Best Kayak Fish Finder for the money 2020
Kayak fishing is an extremely relaxing and efficient way to fish. You have the ability to get to those hard to reach locations that larger boats can’t get to while still having the ability to outfit your kayak with all of the needed fishing equipment and gear that you would ever need to have for a successful day of fishing out on the water.
We would recommend one of the first things you should outfit your fishing kayak with is a kayak trolling motor and marine battery. Once you have your kayak outfitted with that fishing gear you can easily use the battery to power your kayak fish finder. These fish finders are smaller and more compact but they still pack a huge punch. They’re small so they don’t take up valuable space but still have all the bells and whistles of their larger brethren.
With the vast number of companies and fish finders on the market most people end up wondering, “What are the best kayak fish finder?”, “What are the best portable fish finder for kayaks?”, “What are good inexpensive fish finders for kayaks?” and “What are the best waterproof fish finder kayaks?”
Well you’re in luck, we put together a list of some of the best kayak fish finders currently on the market. Here’s our list of the top 5 kayak fish finders for the money in 2020.
Enjoy our Review of Depth Finder for Kayaks
Image | Name | Top Choices | Latest Pricing |
---|---|---|---|
1. Lucky Portable Fish Finder for Kayak Fishing | Our Favorite | Amazon | |
2. Lucky Fish Finder Wired & Wireless Portable Fishing Sonar | Premium Pick | Amazon | |
3. Lucky Portable Fishing Sonar Handheld Wired Fish Finder | Great Value | Amazon | |
4. Garmin Striker 4 with Portable Kit | Amazon | ||
5. LUCKY Fishfinders and Depth Finders for Boats Fishes Fish Finders for Kayak Detection Range | Amazon |
Pricing of these Fish Finders for Kayaks Range Between $40-$185
In This Review
- Best Kayak Fish Finder for the money 2020
- Lucky Portable Fish Finder for Kayak Fishing Review
- Lucky Fish Finder Wired & Wireless Portable Fishing Sonar Review
- Lucky Portable Fishing Sonar Handheld Wired Fish Finder Review
- Garmin Striker 4 with Portable Kit Review
- LUCKY Fishfinders and Depth Finders for Boats Fishes Fish Finders for Kayak Detection Range Review
Lucky Portable Fish Finder for Kayak Fishing Review
This handheld fish finder is suitable for many types of fishing including: kayak fishing, as an ice fishing fish finder, river fishing, and sea fishing. It can be mounted to a boat if desired and comes with long lasting lithium batteries so you can stay out on the water for a long time. One of the most interesting things about this flasher is the display.
The display provides three color choices, allowing you to change the color depending on visibility conditions. It also has a detail control with a sensitivity control function that ranges from 1-10 in sensitivity so you can choose how much you are seeing in addition to its zoom abilities.
You can even set an alarm to alert you when the finder detects fish of a certain size. With a variety of customizable options, it is nice that the Lucky Portable Fish Finder stores the sonar settings so that you do not need to manually select your preferences each time you use it, its a great fish finder for kayaks. The sonar transducer has a 24ft range and a 45°detection angle with a depth detection of 100m.
The operational temperature range is 14°F to 122°F (-10°C to 50°C). While the sonar transducer is waterproof, this handheld fish finder is only spray proof. This means that you need to ensure that the fish finder isn’t dropped in the water or hit by any large waves.
Pros
- Long lasting lithium batteries
- 3 color contour display
- 10 sensitivity levels
- Stores settings
Cons
- Only spray-proof
- Only has two user modes
Lucky Fish Finder Wired & Wireless Portable Fishing Sonar Review
The most interesting thing about this Lucky Fish Finder is that it has the option to be wireless. While it doesn’t give the same depth as the cable (45m vs 100m) it’s still a really useful option to have and saves having to mess about with any transducer wires.
It is usable in both fresh and salt water and it can be mounted to your kayak. The sonar coverage has a 45 degree angle in 200Khz with the cable and a 90 degree beam angle in 125 when being used wirelessly. The wireless rage is 100m.
It comes with a micro USB rechargeable battery capable of 10hours of continuous use. However, it doesn’t come with a wall socket adapter for the charging cable. The 2.8 inch LCD display has three color options: blue, orange, and grey. It also has narrow or wide beam scanning, and you can also adjust the sensitivity and even add a fish alarm that will alert you to fish of a certain size.
Pros
- Wireless
- Can be mounted to your kayak
- Fresh and saltwater compatible
- 10 hrs continuous use
- Narrow or wide beam scanning
Cons
- Wireless has less depth range
- Doesn’t come with wall socket for charger
Lucky Portable Fishing Sonar Handheld Wired Fish Finder Review
This is a small fish finder that is surprisingly powerful for its size. It has 5 sensitivity options and can detect to a depth range of 3 feet to 328 feet. It is useful for a number of fishing options and is particularly great for kayak fishing.
The sensor coverage itself has a 45 degree beam angle in 200Khz and the transducer has a 25ft cable. The 2 inch screen has a blue backlight for poor visibility conditions and will detect more than just water depth including short and tall weeds, sand or rocks on the lake bottom and locations of any nearby fish of coarse, its one of the best kayak depth finders.
This fish finder has a very handy battery saver mode for when it’s not in use so you won’t have to worry about excessive draining of your marine battery. It is portable and comes with a neck strap designed for smaller fishing trips. The battery lasts approximately 4-5 hours when used continuously.
With such portability comes sacrifice with regard to accuracy in that anything under 3.94 inches will not be detected by this fish finder. The display also isn’t waterproof, so it would be wise to buy a case for it when used for fishing from a kayak.
Pros
- 5 sensitivity options
- Blue backlit display
- Portable and handheld
- Comes with neck strap
- Great price
Cons
- 4-5 hrs battery life
- Reduced sensitivity
- Can’t detect anything smaller that 3.94 inches
- Display not waterproof
Garmin Striker 4 with Portable Kit Review
This fish finder has a few options not normally seen in other flashers. For one it has high-sensitivity GPS and you can use waypoints in order to keep previous locations marked. You can also mark hotspots, boat ramps, and potential dangers. It also measures the boats speed which is particularly useful in wake-controlled areas.
The interface is keyed with dedicated buttons and is available in 3.5, 5 and 7 inch display sizes. The Garmin Striker comes with a portable kit to carry it in, making in perfect for kayak fishing. This fish finder includes a sealed rechargeable battery, charger, float, built in cable management, and a suction cup in order to mount the transducer making it great for your fishing kayak.
While the suction cup provides more stability than expected, it’s still not the most reliable method of mounting and may not provide the long term adhesion desired. The way the Garmin Striker works is through Chirp sonar, this is a great little kayak gps fishfinder. This means that instead of a single frequency, it uses a continuous sweep in a wide range interpreting them to give much greater definition and target separation.
With all of these features the instructions can be difficult to interpret. It is designed for the experienced fish finder consumer. Do not fret, as there are videos available on YouTube to help you understand this fish finder better.
Pros
- High sensitivity GPS
- Can mark various locations
- Measures speed
- Portable kit
- Continuous sweep Chirp sonar
Cons
- Difficult to decipher instructions
LUCKY Fishfinders and Depth Finders for Boats Fishes Fish Finders for Kayak Detection Range Review
This Lucky fish finder is a great product for the beginner fisher. It has a great rage of mode selections allowing you to adjust to your environment including: General Mode, Shallow Mode, Slope Mode, Raft Mode or Ice Fishing Mode.
It has a detection depth range of 1m to 100m under sensor and coverage of a 45 degree beam angle in 200Khz. It can operate from -14°F to 122°F and takes 4 AAA batteries to power it. What makes this model different are the temperature and air pressure readouts.
It is great for use when Kayak fishing as you can cast the sonar out and perceive underwater features before moving into an area to fish. It can be attached to the boat using a side-scan adapter. It also has a triple suction cup mount in order to mount the depth finder; however, the suction cup can become less reliable over time, its a wonderful kayak fish finder.
It also comes with a fish alarm to alert you when schools of fish are near, and can be set to alarm you of certain size of fish. This portable flasher is not waterproof and the 2.2 inch LCD screen should be kept protected at all times.
Pros
- Great for beginners
- Range of modes
- Temperature and air pressure readings
- Depth range 1m to 100m
Cons
- Suction cup unreliable with time
- LCD screen must be protected