fish finder
 

Looking into buying a new fish finder for my PA. Not trying to spend too much on it so I was looking into 3 different models and wanted to see what you guys would recommend.

GARMIN–Striker Plus 4 Fishfinder with Dual-Beam CHIRP Transducer $139.99

LOWRANCE–HOOK² 4x Fishfinder with GPS and Bullet Skimmer Transducer $119.99

GARMIN–STRIKER™ 4 Fishfinder with Dual Beam Transducer $119.99

I had a Lowrance on the PA already but it died on my last trip. I only do ocean fishing as well.

Any recommendations are greatly appreciated.

Whichever one you choose, I highly recommend price matching at West Marine for the lowest price, and then buy their warranty. If anything goes wrong with it, bring it in to the store for an instant replacement. Much easier than dealing directly with mfg and paying to have it shipped out for repair and then waiting for weeks. If mfg offers a 1-year warranty and you buy a 1 yr warranty from West Marine, you will be covered for 2yrs.

I haven't used Garman but had hook fish finder for 2yrs but didn't like it and don't wanna recommend it

I'd look to Mr Blevins' videos on the subject as well, but if you're hunting deep, the Hooks lack the frequencies to get the job done. I love my Garmin. Happily moved over from Lowrance. I have a striker 4 and an EchoMap. Echomap is about 2x as much, but has the ability to back up your waypoints and a slightly better interface. I would def go for the striker plus over the striker if you're choosing.

+1
I basically got a free garmin when my hook 5 died.

If I had to choose from those three options it'd be the Garmin Plus.

It may have a more difficult time integrating with your PA than a Lowrance would tho.

Can you explain what you mean by saying that it "may have a more difficult time integrating with the PA"

Hobies are built specifically to accommodate Lowrance FF systems. Especially the transducer mounting system. With a non-Lowrance FF, you may need to do some modifications to get a good, functional fit.

Got it, ok thanks. I might just have the gents at Pure Watersports set it up in that case.

Depending on the model year your kayak was made it may have been one of the "Lowrance Ready" hulls. As FoodGeekFish mentioned, Hobie and Lowrance were in bed together for a few years (up until 2018) so if your kayak was made between about 2011 and 2018 its got a Lowrance Ready mount aka, its a pain in the ass to mount anything but a Lowrance transducer.

If it is a 2019 or later it has the guardian system instead which integrates easily with transducers from numerous manufacturers.

That's why I am selling my 2016 PA, I want the guardian transducer system. It won't affect the small transducer that Sly is putting in (Either system, drill a few holes and zip tie it in). For larger transducers, the Lowrance ready system requires mounting outside the plate, add a protective cover and the kayak is slowed down by the drag. There is much less drag with a retractable Guardian system.

I would go for the hook reveal HDI 83/200 instead the hook 2, you would have the fish reveal, c-map, genesis live (social map)....

Thanks for that. Now I need to do some more thinking. The kayak is a 2014 that I bought used. I don't go out as much as I would like to so don't plan on buying a newer one yet. I was about to get the Garmin today but now ill sit back and see what other options are out there.

It's a good option but I'm trying to stay under $200 for this one.

I am with Carlos here, dont spend 500 bucks to end up with a 300 dollar fish finder when its all said and done.

The Garmin is the better unit for what you want if you are strictly comparing 200 dollar fish finders in a vacuum.

I will take the Hook Reveal into a consideration if its really worth the price. I talked to Westmarine yesterday and it would be about 420 after taxes with the extended warranty.

Find the cheapest local price and have them price match it to hopefully knock a few more bucks off the total.

Will do. Thank you all for the advice.

Garmin all day! I made the mistake of buying a lowrance to try it out cause the kayak fishing world here love lowrance, worst decision I made! Garmin man, don’t make the same mistake as me! Fish on!

Thanks, I'm still debating what to get. I hear the comments about the Garmin and would go with that if it wasn't for the difficulty having it mounted on the older PA.

The Lowrance that Carlos mentioned is pricier but might be worth it if it wont require any extra work to the kayak. I don't want to put any unnecessary holes in the thing anyways.