9cv.

So anyone car to hazard and opinion on the best - between a Garmin Striker 4 Plus and a Lowrance HOOK2 4x Fishfinder/GPS Tracker ??

[Marc N]

Rabbit hole this is - as I emerge, blinking into the light, after a night's internet research -

It would seem that, but for some good basic fish finding and very simple waypoint logging, +/- a few frills, fishfinders don't get interesting, until the price rises to about $400 and then, to get the "Good" stuff, like actual chart plotting and 3 different ways of looking at the fish, one needs to spend considerably more.

The following is just my humble opinion: Lowrance HOOK2 4x GPS - vs - Garmin STRIKER Plus 4 GPS

They both appear similar in function, the Garmin would have the edge on the quality feature set, but it's tiny. The Lowrance is to be bigger and easier to use.

Any one care to wade in and comment?

[Marc N]

So after another burst of high intensity research - I've fallen for the Garmin Striker 5cv Plus - it'll be a Christmas present.

Whilst I was watching all the youtubery, i found some thing interesting, none of the folk know what kHz means.

Hang you head in shame, if you don't know the abbreviation, for Kilohertz.

[Marc N]

And now the budget expands - Garmin STRIKER Plus 7sv is looking like it's the one.

I post my thinking below, in the hope that it may help others considering the costs and benefits.

In the Garmin 7sv, you get - traditional sonar , "down and side" scan hi res, also you can make your own maps, of where you are and have been, plus gps waypoints and tracks and can WIFI these to your smart phone and then to the ActiveCaptain free community, to transfer waypoints n tracks back and forth. About $800 depending on where you buy.

The Lowrance Hook2 7" Tripleshot (with charts) - does the same but no WIFI, so microSD card and buggering around with all that, to transfer waypoints with what? - no ActiveCaptain. But it does come with Aus/NZ charts, and is about $200 more.

I want to be able to mark fishing spots and see what's down there.

I'm in a Kayak, I don't need to set out from Birkenhead and see all the reefs between Auckland and Paihia. The charts that are provided in the Lowrance, will necessarily be old, like a year or two.

The Garmin will show me what's there now - and with sidescan (bend mind, to understand how to read that) you can see all sorts of close to near, almost photographic stuff.

My process could be, use aqua maps on the phone when at home to look at charts and make waypoints for where I think the interesting bits are - WIFI them to the Garmin - head out in the Kayak and use the unit's capabilities to expand on the Waypoints. I don't need charts to navigate like a Gin Palace does.

[twobarefeet]

I had been going through the same process, I had my eyes on the Striker 4, managed to convince myself to spend the extra on 5 buuuuuuuuuttttttt now the 7 is looking the goer. Mainly for the wifi to my phone etc (gadget geek).

I have also looked at the slightly cheaper Striker 7cv (I'm not sure how much use sidescan will be to me at this stage, but weighing up if the extra $100 is worth it or not.

Main concern is having a 7inch finder on a kayak and the setup/mounting options? Would be keen to hear how you are going to mount it or if anyone else has a 7inch mounted on a Ultra 4.3 or similar, keen to see some photos etc.

Thanks

[Marc N]

I had been going through the same process, I had my eyes on the Striker 4, managed to convince myself to spend the extra on 5 buuuuuuuuuttttttt now the 7 is looking the goer. Mainly for the wifi to my phone etc (gadget geek).

Yes I'm a geek too, I've discovered that Garmin Active Captain website (GACWeb) and Garmin Active Captain App (GACApp) and the 7sv are quite interoperational, but with codicils.
As for the Quick Draw tracks, they sync up and down for 7sv<> GACApp<> GACWeb - Okey Dokey
As for GPS points and routes, I'm told that most can go down hill to the device, GACWeb>GACApp>7sv . But Garmin support, reckons you can't send GPS points and routes uphill to the GACWeb. mmmm

I have also looked at the slightly cheaper Striker 7cv (I'm not sure how much use sidescan will be to me at this stage, but weighing up if the extra $100 is worth it or not.

I though that also, but then I realised how to read the side scan. So if I understand, all of what we see on the FFinder is past history, so we've got to turn around and go back to the fish, unless we are moving up current when the bait/lure will drift back to the fish. So the side scan means that I can be less precise about going back, as it gives a much wider area to go back to...

Main concern is having a 7inch finder on a kayak and the setup/mounting options? Would be keen to hear how you are going to mount it or if anyone else has a 7inch mounted on a Ultra 4.3 or similar, keen to see some photos etc.

Here's a photo of my Hummingbird in the 'yak, the wires go into the tackle box and the battery is in there and there's a transducer scupper in there too. with the transducer mounted in it, into a recess on the bottom of the 'yak.

FFinder.jpg (92.75 KiB) Viewed 1506 times

So c/o photoshop I've worked out that I can fit the 7sv in the same spot.

FFinderNEW.jpg (95.93 KiB) Viewed 1506 times

Humminbird 19cm wide Garmin 7sv 24cm wide

[SitDown]

So if I understand, all of what we see on the FFinder is past history, so we've got to turn around and go back to the fish, unless we are moving up current when the bait/lure will drift back to the fish

its easy to stop your kayak when you see sign while going over it, usually the school you see will have a few slackers not keeping up with the bunch, drop your slider down straight away once stopped, usually you will be rewarded.
Takes a bit of practice & organization of rod placement on your yak, but its easily doable....

[AndrewRawlingson]

Hopefully the sign is big enough that you will still be over it when you come to a stop. As SitDown says, drop a slider down and boom! You're away (most of the time). Fish finders and vertical lure fishing techniques make fishing too easy

[Marc N]

Thanks Gents, coming from a traditional 'sit a squid bait on the bottom and wait', background, the tips you've offered will be very valuable

[Marc N]

And then at about double the price of the Striker Plus 7sv there's the Garmin echoMAP Chirp 75SV - which as far as I can see, is the same as the Striker Plus 7sv, but with navigation charts.

I think if I had a boat that would go 20 km in a day, I'd get the echoMAp version, but for Kayaking, $600 ~ $700 extra just for charts is excessive in my book.

Used to be, when I had a handheld Garmin, for terrestrial GPS travelling in South East Asia, you could get maps n stuff, off the web and bung 'em in yer device, these days, it looks like the big companies, have bought up all the data and are reselling it to you and me for $600~$700 a pop... good work if you can get it.

Test

[sk8e8]

Nice choice of FF. I've run 3 or 4 Lowrances, and since then 3 Garmins.

I always found mapping to be quite good, although for some time I used my phone. Does the Striker Plus come with QuickDraw? If so, that, along with Navionics on the phone would be fine.
Syncing with the phone is also very nice, seeing messages etc.

I never had Side Scan on a kayak, but were I to get another one (it's on the cards), I would def put in a side scan unit. Since your speed is so much slower on a kayak compared to a Jetski or Boat, being able to more easily find STRUCTURE is massive. Finding fish, I find easier with the traditional sonar.

Good luck!

[Marc N]

Nice choice of FF. I've run 3 or 4 Lowrances, and since then 3 Garmins.

Having a lot of time on my hands, I've gone deep deep deep into the research, even watching the Russian youtubery with the sound down, to see some of the comparisons they've been doing.

I always found mapping to be quite good, although for some time I used my phone. Does the Striker Plus come with QuickDraw? If so, that, along with Navionics on the phone would be fine.
Syncing with the phone is also very nice, seeing messages etc.

Yes QuickDraw, great idea that, also I've looked at a lot of the charts and apart from bigger rocks, they don't really show much detail. From the research, I reckon that with side scan (SideVü on Garmin), there'll be huge amounts of detail available, in conjunction with the QuickDraw, I'll be very happy. So way-pointing on the AquaMap and then transferring to the Garmin, via Active Captain, will allow me to pick out spots that are of interest using the lesser detail of the charts, then, side scan and quickdraw to see what's really there.

I never had Side Scan on a kayak, but were I to get another one (it's on the cards), I would def put in a side scan unit. Since your speed is so much slower on a kayak compared to a Jetski or Boat, being able to more easily find STRUCTURE is massive. Finding fish, I find easier with the traditional sonar.
Good luck!

Yes and my impression, in the rabbit hole of research, is that the Lowrance are generally of lesser ability at the same price point but look more appealing at about $500 more for the same/similar features. The RayMarine and Hummingbird look tricky to understand and are again about $500 more for the same/similar features.

Lastly the transducer :: the Garmin GT52HW-TM looks to be the most desirable, having 1 x traditional, 2 x side scan and 1 x down scan elements, some 7sv units are being sold with the GT20-TM or other, which does not use a dedicated down scan element, but "mashes" the two side scan elements for the same effect. There is much debate on the inter web about whether or not this matters, I'm going with the GT52HW-TM on the basis that this is what Garmin recommends.

for those interested the transducer guide is at this pdf - https://www8.garmin.com/marine/PDF/tran ... _guide.pdf

and for every feature you get by moving up a model designation, add $100....

Cheers

[sk8e8]

Nice research!

My second Garmin on my jetski was an echomap 95sv and I put in the GT51M transducer. It's a FANTASTIC transducer, although expensive.
So much so, that when I bought my boat, I got another one. I've also put in a low chirp 1kw transducer for the deep stuff.

If you can upgrade the transducer there, it'll give you all the options later on to upgrade the headunit - I doubt you'd even need to change the transducer again.

The GT52 = Traditional 250 W; ClearVü/SideVu 350 W
The GT51 = CHIRP Traditional 600 W; ClearVü/SideVü 500 W

The 51 is Med chirp rather than HW, so will give you better depth readings too.

Although it is more expensive - an extra $200 or so.

[Marc N]

Thanks for the advice.

Can I ask, what is it about the Lowrances you don't like?

Re: The GT52 and the GT51 yes, but as my Kayak is not really an offshore model, I'm not likely to need the extra grunt of the 51 as I'm unlikely to get to fish, in much more than 100~200 feet let alone 500 or 750, 1,000 or 1,800....

Also, the onscreen nature of the Garmin notifications, am I correct in reading you, that txt messages on the phone, will be notified on the FishFinder screen? But presumably not able to be answered on the FishFinder?

And "...options later on to upgrade the headunit ..." yes please.

[Marc N]

[quote="Marc N"
Lastly the transducer :: the Garmin GT52HW-TM looks to be the most desirable, having 1 x traditional, 2 x side scan and 1 x down scan elements, some 7sv units are being sold with the GT20-TM or other, which does not use a dedicated down scan element, but "mashes" the two side scan elements for the same effect. There is much debate on the inter web about whether or not this matters, I'm going with the GT52HW-TM on the basis that this is what Garmin recommends. for those interested the transducer guide is at this pdf - https://www8.garmin.com/marine/PDF/tran ... _guide.pdf
[/quote]

Further - on the transducer.

It would appear that Garmin was producing the CV52HW-TM, without a dedicated down-scan element and using the two side-scan elements to produce the down-scan or "ClearVü" functionality.
Lowrance and Garmin went to court, as Lowrance were of the opinion that Garmin infringed on it's patent, that allowed for the two side-scan sensors to combine to provide the down-scan functionality.
The net result is that Garmin (at least on the NZ web site) do not appear to offer the CV52 any more, it's not included in their transducer guide either.
Garmin support told me that the CV52 and the GT52 were the same but named for different markets. NZ etc = GT52 USA = CV52.

If I visit the USA site and the NZ site separately, (Tor Browser) they do indeed bundle the two differently named transducers separately for each market.

Also the part number for each bundle is different.

GUSA.png (102.99 KiB) Viewed 1021 times

GNZ.png (98.06 KiB) Viewed 1021 times

So, is the CV52 old stock? does it have the dedicated down-scan sensor? Who knows.

I've got the GT52 bundle coming shortly, but short of putting a saw through the transducer, I'll never know if it's got the dedicated down-scan sensor.

BTW the pricing, allowing for exchange rates and GST is about the same.

I thought that the above, may interest somebody.

[sk8e8]

Thanks for the advice.

Can I ask, what is it about the Lowrances you don't like?

Re: The GT52 and the GT51 yes, but as my Kayak is not really an offshore model, I'm not likely to need the extra grunt of the 51 as I'm unlikely to get to fish, in much more than 100~200 feet let alone 500 or 750, 1,000 or 1,800....

Also, the onscreen nature of the Garmin notifications, am I correct in reading you, that txt messages on the phone, will be notified on the FishFinder screen? But presumably not able to be answered on the FishFinder?

And "...options later on to upgrade the headunit ..." yes please.

Oh I liked them just fine. Just the quickdraw was a game changer for me.