fish finder

[sly]

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.

[JohnMckroidJr]

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.

[dorado123]

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

[ProfessorLongArms]

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.

[ProfessorLongArms]

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

Originally Posted by JohnMckroidJr

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.

[SoCalEDC]

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.

[sly]

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

[FoodGeekFish]

Originally Posted by sly

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.

[SoCalEDC]

Originally Posted by sly

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

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.