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Lowrance Vs Humminbird Vs Garmin-Best Fish Finder Reviews

	Lowrance Fish Finders	Humminbird Fish Finders	Garmin Fish Finders
Unique Defining Features Of The Brand	● Best fish finder for ice fishing. ● Best imaging function. ● Big size variety. ● Have pre-installed local area base maps ● Have the highest peak power output of 32,000 watts. ● Have C-Map Genesis premium custom mapping function for creating contours.	● IOS and android smart fish finder app. ● High-resolution touch screen display. ● Have the largest screen size option of 15.4 inches. ● Best scanning options; MEGASide imaging, MEGADown imaging, Side imaging, Down imaging, Dual spectrum CHIRP, Dual-beam plus, and Dual-beam.	● High-resolution touch screen display. ● Best technology with ClearVu scanning sonar function. ● Have the Quickdraw contours mapping software that’s handy when mapping large and small water bodies.
Pros	● Built with ice anglers in mind for a better ice fishing experience. ● Operates on high power output which increases efficiency and performance. ● A variety of size options to consider. ● The pre-installed local area base maps.	● The android app increases access and efficiency, thus you can use your phone to access mapping features. ● Have a high-resolution screen display which ensures you clearly see everything under the water. ● The models with large screen sizes enhance efficiency and ease of use.	● Top-notch scanning technology enhances underwater visibility. ● A high-resolution screen helps with a detailed view of underwater features. ● Quickdraw contours make it easy to fish in both large and small water bodies.
Cons	● The newer models have less advanced technology capabilities compared to the older models.	● The models are quite expensive.	● Lack of inbuilt maps affects the ease of navigation thereby reducing your fishing efficiency.

Think about this for a moment!

What is the best fish finder brand in the market? Lowrance Vs Humminbird Vs Garmin

You have tried everything…you have searched everywhere, but still, it feels like you are banging your head against a wall.

If it is still a hurdle choosing the best depth finder in a market that’s flooded with several brands then you are in the right place.

The ideal top rated fish finder should not only be fancy but an excellent deal for;

• Easy navigation on the water.
• A remarkable depth of reach.
• Reliable power output.
• A large and clear display, and
• It is easy to operate.

I have compiled a comprehensive analysis of three brands of the best fish locators in the market.

General Overview and History – Best Fish Finder

But before getting into the tiny details. How about a flashback to where it all started? Here’s a sneak peek of the history of the top three fish locator brands in the market.

1. Lowrance Fish Finders

Lowrance was established in 1957 and is a leading producer of marine electronic equipment. In particular, Lowrance manufactures sonar receivers, GPS receiver, and digital mapping systems.

But what makes it unique from other brands is its high definition systems (HDS). Also, it has remarkable high-performance add-ons such as Broadband 4G radar, structure scan, side scan, and down scan imaging.

But that’s not all.

Some others include; Sonic Hub Aucho, Sirius LWX-1 weather, and NAIS Collision Avoidance.

Lowrance is owned by Navico Corporation after it merged with Simrad Yachting back in 2006. Currently, the company has a good employee base that supplies marine equipment to over 100 countries globally.

2. Humminbird Fish Finders

This company and fish finder brand was established in 1971 by Tom Mann and a couple of like-minded investors. Like many other companies, they had a humble beginning where they started in a garage store.

In its early years of establishment, this brand was associated with giving priority to what fishing enthusiasts really cared about. This is seen in the way the company inquired with her customers on what they wanted.

The response was less complicated units that are easy to operate and have a user-friendly display. This marked the beginning of a lifetime of transformation. Today, these features flow from one product to another.

Also, Humminbird has been responsive to technology. First, it was the first to introduce waterproof fish finder equipment.

Second, it’s among the first brands to use an LCR screen display. And third, it’s the pioneer in the use of 360 degrees sonar technology.

3. Garmin Fish Finders

Garmin Company, previously known as ProNav, was founded in 1989 by Gary Burrel and Min Kao and is headquartered in Kansas, USA. Its first-ever customer was the US army where it sold GPS units.

Therefore, the key defining feature of Garmin is the GPS technology which is consistently fused in its products. Besides the marine space, it has other products related to wearables such as wristwatches and aviation.

Others include; use in automotive, sports and fitness, and in outdoor recreation. The GPS technology makes it possible to experience the ease of navigation when you have a Garmin product.

In the marine space–our primary concern–it has a variety of GPS enabled devices that make fishing an exciting adventure.

Some of these include; GPSMAP plus, ECHOMAP UHD, PANOPTIX Livescope, and ice fishing bundle. Others are; US/Canada LakeVu G3, Bluechart Trolling G3, amongst many others.

With Garmin, you will have a range of fish locator equipment at your disposal. More importantly, its GPS technology will help with easy navigation and improved productivity.

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Product Variety – Lowrance Vs Humminbird Vs Garmin

Lowrance, Humminbird, and Garmin understand market sentiments. Consequently, they have come up with the right fish locator products that answer specific concerns that fishing enthusiasts have.

What do you really care about as an angler? One or several of these products is designed to meet that. So, let’s find what each brand has to offer.

1. Lowrance Fish Finders/Series

Compared to other brands, the Lowrance fish finder has the most number of products in the market. This means that if you decide to go by them, you will have a plethora of options to choose from.

This also implies that they have wide global coverage. Since they’re in high demand, you won’t fail to find one or two products from your local store.

Below, I delve deeper into some of the key depth finder products in the Lowrance series.

a) Hook Reveal

This product is designed with casual anglers in mind. More so, it’s perfect when you love going fishing over the weekend. Probably, this is the only free time you have to engage in what you love— fishing.

Besides, it’s also good for freshwater fishing and inshore coastal fishing. Therefore, if you go fishing in such areas, you only need to buy one equipment that will serve you well.

Plus you don’t need a big fishing vessel. A kayak or a small fishing boat is pretty all you need.

b) Hook2

This is an improved version with better features. One key improvement is in sonar technology. Whereas the former models only covered a limited sonar cone angle, the Hook2 model can cover up to 44 degrees.

This is almost twice its predecessors making it the go-to fish finder for more productivity and catching of more fish.

c) Elite Ti2

Elite Ti2 is designed for avid anglers and is ideal for deep or shallow water fishing in freshwater or saltwater. On a cool evening over the weekend, this is the fish finder that you wanna grab for an exceptional experience.

Besides, it’s easy to use and it comes with 1-foot contours for over 4,000 lakes in the US.

d) HDS Live

HDS Live is made for more committed anglers and for tournaments. It’s ideal for saltwater and freshwater fishing and the best fit for large watercraft for saltwater fishing and freshwater fishing.

Consequently, it features 1-foot contours for over 4000 lakes and additional 10-foot contours for 11000 lakes and a complete mapping of coastal waters.

e) Castlable Fish Finder

This comprises a series of other fish finders such as Deeper SMART SONAR pro, ReelSonar wireless Bluetooth smart fish finder, and many more.

Like other fish finders, it uses sonar technology to show the graphics of underwater objects such as fish and other structures. Besides, the models are easy to use and a good match for deep-water fishing.

*Check out Best Fish Finder for Kayak

2. Humminbird Fish Finders/Series

Humminbird fish finder series comprises a couple of products with a display of 5 and 7 inches.

However, out of these, the majority have a display of 7 inches, operate on side imagining technique, and other advanced features.

Below are some of the depth finder products in the series.

a) Helix Series

Helix Series is known for advanced technologies that create a livable fishing experience. By this, they are easy to use and make fishing fun and easy.

Among the key features include; Dual spectrum CHIRP sonar, inbuilt GPS, mega networking, and Ethernet networking.

b) PiranhaMax Series

This a high-performance Humminbird fish finder product series with a display screen of 4.3 inches. Also, these products have more pixel power and a couple of mounting options.

They have side imaging, mega imaging, and down imaging operation techniques that enhance their performance. This also makes them reliable and dependable depth finder equipment.

c) Solix Series

Solix series features better and advanced technology in operation. This enables MEGA imaging, cross touch keypad, auto chart live, networking capability, and Bluetooth connectivity.

For a memorable experience, these are the features you need for the best fish finder. Also, this technology makes it easy for Minn Kota i-pilot-link and CHIRP Radar.

d) Ice Series

Ice series is ideal for fishing in snowy environments. Therefore, during winter, you can still continue enjoying your fishing hobby.

Depth finder products in this series operate on advanced CHIRP sonar, GPS, and mapping technology. This makes ice layer a walkover and thus you can see what’s beneath.

3. Garmin Fish Finders/Series

Compared to other brands, Garmin has a few fish finder products in the market. The products in this series have varying screen sizes which range between 4 and 9 inches.

Below are some of the products that you’ll find in this series.

a) Garmin Striker Series

Garmin striker series features 7 products with more features and they come at affordable prices. The products in this series include; Garmin Striker 4, 4cv, 4dv, 5cv, 5dv, 7sv, and 7dv.

Besides, they have an excellent navigation system and are easy to operate. You can create your own fishing routes through waypoint marking so that it’s easy to navigate when fishing.

b) Garmin echo MAP

Garmin echo MAP series comprises a range of models with new and better features. It’s these new features that set apart Garmin echo MAP series from other Garmin fish finder series.

The main units in this series are; 93sv, 73sv, 73cv and 63cv. And among the main improvements is the inclusion of touchscreen capability in the 7 and 9 in unit models.

c) GPSMAP Chartplotters

These models feature advanced HD-ID ™ Sonar, CHIRP Sonar, ClearVu, and SideVu Scanning Sonar. These ensure high quality and clear images of underwater features.

Also, they feature radar packs such as Radome and open ray radar packs. In turn, this high definition digital technology is a key contributor to high-quality radar images.

d) Garmin Panoptix Livescope

This model operates on the versatile Panoptix technology which makes it possible to have multiple-directional scanning and delivery of real-time sonar images.

It can scan both in the forward direction, backward direction, sideways and downward direction. Also, its images are of high resolution and easy to interpret.

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Fish Finder Features- Lowrance Vs Humminbird Vs Garmin

Lowrance Vs Humminbird Vs Garmin fish finders, which is the best depth locator for a fishing venture? The best way to tell is by comprehensively analyzing the features of these products.

That’s what you’ll discover in the next section. So let’s get going!

1. Lowrance Fish Finders

Display

Lowrance units have screens that are customizable according to one’s preferences and needs. Therefore, you can split a screen up to 4 times for viewing options such as CHIRP Sonar scanning and other mapping needs.

Also, the units have high-resolution screens with touch screen capabilities.

Scanning Techniques/Capabilities

Lowrance units operate on structure scan, side scan, and down scan. These scanning techniques make it possible to see underneath images of objects.

Side scan is used for viewing objects within the boat circumference. The down scan is useful for seeing all objects below the boat and the structure scan provides detailed structural images of objects.

Another technique is liveSight that is helpful in displaying the real-time view of baits and fish movements.

GPS Capability and Navigation

Lowrance units have inbuilt GPS functions that help in navigation on the waters. They also come with access to pre-installed local area base maps that you can use for the identification of landmarks.

With the GPS function, it is also easy to mark out waypoints that you can later use for mapping purposes.

Power Output

Output power and transmission depend on the fishing unit’s transducer capability and the purpose for which it’s made. These units operate on between 32 W and 30,000 W.

Therefore, higher power output is necessary for units that are meant for deep water fishing. While for shallow water fishing, relatively low power output is enough.

Screen Size

Lowrance fish finder units come in varied screen sizes. As new units are launched into the market, each comes with the intent of solving a specific shortcoming in its predecessor (s).

Therefore, Lowrance fish finder units vary between 3.5 inches and 9 inches screen size. Depending on size, these units are made for either amateur weekend anglers or professional fishing enthusiasts.

Mapping

Lowrance units feature premium mapping solutions that are made possible by the C-MAP Genesis custom mapping. This feature enables fishers to create fishing contour maps for their preferred fishing destinations.

You can use C-MAPS for unchartered waters and surveillance of already mapped out waters. Also, C-MAPS are reliable as they offer accurate information that’s needed for successful fishing.

2. Humminbird Fish Finders

Display

Humminbird units have varied display sizes and designs depending on the model type. Also, these units have multi-split high-resolution screens with touchscreen capabilities in some models.

Moreover, there’s an option of a fish smart app that is available for ios and android users. This app makes it possible to view your chart maps and mapped out areas in the comfort of your house or any other place.

Scanning Techniques/Capabilities

Humminbird Fishing units have an inbuilt Sonar with image scanning and 2D scanning capabilities.

These include; MEGASide imaging, MEGADown imaging, Side imaging, Down imaging, Dual spectrum CHIRP, Dual-beam plus, and Dual-beam.

GPS Capability and Navigation

Most Humminbird fish finders have an inbuilt GPS Receiver with the exception of a few models like Helix and PiranhaMax.

Nevertheless, this doesn’t apply to all Helix and PiranhaMax units as the majority have GPS functionality.

Power Output

Out power and transmission vary in every unit and depends on functionality and transducers in use.

Therefore, these units have a power output range of 500 watts RMS and 1000 watts RMS and 4000 watts and 8000 watts peak to peak.

Screen Size

Screen sizes vary depending on the model type and fish finder units found in the series. The display sizes vary between the range of 4.3 inches and 15.4 inches.

Mapping

Humminbird series features inbuilt accurate maps for enhancing the fishing experience.  These are the Humminbird base map data for 10000 US lakes and complete US coastal coverage.

These units also feature the Autochart Live and the Autochart LiveShare which are helpful in mapping out one’s real-time location and waypoints for favorite fishing areas.

Other features are the Smartstrike and Lakemaster mapping techniques.

3. Garmin Fish Finders

Display

Garmin units have varied display design depending on the purpose of the fish finder unit. They also have high-resolution screen types for clear images.

Other defining features are the touch screen and screen multi-split capability which allows you to display more than one operation on the screen. The touch screen feature is available in a few units.

Scanning Techniques/Capabilities

Garmin units feature a couple of scanning methods for accurate results of underwater images. These include; CHIRP Sonar, SideVu, ClearVu, and 2D standard scanning.

These scanning methods ensure high-quality clear images of fish, their location, and other water structures.

GPS Capability and Navigation

Garmin fish finder units have inbuilt GPS feature functionality that can be used to track one’s current location.

GPS function makes it easy to mark out waypoints of places of interest that you can later use for mapping purposes.

Power Output

Garmin fish finder series have different power output levels depending on their purposes and functionality. In a nutshell, they have a power output range of between 100 watts RMS and 1200 watts peak to peak.

This range varies between different units where some have a higher power output while others have a low power output.

Screen Size

There are different brands in the Garmin series and each with its own size capacity. This is influenced by the intended purpose of the fish finder unit.

These models have a screen size range of between 4 inches and 24 inches for optimum satisfaction.

Maps

Garmin units feature a Chartplotter function that is helpful in mapping out one’s preferred fishing area. Also, some units have LakeVu capability with fishing information map data for some lakes.

These units have the Quickdraw ™ contours mapping software that you can use to map out both large and small fishing water bodies.

*Check out Best Garmin Fish Finder

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Ease of Use – Best Fish Finder

Fish finder equipment companies understand that users want equipment that’s easy to operate.

That’s the reason all they care about is creating products that are user friendly. Nevertheless, this is relative as you’ll find out in a few.

1. Lowrance Fish Finders

Lowrance units feature a touchscreen technology and operates on super-fast data processing. This makes the configuration of these units an easy endeavor.

Also, they have network connections through WI-FI and Bluetooth and structure map capability. This is helpful in creating your own map data for easy navigation and easy information sharing.

2. Humminbird Fish Finders

Humminbird units are powerful and offer a remarkable experience during ice fishing. You can clearly see detailed images of all the objects under the ice layer.

Also, they have a versatile touchscreen and keyboards that support gesture capabilities. Depending on the situation, you can easily tap, pinch, or swipe to execute an operation.

3. Garmin Fish Finders

Garmin units feature the Active Captain App that’s compatible with android and ios smartphones.

This app is useful in networking and you can use it to access Garmin chart plotters, your charts, maps, and the boating community.

Also, the user interface is versatile and features clearly labeled buttons for easy execution of functions.

Price – What is The Best Fish Finder for The Money?

Let’s find out!

1. Lowrance Fish Finders

Lowrance fish finder units give other brands a run for their money. One, some of its units especially the high-end ones have dual operation capability.

Therefore, you can use both the touch screen and buttons to operate them. Also, they have excellent CHIRP, Downscan, and built-in GPS.

2. Humminbird Fish Finders

There’s an unending tussle of supremacy between the Humminbird brand and the Lowrance brand. Both are spectacular in their service and product delivery. However, there are some slight differences.

Humminbird units have top-notch side imaging fish finder capabilities, reliable customer service and they’re easy to operate.

3. Garmin Fish Finders

Compared to Lowrance and Humminbird fish finders, Garmin fish finder is a new kid in the block. Nevertheless, it offers remarkable depth finder unit solutions in the fishing industry.

Garmin’s selling points are the highly sensitive inbuilt GPS receivers and the CHIRP Sonar technology. Also, it has much better customer service as compared to Lowrance and Humminbird brands.

Advantages and Disadvantages – Lowrance Vs Humminbird Vs Garmin

Like all products in the market, Lowrance, Humminbird, and Garmin fish finder brands have both advantages and disadvantages. Let’s take a look!

1. Lowrance

Advantages

• Rugged and small-sized units— get access to a range of fish finder units depending on your interest. Whether you’re a weekend angler or a professional fisher, there’s a unit that suits you well.
• Comprehensive customer support— fully functional and easy access to complimentary customer support. Some of the services include; replacements of parts, and upgrade and replacement of defective products.
• Versatile use— Lowrance units can be used both in freshwater fishing and saltwater fishing. Plus, you can use them in small and big watercrafts alike.
• It’s possible to split the screen into four parts and use the parts to display and view different operations simultaneously.

Disadvantages

• Varying technology abilities— some newer units only have bigger screen sizes with poor technological functionality.

Actually, some older models have smaller screen sizes but are more reliable than the newer units.

2. Humminbird

Advantages

• Technological revolution— Humminbird units are flexible to new technology and easily adapt to new technological needs. For better performance, Humminbird was the first to adopt the side imaging scanning and 360-degree sonar technologies.
• Fish smart app— this app enhances usability by making it easy to access and view chart maps on your android or ios smartphones. The best part is that you can do this from anywhere.
• Easy navigation— units feature base map for 1000 US lakes and a complete mapping data for US costal coverage. These two make fishing in these areas an easy endeavor.

Disadvantages

• Quite costly— Humminbird units are more expensive and probably won’t attract you when you are on a tight budget.

3. Garmin

Advantages

• Reliability— Garmin units exhibit high levels of dependability in multiple ways. One, they are waterproof hence not affected by downpours or water immersion. Two, they operate on high power output which enhances scanning capabilities. Lastly, they have inbuilt sensitive GPS receivers for easy navigation.
• Outstanding customer service— Garmin brand has the best customer service among fish finder units. They are known for carefully listening and responding to customers’ plight. From troubleshooting to setting your unit or airing out an opinion, you’ll definitely get customer support and attention.
• Advanced scanning— Garmin units feature CHIRP Sonar technology which provides detailed images and structures of objects under and around the boat. These scanning techniques include; SideVu, ClearVu, and the traditional 2D CHIRP scanning.

Disadvantages

• Lack inbuilt maps— Garmin fish finder units do not have inbuilt local area maps for easy navigation. Therefore, you’ll have to create your own waypoints which you can use for mapping.

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Best Fish Finder Reviews: Lowrance Vs Humminbird Vs Garmin

1. Lowrance Fish Finder Reviews

a) Best Budget Fish Finder: Lowrance Hook2 4X

Hook 4x unit features well detailed built-in US maps for 3000 lakes. With these maps, you can find roadbeds, depth changes that make your fishing endeavor an easy venture.

Also, these maps are useful in finding and easily accessing your favorite fishing spots.

Besides, it comes with a micro SD slot that you can use to save your marked out waypoints, routes, and trails. You will find this important for easy storage and access.

It’s easy to use and dependable. It features an auto tuning sonar setting capability. Therefore, this will give you more time for fishing that you would otherwise use on setting the unit.

Also, they have a high-resolution display screen that gives a clear view of images of fish and other water structures.

Pros

• Large display of high resolution.
• High clarity images.
• Micro SD for storage.

Cons

• Doesn’t have GPS.

b) Best Value: Lowrance Hook² 5 with SplitShot Transducer

This model features pre-loaded US maps with access to detailed information for 4000 lakes.

These maps have a 1-foot contours interval which makes it easy to determine the topography of the lake. More importantly, this will help you determine where the fish are hiding.

Also, this model is easy to operate. It features an auto tuning sonar which lifts the burden of setting the depth finder off your plate. Its interface is more like a usual smartphone and is user friendly.

It operates on a powerful sonar technology thus can easily extend over a wide coverage. This is made possible by its CHIRP Sonar cone with a wide-angle and covers twice more than the traditional depth finders.

Pros

• Large display of high resolution.
• High clarity images.
• Preloaded US maps.

Cons

• It’s quite costly.

Premium: Lowrance HDS-7 Gen 3

This fish finder features an advanced depth finder technology that is best for simultaneously viewing. Therefore, you can use both CHIRP sonar and Structure scan 3D or HD to see clear images of fish and structures.

The best part is that this technology supports both down scan and side scan hence you’ll get the image report for both directions.

Also, it operates on a dual-core processor hence is super-fast to execute operations on time. This ensures that you get immediate feedback for quick decision making.

It features an inbuilt GPS antenna with a high degree of accuracy. This GPS receiver will help you capture accurate trails and plot out precise routes for easy navigation.

Pros

• High-quality images.
• Fast executions.
• Accurate GPS function.

Cons

• It only works within the US.

2. Humminbird Fish Finder Reviews

a) Best Budget Humminbird Fishfinder: Humminbird PiranhaMax 4

This unit operates on the high power output of 2400 watts PTP and 300 watts RMS. This enhances its transmission abilities thereby allowing you to access deeper waters.

Also, high wattage output contributes to high quality and detailed images for a better fishing experience.

Besides, it has a large display screen of 4.3 inches, that’s also of high resolution. This ensures that you get a near-exact image of how the objects look like in reality.

This fish finder unit operates on dual-beam sonar technology. Therefore, you can either use a narrow beam or wide beam for detailed images or a wide area coverage.

It’s also easy to operate and it features a tilt mount. You can use this to adjust the unit to face the direction of your choice.

Pros

• High-quality images.
• Wide area coverage.
• High power output.

Cons

• Not GPS enabled.

b) Best Value Fish Finder: Humminbird Helix 5

This unit has a wide display screen of 5 inches that enables you to view large representations of images. This is also helpful in displaying details of underwater features.

Moreover, the screen is of high resolution thereby giving you the benefit of clear and well-detailed images.

It has dual beam sonar capability thus you can use either narrow beam or wide beam depending on what you’re targeting. All in all, this feature is helpful in getting detailed images and wide area coverage.

It has an inbuilt GPS function that is accurate and helpful when mapping out your waypoints, routes, and favorite fishing spots.

Besides, it comes with micro SD storage that you can use to save waypoints and optional maps. You won’t need external storage when you buy this fish finder.

Pros

• High-quality images.
• Micro SD storage.
• Accurate GPS function.

Cons

• Limited mounting options.

c) Premium Humminbird Fish Finder: Humminbird Helix 7

This unit features a large screen display of 7 inches and high screen resolution for clear and detailed images. The screen is also colored thereby giving you a true image reflection of the fish and underwater structures.

The screen is dual split enabled and you can use it to view different operations simultaneously. Also, you can use it to assess the level of turbulence, water temperature, and water depth.

Moreover, it features the mega down imaging technology. This will enable you to experience incomparable underwater clarity of images and structures. Note that this is powerful enough to reach a depth of 125 feet.

It operates on dual spectrum CHIRP Sonar that offers two ways of scanning. These are the wide mode for maximum coverage and narrow mode for detailed images.

Pros

• Large display.
• Incomparable underwater clarity.
• Dual Spectrum CHIRP Sonar.

Cons

• It’s not compatible with Minn Kota i-pilot link.

3. Garmin Fish Finder Reviews

a) Best Budget Fish Finder: Garmin Striker 4 with Portable Kit

This is a portable fish finder unit with multiple display screen size options. You can opt for the 3.5, 5, or 7 inches screen sizes. This gives you a wide range of options to choose from.

Also, it’s easy to use and to install in your watercraft. It has a keypad interface with clearly labeled buttons. Moreover, it is easy to create waypoints, maps, and routes for easy navigation.

It operates on CHIRP Sonar that facilitates wide-area coverage. This will also play well to ensure you have quality clear images of fish and other underwater structures.

Pros

• An affordable fish finder with high-end features
• High-quality images and clear structures.
• Easy to set up and use.
• Displays temperature, depth and speed
• Ideal size for portability
• It can store up to 5000 waypoints

Cons

• Doesn’t have inbuilt maps.
• Small screen size

b) Best Value: Garmin Striker Plus 7cv

This fish finder unit features a large display and has a friendly user interface. Its screen size measures 7 inches and is multi-split enabled.

You can have up to three screens on display with different operations showing simultaneously. It’s also bright, and sunlight-readable thus you won’t struggle to operate it when there is a lot of brightness.

It has an inbuilt Quickdraw contours mapping software that you can use to create and store maps of 1-foot contour intervals. Also, you can create maps that cover an area of 2 million acres.

It features an inbuilt GPS receiver that’s sensitive. You can use this to mark out waypoints, routes, and other areas of interest like fishing spots.

Pros

• Large display that provides high clarity images.
• LED backlight for better readability in direct sunlight
• Sensitive GPS.
• Can save up to 5,000 waypoints;
• Has route and track recording functions
• Can calculate the speed of your boat
• Easy to install

Cons

• It doesn’t come with preloaded area maps.

c) Premium: Garmin echoMAP Plus 93sv

This fish finder unit features a large touch screen display of two sizes– 7 and 9 inches. This gives you more than one option to choose from according to your preference and needs.

Also, it is Ethernet networking enabled. This allows you to share information such as waypoints, and sonar data with other users.

Moreover, it features the active captain mobile app. This app will enable you to gain access to maps and to update or buy new maps.  You can also upload, save, or share your map data with others using this app.

Pros

• Large screen display.
• High clarity images.
• Active captain app facilitates data sharing and acquisition.

Cons

• Ethernet sharing is limited to new units only.

Alternative: Raymarine Fish Finders

Raymarine is one of the global fish finder product manufacturers. These products are made with recreational users and commercial users in mind.

Furthermore, the company deals with a number of marine electronics for fishing. Amongst them are products such as;

• Element Hv.
• Axiom Family.
• RVX10003D Sonar.
• CP Sonar modules.
• Marine Radar.
• Lighthouse 3.
• Lighthouse sport.

Advantages

• Suitable for freshwater fishing.
• Suitable for Inshore and offshore coastal fishing.
• Products are carefully designed to help in visual navigation.
• Products have high-performance sensors.
• Have multi-functional screens.

Disadvantages

• It may be costly if you’re on a budget.

Best Raymarine Fish Finder: Raymarine Dragon Pro 7

Raymarine Dragon Pro 7 features a large display screen of 7 inches and has a high-resolution definition for high-quality clear images. The screen is bright and allows viewing from any direction or angle.

It’s made of strong and sturdy materials and is also waterproof marked. This implies that it’s resistant to both complete immersion and downpour water. Therefore, it won’t get damaged if it comes into contact with water.

Also, it’s one of the best fish finder GPS combos in the market. This is useful in providing real-time location data on the speed of your watercraft. Overall, it facilitates easy navigation.

Pros

• Large screen display.
• High clarity images.
• Sensitive GPS function.

Cons

• It doesn’t have preload maps.

The Bottom line

So what does all this mean?

Finding the best fish finder brand need not be a frustrating experience anymore. By reading this guide, you’re already set in the right direction.