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4 Best Kayak Fish Finder-GPS Combos

Buyer’s Guide | Kayak Angler

By Ric Burnley

After years poo-pooing electronics, anglers can take advantage of a new generation of kayaks specially designed for high-tech accessories. Lightweight, powerful lithium-ion batteries and space-age fish finder-GPS combos are small enough and tough enough to fit on kayaks. These powerful units are easy to use and simple to install.

[ See also: Guide To Kayak Fish Finders And Sonars ]

4 Best Kayak Fish Finder-GPS Combos

Lowrance Hook2 Triple Shot

Lowrance

Hook2 5-inch with TripleShot Transducer

$399 | lowrance.com

Marine electronics can be so complicated that most users never fully access their potential. Lowrance is one of the best at making their kayak fish finder interfaces simple and easy to use. At the heart of their Hook2 series is powerful Autotuning sonar technology.

Designed by pro anglers, the system adjusts sonar settings for optimal performance in any water conditions. Lowrance offers a dozen Hook2 models. We chose the TripleShot with CHIRP, downscan and sidescan sonar. On the GPS side, the TripleShot is preloaded with coastal and inland maps and offers basic navigation functions.

The 5-inch Hook2 model (pictured above) retails for a suggested price of $399, and other sizes are available ranging from 4 to 12 inches in width.

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[ Kayak Angler Buyer’s Guide: See all kayak mounts, tracks and accessories ]

Raymarine Element 7-inch HV Combo

Raymarine

Element 7-inch HV Combo

$749 | raymarine.com

As soon as Raymarine introduced the Element series, Drew Gregory and Greg Blanchard used it to win second and third in the KBF National Championship. One look at the HyperVision sonar display and it’s clear who has the highest resolution in the field.

With an impressive 1.2 megahertz, the Element turns up the resolution for crisp, high-definition images of structure, fish and even vegetation. Install Raymarine Lighthouse NC2 Mapping with Fishing Hotspots highlighting popular areas with insights from local anglers on species and tactics. We like the small, compact HV 100 transducer that is easy to install on a kayak.

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Humminbird Helix CHIRP Mega SI GPS G3

Humminbird

Helix CHIRP Mega SI GPS G3

$819 | humminbird.com

Another perennial contender for best kayak fish finder is the Helix series from Humminbird. As one of the first sonar to offer side imaging, Humminbird had a head start leading the pack. Their most recent MEGA technology allows anglers to see fish and structure 200 feet on either side of the boat and 200 feet down.

The high-frequency signal provides three-times more detail than competing systems. To control this power, Humminbird’s SwitchFire offers two pre-programmed modes to add or remove detail depending on water conditions. Base map is a little vague but the Helix can be upgraded with Humminbird’s LakeView or Navionics charts.

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[ Read more: Why You Need To Add Side-Imaging Sonar To Your Kayak ]

Garmin Striker Plus 7

Garmin

Striker Plus 7Cv

$499 | garmin.com

For the first time, Garmin installs their leading SideVu, CHIRP and CHIRP ClearVu in a single, compact transducer. The new Striker Plus is sized and designed to fit in kayaks and packed with features to make fishing easier. In addition to their crystal-clear display, the Striker has a large, clear screen easy to view at any angle.

[ See also: Garmin’s Striker Plus Series ]

Built-in Quickdraw Contours allows the user to customize maps with real-time depth readings in one-foot increments with enough storage to cover 2 million acres. Connect your maps with other users to create custom maps. Pair the fish finder with Garmin’s Active Captain app and control your fish finder and receive messages from your smartphone. You can even access charts from home.

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man paddles a fishing kayak with the best fish finder
Find the fish, then find your way home. | Feature photo: Dustin Doskocil

This article was first published in the Summer 2019 issue of Kayak Angler Magazine. Subscribe to Kayak Angler Magazine’s print and digital editions, or browse the archives.

Find the fish, then find your way home. | Feature photo: Dustin Doskocil

 

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Ric Burnley
Ric Burnley
Kayak Angler editor Ric Burnley has been kayak fishing since the dawn of the sport. In 2007, Burnley wrote The Complete Kayak Fisherman, with chapters on how-to make a PVC rod holder and glue a fish finder transducer to the hull. In 2013, he landed his dream job as editor of Kayak Angler magazine. Burnley is a regular contributor to Salt Water Sportsman, Sport Fishing, Outdoor Life, In the Bite and other print and online publications. Burnley lives in Virginia Beach with his wife, adult daughter, daughter’s boyfriend and daughter’s two cats. Experience In 2004, Ric Burnley stole his first milk crate from behind a 7-Eleven and fashioned it into a gear crate for his Ocean Kayak Prowler 15. Many years and many milk crates later, Burnley has witnessed the rise of kayak fishing from a bastardized fringe element to a legitimate industry with millions of devotees. The journey to becoming an angler started early in Burnley’s life. His father, Eric Burnley, is a renowned outdoor writer and former fishing guide, so the boy grew up in the cockpit of a charter boat and in the pages of national magazines. After college, Burnley lost easy access to his father’s boat, but not his passion for fishing. Once he had exhausted the limits of land-based angling, Burnley decided to try out a new thing called kayak fishing. About the same time, Burnley was looking for extra work to pay for his expensive addiction. His father, editor of the Mid-Atlantic Fisherman Magazine, offered him freelance assignments for the weekly publication. That led to a position as regional editor at Salt Water Sportsman, publication of The Complete Kayak Fisherman and editorship of Kayak Angler. Meanwhile, Burnley and his partner-in-crime, “Kayak Kevin” Whitley were exploring the boundaries of kayak fishing. With the bountiful Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean as their playground, the two anglers were the first to target big red drum, cobia, trophy striped bass, monster black drum, sheepshead and many other species. Once inshore species were exhausted, Burnley loaded his kayak onto motorboats and fished for bluefin tuna, blackfin tuna, king mackerel and amberjack. All the while, Burnley shared his experiences and knowledge with anglers through print, photos, video, radio, seminars and online. Almost 20 years later, Burnley continues to fish obsessively and share the stories. His recent projects for Kayak Angler cover the latest trends in forward-facing sonar and remote-controlled electric motors. Over the past two decades, kayak fishing and Ric Burnley have come a long way from PVC rod holders and stolen milkcrates. Education ● Radford University: BA English; Virginia Teacher’s License. Highlights ● Other Interests: Mountain biking, traveling, hiking, surfing and skateboarding ● Day Job: High School English teacher at an alternative school for at-risk students Fun Fact Ric’s name is a contraction of Eric. Ric is named after his father, Eric Sr. To differentiate between the two Erics, Mrs. Burnley removed her son’s E. To this day, she writes the boy’s name ‘Ric, with an apostrophe replacing the E.

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