Last Updated on January 6th, 2021
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The main highlight of the Raymarine Axiom 7 is the inclusion of Raymarine’s RealVision 3D sonar feature, giving you a very accurate, 3D presentation of what’s below your vessel.
The transducer also offers traditional CHIRP, down imaging, and side imaging besides the RealVision 3D sonar, giving you utmost versatility and accuracy.
This is the newest model from Humminbird (3rd generation), while the Helix 5 we’ve discussed above is from the 2nd generation. As a result, this is significantly more expensive, but also offers some new technologies and features.
This is probably the best fish finders you can find for the price. It offers dual beam technology and military-grade construction and it is manufactured by one of the leading names in marine electronics. It may not be the best looking, but it certainly worth it!
Another one from Garmin, but from the echoMAP product line, which is Garmin’s brand for chartplotter-fish finder combo, so we can expect more GPS and charting features compared to the Garmin Striker series.
The EchoMax 94sv offers a 9” WVGA screen with 800×480 resolution, ensuring a sharp, crisp display with a large screen.
Humminbird is certainly one of the biggest names in fishing industry, and the Helix 5 is it’s more affordable entry, with the high-end Humminbird Solix starts from $2,000.
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The invention of the fish finder is a technological blessing for all anglers. It increases the ability to locate the target fish, catch more fish, and turn the fishing experience into an enjoyable one.
After extensive testing, we have decided that the Deeper Smart Sonar CHIRP outperforms the Deeper Smart Sonar Pro+. That’s why this list of fish finders is an update.
Want to increase your fishing haul? Here we have reviewed various products to give you the best fish finders available on the market.
To help you in researching for the best fish locator options, here we have reviewed the best models available and made our top fish finder choices.
The biggest innovation this company has brought on the market is the introduction of the HD multifunction screen. In fact, they always adapt to new trends, imaging techniques like side-imaging and down-imaging. Many fish finders and sonar units are their products. They have become leaders in marine technology since their foundation.
They have added side-imaging and down-imaging as features to the CHIRP sonars. Their long list of fish finders saw adaptations with new imaging and technology. This trend went on with the introduction of some characteristics such as the Trackback. This feature serves to review picture-like sonar readings and 4G radar connections.
If you want to learn more about Lowrance fish finders, considered these reviews that we made:
We are once again talking about a pioneer company. The features they used for the first time are 360-degree sonar technology, modern LCD screens, and the waterproof depth sounder.
Although they still produce units for fishing, their product line has expanded to innovative features. Some of them are side-imaging, down-imaging, and huge 15-inch HD displays. They have done excellent work in the marine technology industry since 1971.
If you want to learn more, check out our Humminbird Fish Finder Reviews.
If you want to learn more about Humminbird fish finders, here is a list of related reviews we made:
Humminbird 541
Humminbird 595 c
Humminbird Helix 5 SI GPS
Humminbird Helix 7 DI GPS
Humminbird Helix 7 SI
They are the pioneers and current leaders in the promotion of GPS technologies. Different from their competition, they became a top class in the commitment to fish finders and similar products.
This company promotes fewer products, but their quality is always on the top. Their fish finders are the most exceptional and universal on the market and that is what brought them on our list. Their products with GPS units work for outdoor, aviation, marine, and automotive needs.
If you want to read more about Garmin fish finders, here are some of our related reviews:
Garmin Fish Finder Reviews
Garmin Striker 7SV Review
Garmin Striker 5DV Review
Garmin Striker 551DV
Garmin Striker 151DV
A world leader in high performance marine electronics for boating and light marine markets. Their products are made to deliver the very best in visual navigation information and with a legacy of marine navigation technology spanning over 80 years, Raymarine products are renowned today for their ease-of-use, rugged design, and reliability.
Their comprehensive range of marine electronics for both recreational boating and light commercial marine applications are available through a global network of dealers and distributors. Some of the best products they have for fishermen:
Generally speaking, all these companies bring us similar features. Dedicated GPS units, multi-panel displays, side-imaging, down-scanning, etc. can be a part of any bait. Yet, we would like to break this down for you to give you a much clearer vision of what to expect from which product.
Lowrance is a company bringing features that depend on the series and the size of the model. Its advanced models have brighter screens, quicker GPS, and stronger imaging for greater depths. All their fish finders have buttons while larger ones have touchscreens. Smaller units have DownView and Chirp, while the larger one has SideView as well.
Garmin is a company that will offer a very accurate inbuilt GPS which allows drawing your own maps. Although this one relies on waypoints and custom maps, it will bring you from point A to point B. Its smaller entities have both CHIRP and ClearVu, which is a type of down-imaging.
Hummingbird has products that reach amazing depths visualizing vegetation, objects, and everything around your boat. You will get Ethernet, Wi-Fi, and many more connections with it.
All their models offer intuitive control as the imaging is crystal clear. The differences generally come with the series they are offering. Their Solix models have both touch and physical buttons, while Helix models have only physical buttons. Down and side imaging is present on almost every one of their models.
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One of the best fish finders available with Quickdraw Contour Mapping software and integrated GPS. Its display has excellent visibility even under direct sunlight.
Portable, high-quality image fishfinder with a highly-accurate GPS and usable offshore. It is a cheap and handy device.
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It has a Bluechart G2 mapping chart. You can add your own maps via microSD. For the finder functionality, it offers a transducer for advanced side imaging features. You get clear imaging of what’s near your vessel.
Great if you want a big screen and the advanced chart plotting GPS features. Considered one of the best fish finder-GPS combos.
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It comes with a built-in GPS, allowing features like AutoChard Live. They create real-time maps of your prime fishing spots. You get access to the Humminbird LakeMaster maps database, and integration with Navionics.
Affordable option from Humminbird, ensuring reliability and quality. Very beautiful 5” screen and a great set of features.
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It features both side imaging and down imaging with CHIRP sonar which has two modes. It has a wide mode for shallow waters and a narrow mode for clarity and depth.
A great option if you are willing to spend more for quality, definitely worth the money.
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The transducer bears the name TripleShot for its 3-in-1 sonar capabilities: down-scan, side-scan, and CHIRP. The Hook2 CHIRP is special, offering a very wide sonar angle, doubling the cone angle of its competitors.
This option offers ease of use over all the rest as it has many functions that are easy to use and a great buy for intuitive anglers.
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Cheaper than the Garmin Striker 4 with a bigger screen. It doesn’t offer advanced technologies and features but is very reliable with traditional dual-band sonar.
The most affordable on this list. Yet, Garmin Striker 4 proves to be better.
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The transducer has 3 Frequency CHIRP – Narrow 675 kHz, Medium 290 kHz, and Wide 100 kHz. It has a wireless castaway design, perfect for land-based fishing, kayak, and ice fishing. It allows accurate scanning up to 330 feet in depth.
Excellent option if you are looking for a wireless castaway fish finder.
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The transducer of this durable and compact fish finder can cover a wide range of frequencies from 28kHz up to 800kHz. A premium product with state-of-the-art features.
Excellent option if you want more clarity in down-scan and side-scan functions.
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It is one of the most exciting products on this list. It pleases even those with a knack for ultimate sophistication. With a solid design and materials, this product is sure to last long and help you find fish swimming underneath.
Great high-end option, the RealVision 3D sonar is a major treat.
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Very light at 0.51 lbs, and can detect as deep as 131 feet. It comes with an iOS and Android app, but the features are basic with a single beam transducer.
The greatest aspects of the Joylog are its affordability and portability. A great option for beginners or as a back-up.
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You can always see what is passing below and beside your boat. The built-in Wi-Fi can pair with the ActiveCaptain app. It will provide notifications, access to Quickdraw Contours Community data, etc.
Gives a clear image of what is below even on the brightest days. You can navigate to any feature you need and be ready for everything you may catch.
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Comes with GPS, c-map essentials for charts, and Wi-Fi allowing anglers to stream sonar data with Raymarine Wi-Fish mobile app. The optical bonding LCD display delivers brighter colors, sharper contrast, and never fogs up.
Changing your underwater view, it will help you catch more fish. You’ll identify fish and underwater objects with clear images. The high-definition color LCD display will look sharp from every angle.
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Palm-sized, it’s the best fish finder under $200 with dual-beam scanning suitable for deep and shallow waters. GPS creates maps and scans to analyze, retrieve, save, and share.
By showing water depth and temperature, it helps you discover the bottom of the lake or river. You can watch if the fish are staying or moving elsewhere from baited areas.
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The ease of use is its key feature. The product is among the simplest to set up, regardless of your boat experience. Its size suits smaller boats and kayaks.
Getting something big and expensive doesn’t always work out well – sometimes smaller things are more efficient. This one should do an exceptional job for smaller needs, while not emptying your wallet.
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Has several mapping features for waterbeds and contours, GPS tagging, and an interactive map. Displays temperature, wind, rain, etc. You can share your findings on social media and eases group fishing.
Hits all the right marks and is ideal for almost any situation. From easy connectivity to lots of special features, it fits fishing lovers.
A fish finder has one core feature – to locate the fish, enhancing your fishing experience by allowing you to catch more fish. It has two parts: a display screen and a transducer.
Consists of a mountable transducer and display unit. Depending on the mounting type, you can attach the fish finder to the boat temporarily or permanently.
With this type, you get a small display unit and a portable transducer with temporary mounts. This type often operates on batteries.
Read more about portable fish finders here: Portable Fish Finders.
The transducer is an essential element for any fish finder – a device converting energy from one form to another. It converts electrical energy into sonar waves, and vice versa. Three factors are most important: mount type (also dictating material), cone angle, and frequency.
It is the width of the sound wave emitted into the water for your boat. The wider the cone, the larger the covered area. The deeper the sound wave goes down, the lower the intensity projected back to the transducer. Less accuracy produces image distortions.
It refers to the frequency of the sound wave emitted by the transducer. The higher the frequency, the wider the cone angle. If you want to fish in shallow waters, higher frequencies are better as lower frequencies are better for deep waters.
CHIRP (Compressed High-Intensity Radiated Pulse) is the most sophisticated sonar technology today. Standard sonar sends 1 frequency at a time. If you want two different frequencies, you will need two different transducers.
Read more about sonar fish finders here: Best Sonar Fish Finder.
Often, choosing a display is like choosing an underwater fishing camera. It’s also important to consider some technical factors like how well it presents the data. Another really important feature is the resolution of the screen.
Screen resolution refers to how many pixels a screen will display. The more pixels, the more details, and the smoother image.
Side-imaging fish finder allows scanning wider areas and seeing schools in great detail. Yet, the side-scan sonar won’t produce effective imaging in deep waters. This is where a down-imaging sonar comes in. It uses a single transducer emitting a powerful sound wave and is better for monitoring deep water.
It’s true that a portable fish finder that is comparable to a fixed fish finder will offer less quality. So, it’s best to focus on the main feature – portability. If you use the fish finder for smaller boats or kayaking, then the portable is a better choice.
A fixed/mounted finder is better if you want advanced technology. They are more stable, reliable, and a better choice for high-speed boats. They are more consistent and you won’t need to re-tweak the settings.
We are all familiar with GPS technology nowadays. Many models also offer GPS/Chartplotter feature, which provides various benefits:
Using a GPS—or Chartplotter—fish finder will be a different experience. Here are some tips you can use:
If GPS is a must for your device, check out our buyer’s guide for best fish finder gps combo.
If you use the fish finder on an open vessel, then water resistance will be an important factor. Check JIS or IPX ratings on the product’s specifications. An IPX rating of 4 means the device is safe from water, which won’t be enough if you are on a kayak.
A fish finder is a device using a sonar technique to find fish location underwater. It emits high-frequency sound waves and “catches” the reflecting wave to determine depth.
Some models offer GPS, and such models are chart plotter fish finders. The GPS will allow viewing the location on a map. It adds extra features like saving different locations and more accurate charting of the bottom.
There are fishfinder models based on several different factors:
Also, there are new technologies introduced every year that improve fish finders’ accuracy. Technologies like livescan and 3D scans improved the down-scan and side-scan methods.
Here are important things to consider:
Fishfinder transducers operate at ultrasonic frequencies from 50kHz to above 200kHz. Some can reach above 400kHz. The higher the frequency, the more detailed the results. Yet, the higher the frequency, the less depth it can cover.
Some transducers are waterproof, but some aren’t. In most applications, there’s no need for the display unit for water resistance, but there are various waterproof units available. They are useful if you are kayaking or fishing on an open vessel.
Portable fish finders won’t need any physical installation. They only need software calibrations and adjustments. For mounted/fixed units, at least the transducer must be mounted on the boat, and the process will depend on the mount type.
It is pretty common since a fish finder can locate various hazards like rocks and logs, which increases the safety of your kayaking. We can mount the transducer either within the hull, over the side, or through the scupper holes.
Read more about fish finders for kayaking here: Fish Finder For Kayaking
The most popular brands available today include Lowrance, Garmin, Humminbird, Deeper, and Furuno. Different brands offer different features suiting a certain fishing style.
Fish finders are an affordable solution to improve your haul. While there are many different types and sets of features, it’s best to figure out your needs first. The products we have reviewed above, as well as the buying guide, should help you make a better decision in buying your perfect fishfinder.
Want to read more reviews about fish finders and other exciting yet convenient and affordable fishing equipment? Check some of our other reviews to help increase your knowledge on the market:
Best Fish Finder For Small Boat
Side Imaging Fish Finder
Ice Fishing Fish Finder
Underwater Fishing Camera
We like to share product recommendations with you and hope you like them! Just to make you aware FishingLab may collect a small share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page.
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Best Fish Finder 2021 – Unbiased Reviews & Buyers Guide
We like to share product recommendations with you and hope you like them! Just to make you aware FishingLab may collect a small share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page.