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Best Kayak Fish Finders Reviewed
Getting out on the water for a day of fishing from your kayak is about as good as it gets. If you are a technical angler, who reads the water and tries to think like a fish, then a reliable kayak fish finder can give you a big advantage in bringing that next big catch to the boat.
Kayak fishing is like a solo seek-and-destroy mission. We love it, and so do thousands of other anglers around the world. Getting your hands on the best kayak fish finder for your boat is important in keeping your kayak highly functional, and preventing clutter.
Thankfully there is a strong collection of fish finders for kayaks on the market today. Kayak fish finders come in a variety of sizes and capability levels that makes them fitting for a wide variety of fishing kayaks.
Beyond just fitting your kayak nicely, quality fish finders for kayaks offer excellent features that you would expect to only find available in larger models and permanent installations.
Once you find a productive fishing hole, getting back to it the next time can prove a little challenging. Having on board GPS to set waypoints takes the guess work out of that equation. Reliable sonar and image reproduction can show you promising subsurface structure and detail, so you can get the drop on feeding fish before they suspect anything.
Helpful technology and functional design has made a huge impact in the world of recreational fishing over the last decade. From absolutely incredible fishing kayaks, and the fish finders made specifically to optimize their performance, somehow the fishing seems to be more and more fun all the time.
With that in mind, the Rowing Inc team put together a short list of our favorite fish finders for kayaks. These are our picks for the top 5 fish finders on the market today, and the features and capabilities are sure to satisfy even the most selective angler.
Top Fish Finders For Kayak Comparison Chart
Best Kayak Fish Finders
1. Humminbird HELIX 5 CHIRP GPS G2 Fish finder
Humminbird HELIX 5 Fish finder
The first fish finder we will be reviewing is the Humminbird HELIX 5 CHIRP GPS G2. This fish finder has a whole bunch of great features to explore. The first of which is a 5-Inch Colour WVGA Display to give you a clear view even if you are slightly visually impaired. This fish finder comes with a GPS chart including clever cartography to give you the clearest view of the ocean below.
If you want to save waypoints and hot spots, you will be able to use the SD card to store maps, allowing you to visit the same place again in the future. This fish finder has a target separation of 2.5 inches.
Imaging sonar within this fish finder will show a clear view of the ocean or lake bottom, allowing you to assess length and depth of the waters below with accuracy. For ease of use, this fish finder comes with a transducer as well as mounting hardware.
Humminbird Basecamp has been built into this fish finder and collates important data for freshwater life, allowing you to get a real time understanding of the life underneath you as you row out. It will bring you the in-depth landscape and animal knowledge that gives you the confidence you need to venture out.
The only thing to watch out for when buying this fish finder is the clips that hold the cables. If you want to ensure that the cables stay clipped to the unit, it may be worth ordering some extra clips to keep as spares.
Check out the features of the Humminbird HELIX 5 CHIRP GPS G2:
2. Lowrance HOOK2 Fish Finder
Lowrance HOOK2 Fish Finder
The Lowrance HOOK2 Fish Finder is a good choice for many reasons and has some impressive features for customers. This fish finder has a split shot transducer and a 7 inch size making it easy to view. The transducer can be mounted to the hull of the boat allowing for a detailed view of the waters below.
This fish finder offers an incredibly wide CHIRP sonar coverage that gives you a view twice as wide as the others on the market. This makes it a great option if you want to see far and wide. In terms of use, this a great option even for novices as it has a phone-like display that is super simple to navigate.
For customers in the US or Canada, you can also enjoy preloaded mapping for key areas making it easier to navigate with ease. As well as pre mapping, this fish finder offers autotuning allowing you to spend less time fiddling with the settings before you gain a great overview of the area.
Save your favourite spots and routes with SD card memory allowing you to visit the same places over and over without having to start the whole process again.
For those who are new to using a fish finder this is a good option as it is easy to install and guides you through the whole process. Even at full speed you will be able to read the screen with clarity to ensure you don’t miss anything while on the water. This is also a suitable fish finder for ice fishing.
3. Garmin Striker 4 with Transducer Fishfinder
Garmin Striker 4 with Transducer Fishfinder
Garmin is one of the bigger names in the navigation arena and this fish finder has a lot of great features for you to enjoy. The Garmin Striker 4 comes with a transducer that can be mounted to the hull.
The sonar system of this fish finder is impressive and will offer an almost photographic view of the water around you including peaks and troughs in the ground below, This allows you to gain an accurate view of the water without being in it. CHIRP sends ongoing frequencies into the depths so that you don’t miss a thing and the image you see is always accurate to what is down below.
For those who are new to using a fish finder you will benefit from a simple display and buttons that are similar to that of a phone. It is easy to use and accessible to all levels. As well as this you will be able to use the detailed waypoint map to navigate different routes and find locations of interest in the water.
If you want to monitor your boat’s speed as you go, you can do this easily on the screen of the fish finder to ensure you always know what you are doing on the water to ensure you don’t go too quickly for any lure you are using.
One of the biggest advantages of this fish finder above some of the others on the market is that you can take it anywhere. It co0mes as a portable kit so this means you can take it out with you whether you are on a boat, canoe, or kayak. It is suitable for ice fishing too.
For those who like to travel, this is possibly the best option for a fish finder because it is so easy to bring along with you always. It will allow you to keep on track of your own movements whether you are going by boat or canoe and it ensures that you won’t get lost out on the water. It has no issues when faced with rainfall and offers a sturdy option for you to take along in all terrain.
4. Deeper PRO+ Smart Sonar Wireless Wi-Fi Fish Finder
Deeper PRO+ Smart Sonar Fish Finder
For the more experienced or more adventurous out there, the Deeper PRO+ Smart Sonar Wireless Wi-Fi Fish Finder is a reel winner (pun intended). This professional fish finder offers many amazing features for intrepid explorers and offers the most detailed and deep scan of the waters than any other on the list.
This high spec sonar unit is incredibly impressive and it is able to sync effortlessly to both Android and iOS devices allowing for a streamlined service. This fish finder can be used for both regular fishing and ice fishing, and can even be useful on the shoreline.
As all of these fish finders do, this one comes with a built in GPS system that allows you to create and view in-depth maps of the surrounding area and plan your routes accordingly. The inbuilt memory will also allow you to store your favourite waypoints and journeys so that you can access them easily wherever you are.
Enjoy some of the most reliable connectivity of all of the fish finders on the market, making sure that you don’t fall short when you are out on the waters. Scan a depth of 260ft and build a picture perfect view of the waterscape below your boat. When you cast out on the water, you will be able to identify the depth of any spot and this can allow you to fish without using a marker float they may otherwise alert the life below of your presence.
You will be able to save your data on the Cloud and access it with the Fish Deeper App. This will allow you to access and analyse your data from anywhere. This is a great feature for those who want to be able to explore deeper depths as well as unknown territory safely.
5. Vexilar SP200 T-Box Smartphone Fish Finder
Vexilar SP200 T-Box Smartphone Fish Finder
The last fish finder we are going to discuss is the Vexilar SP200 T-Box Smartphone Fish Finder. This fish finder is a good option for those who want a more permanent fixture to their boat and is powered by a 12 volt supply that is not included. It comes with a 2 year warranty for the product itself as well as a year warranty for the battery to allow for a safe investment.
If you are looking for a fish finder that can hold other accessories, this is the ideal option and features holes ready for such things. This includes a pre-tapper transducer hole.
The T-BOX SP200 has some great features to consider if you want a new fish finder for a good price. First of all its SonarPhone system allows you to integrate your phone of mobile device with the fish finder to create a sonar display of the waters around you. You can literally use your phone as a sonar system and scan the waters below with incredible depth and accuracy to paint a picture of the waterscape below.
You may be worried that with the fish finder connecting to your phone you would struggle in areas with less signal but this is not the case. You’ll be glad to know that the technology within this fish finder means that you do not need any signal for it to work.
For an even more helpful experience, the fish finder comes with a neoprene armband for your phone so it is always safe and always ready to go. It features sounded alarms when fish are present to ensure that you always know what’s going on around you and you don’t miss anything big. For an affordable price this easily rivals its more high-end competitors.