20 Best Castable Fish Finder (2022 Updated)

Took it out on a local lake with my inflatable boat. It tells you depth, temperature and showed fish that we were able to catch (some Burbot). Way cheaper and way more portable than any other fish finder with a screen since you are already carrying your phone for the screen.

I plan to use it for ice fishing too, can’t wait.

I bought this for the local ponds (~10 acres). The sonar works great and paints a clear picture of where the fish are hanging out. I found two new spots the first time I used it and caught fish within the first two casts.

I’m still trying to understand how to use the mapping tool correctly.

Super Easy to use, charges fast and has not gone dead yet and I have fished for 6+ hours. Starts up right after hitting the water and has a nice and simple readout that can be understood by novice or advanced sonar users.

The pricepoint is great as well. I am casting from bank with a 6’9 Medium Fast with 20lb Braid. I WOULD RECOMMEND A Heavier action and Medium Heavy Rod, but it works well even on this lighter srtup.

The Deeper Pro + does what it says and it does it well! It works for me flawlessly and as advertised! Just remember to follow all of the provided or downloaded instructions and you will be good. I found that the provided manual is tough to read with its very small print.

I think it’s a great product & I got it at Dick’s at a GREAT sales price! No more “fishing blindly!” I definitely recommend it!.

I have a Deeper Pro mounted to my fishing kayak using their flexible transducer arm. While the Deeper works very well as a fish finder, its one weakness is battery life. If you plan on using it all day on the water, expect it to run out of power sometime in the afternoon.

Because of this, I expect I’ll be replacing it with a more traditional fish finder with a longer lasting battery.

Ive been using the Pro+ CHRIP for almost a year on ice, boat and shore. Its incredible how reliable and accurate the sonar is. Ive compared this to Helix 5 and its just as good in terms of accuracy. The battery lasts at least 4-5 hours, which is pretty good considering how small this unit is.

I just bring a battery pack and charge it up when it dies. I have a really good battery pack and it gets the deeper fully charged in about 30min which is pretty good for another 4 hours of fishing. Only downside is using from a boat as it sits on top of the water and the waves can make it hard to get a good readout.

I recently bought the boat mount and will see how much of a difference that makes, but when on boat with big waves just use the widest beam and it will give a better read. Great unit, well worth the money.

Hard to beat the value in this package right here! In love with the touch screen interface, big fan of the craddle allowing you to quickly remove the screen from the shuttle. Comes with Navionics Canada map chip.

Easy to set up on your boat in the spring (open water transducer sold separately). Works with down imaging, side imaging, panoptics and livescope transducers alike( network cable or adapter may be required for side imaging transducer).

Included transducer has incredible bottom seperation, slightly better than competitors in my experience. Capable or recording sonar data and simple screen shots. Great unit from a reputable, industry leading company.

Don’t wait until they’re gone Get yours already!.

LMC shop shipped me this garmin panoptix unit with a DEAD 12v battery (voltage ~9. 3 V). I talked to garmin customer service, who was great, and confirmed that the battery was bad. LMC shop WILL NOT ANSWER my several emails regarding this.

I just want a new battery or partial refund for the cost, and they are totally nonresponsive even after several weeks. WHAT A GARBAGE STORE!.

Without a doubt the best sonar unit Ive ever owned. A game changer, Ive had lowrance, marcum, vexilar, and humminbird and the Garmin is by far the best. Ive had humminbird anf lowrance on my ranger bass boat and last year installed a Garmin echomap and blows all other units out of the water.

I know theses Sonars are expensive but save your money or get a payment plan because its worth every penny. You will NOT be disappointed.

This little sonar is awesome. The app is cool too, my husband used this and came home with a big smile on his face. Easy to set up, the app is simple yet full of really good stuff. Nice quality and works amazing.

I have a fish finder but this is so easy to pack in, super light.

Bought this primarily for ice fishing after a fishing trip with a friend who had one and it is incredible! The ability to test depths for ice fishing is so easy with a unit that can fit in your pocket.

This unit also has the multiple features for lake mode which lets you map the bottom as well plus the fact that it records your sonar screens for you is another added bonus. Just awaiting the boat mount for it and going to have it out scanning all the lakes here in the Yukon!.

Works well, love that it’s so easy to use and gives me all the information I need. Instructions are clear and detailed which made set up and learning very easy. Never used a fish finder before, no interest in a pricey electronic gadget that was a challenge to install and complicated to use.

I saw the Fishtrax 1, looked up more information and compared it to other brands of handheld fish finders. This one seemed like it was exactly what I wanted for fishing off my recreational kayak that I rigged for fishing and occasionally from shore/piers.

It gives me basic, easy to read and understand information that will help me pick out fishing spots. Used it from shore and off a pier, it works great. I’m excited about using it from my kayak when the weather warms up.

Bought this as a gift, however, was kind of selfish as it’s for my significant other:) We rented a boat this year and wanted to find a fish finder that we wouldn’t have to mount. One that would be useful offshore if we hit a bank here or there.

We have yet to fish with it off bank but due to the design don’t believe that will be an issue. It is extremely accurate as I also use it to dive into water, so I’m dependent upon it’s accuracy. That’s huge trust! Easy to throw into the boat bag with the case (bought separately).

Also bought separately the suction cup holder which is extremely useful and also fits in the box purchased. Have not had a problem reading or seeing the screen. The transponder is easy to just throw over and does as described by giving the full view.

This product rivals extremely expensive mounted fish finders I’ve used in the past. Would absolutely recommend.

The fish finder is great for my applications since it is lightweight and runs on AAA batteries, yet it has nice sonar features like color display. The screen is hard to read with polarized sun glasses – but all of them are.

The float tube attachment is a great idea but the strap attachment to the transducer is a bit problematic and not easy. I have gone back and forth with customer service about it. I can always just use the float for the transducer.

I plan to take it ice fishing next winter as well.

Ive had not had the opportunity to use this yet, but by looking at the reviews its going to help me catch more fish

Had a deeper for years and wanted an upgrade, Total were there for me.

Pretty expensive bobber but it works caught a bunch of fish with it

A great sonar for ice fishing. Does everything other sonars can do at a very decent price and when on sale. Very durable, won’t leave you hanging like marcum. Fleet farm has the best prices in town. Bought this as a second unit for my son.

I have flx28 and 2 fl-18, won’t use anything else. Really trusty.

This was my first Ducer I ever bought and so far it has worked great. I was originally debating between this one and the FL-8. Honestly this one is worth the extra money. Once you get used to the different modes they make fishing with the ducer so much easier.

The low power mode and bottom lock are great for super shallow water, and the 6ft feature is awesome if your fishing something real deep.

I bought this about 2 months ago now, my boyfriend and I were able to use it a few times and it was great! We didn’t go home empty handed any of the few times we went. What I love best about this product is that you can use it in open water as well, I can’t wait to use it in the summer! Thank you Mills Fleet :).

First, installation was a bit of a pain but it ended up great. I power it with a 20V 2ah DeWalt battery and it works just fine even if they do not recommand it. Lasts about 8 hours. I was not gonna carry a super heavy lead-acid battery in a kayak that is already loaded with camping gear.

Being that I do a lot of kayak camping-fishing trips on large water bodies having a GPS/tracker was a must for me. Just got back from a trip and that feature has been great for not getting lost in difficult situations.

The user frendliness reminded me of an old Garmin GPS, not great. Far from Google map. Menus are a little difficult to get used to but. Contour mapping is nice. Sonar is great and powerfull. Could follow my jig all the way down 150′ of water easy.

So far Clearview has been useless. You can not see any fishes on that mode. Wich is the point of a ”fish finder”. Split screen is awesome. Another con is that when you need to bring it inside your house to add waypoints or else you will need an extra power cord at $50, Ouch! So all in all it is very good but I could have done without the extra cost of CV.

Happy fishing.

I’ve owned the striker 5 ice fishing bundle for one year now and use it year round (using a separate transducer during the summer). I’m thankful that I did my research and compared all the different units before buying this.

It saved me a lot of money for a boatload of features that cost way more money with other brands. -quickdraw mapping with something like 2M hectars of storage space (this is only in the summer) -a basic GPS for saving tracks and waypoints -you can run the flasher and split the screen with another feature (for that matter you can separate the screen with up to 3 different settings) I often use the flasher and tradition sonar together while icefishing -the battery lasts me multiple trips onto the water, I’m never worried about it losing power and if I do stretch its life a little far I just turn down the brightness and that adds another hour or more.

-the case is rugged -it has CV so thats an added bonus if you use this unit during the summer DOWNSIDES -you cant upgrade the GPS to have maps -you cant download any software so it could support SV This is the unit to buy if you’re on a budget.

Summer and winter, this thing goes with me on every outing.

I installed this on my 13 foot boat for Gulf coast creeks and shallow water fishing. The chart for this device is like a blank sheet of paper, it does not have land, water or navigation markers. The only information the chart will display is where you have been, the depth contours that your device recorded or from the Garmin Active Captain application which shares depth contours from other users.

I use my cellphone apps such as Google Maps and Navionics for the big picture if I am in unfamiliar areas. Depth and voltage alarms are very handy. The fish-finder display options are as detailed as most inshore fishing could require.

The screen size is the smallest I would use on any boat, easy to see and interpret at a glance while moving. Very satisfied.

I have a small 12’ rowboat and this is my first ever fish finder. Mounted this unit on an ammo can and the transponder on the trolling motor. Would be nice if it had the option to add a battery to make this a package.

I’ve had the unit on the water for a total of about five hours. Improved instructions and the ability to have a tutorial mode to learn the unit before I hit the water would be helpful. The unit is pretty user intuitive once you spend the time to get familiar with where things are located.

It took me about 20 minutes to get the QuickDraw contours feature to work. Deepest water I was in was about 20feet. I could easily follow my jig, as I raised and lowered it, on the screen. The one thing I did notice is that the lake I was on has two small islands, larger of the two would be approximately 20’ x 40’, while using the quick draw feature it did not show a land mass or show a blank area on the map.

The islands are nonexistent and on the display are really under two feet of water even though I could beach my boat and have a picnic without getting soggy sandwiches. The screen was easily viewed with a straight on look giving it the best brightest clear view.

From the side the screen seemed dull. The cord on the transducer is about 20’ long while the power cord is only 3’. This isn’t a big deal for me since I’ve got the battery in and unit mounted on an ammo box.

Just thought it was worth mentioning. Mounting the transponder on the back of my little rowboat would not work due to the riveted seam sticking out. If it were shimmed out with treated plywood I could have probably made it work but then the transponder would be permanently mounted on the boat with the wire exposed to all Mother Nature fury.

My boat is parked outside. Overall this unit is exactly what I expected to get. I still need to play around with it and continue to understand all the features and options it can do to improve my fishing trips but I’m pretty satisfied and would definitely buy it again.

What would make this a five star review would be: the addition of a small tube of marine chalk for transom mounting of the transponder. Longer power cord Battery option package Case option like the striker cv4 package Better instructions Tutorial mode.

UPDATE: I tried to update my previous 5 star review but it wouldn’t let me. I’m updating to 3 stars because following installation I discovered that GPS feature does not come with any maps/charts nor can any be uploaded.

Very disappointing. 7SV will generate its own maps and waypoints can be set but there is no land reference on the screen. Why it is designed this way I do not know. I would return it for a different model but by the time I installed it, it was too late to return.

Other than no maps, the 7SV works fine. IE: The GPS pic (lower left on screen) is what it actually looks like in real life. Make sure you read all the details and know what you are getting prior to ordering any of the SV models.

This is an excellent little unit for the money. I previously had the striker 4CV + on my boat & switched to the striker 9 SV & it’s not even a comparison as to how much better this one is. The transducer shows everything so much clearly & with more detail.

I was very disappointed with the CV on the striker 4, but the CV option on the 9SV is so much better. You can easily make out rock piles & logs & brush using the SV option & the traditional view is way better to it shows so much more details than the gt20 on the striker4.

It was a lot of money for me to spend on a fish finder but I’m delighted I got it in the end my day’s out are more enjoyable now I can see exactly what the bottom of my local lough looks. I can highly recommend this unit to anyone looking to upgrade their striker series of fish finders as it’s the only kind I’ve used.

I just got this hooked up on my boat, not been on the water with it yet, but I do have a Helix 5 DI on the bow with a trolling motor mounted transducer that I ran last year. They are awesome graphs for the weekend fisherman.

They both have GPS and lake maps of the places I fish already loaded. The menu is simple enough and the graphics are CHIRP which provides a little more detail in the 2D sonar mode. Very nice graph for the money that would have cost a lot more when CHIRP first came out.

The down imaging (DI) is a plus to consider that would add another $50 – $75 to this model and Side Imaging (SI) on the Helix 5 would also be nice but those are a little more expensive as well. This unit as purchased provides a good GPS feature that you can upgrade with other mapping software, a very good 2D sonar image with CHIRP, at a price that very affordable.

Warning, the kit does not contain any screws, nuts, or bolts. I would recommend stainless steel fasteners. It does have the nimble mount but I also recommend a Ram mount on 1. 5 balls. Ram makes two mounts specifically for this graph, the 1.

5 inch is a sturdier mount. The transducer that comes with the kit is a transom mounted unit but if you want to mount to a trolling motor Humminbird will trade you transducers if you don’t open the sealed bag.

I purchased this unit for my pontoon boat. I wired it in myself, as I did for all of my instrumentation. Very easy only an idiot would have issues wiring it in properly. There were no problems with the unit when removed from the packaging.

I would suspect any issues like that could be easily exchanged had I encountered an issue. I would give this 5-Stars if there was a dash mount option as I had space for it in my dash. I fabricated brackets myself and it looks and works great.

What I found appealing about this feature is the SD card I can purchase with all the lakes I use this boat in. The color screen is bright and easy to read in bright sunlight, as you would expect. My goal for the unit is to understand bottom contours and shallow depths and an insurance to preventing lower unit or prop damage.

I have set up my gauges to include Depth, Speed, Time, Sunrise/Sunset & Water Temperature. The main screen has my make plotter displayed. It has provided my with accurate and fast data while underway.

I would recommend this to anyone that is looking for a great entry level unit that has many features of much more expensive units.

This product works as advertised but the challenge is the screen size. It’s extremely difficult to see bass using side imaging or down imaging on such a small screen. Everything is compressed so it’s the difference between looking trying to find Waldo in a “Where’s Waldo” book in a large 13×11 book size picture like a 12” screen in book versus a large index card with the same image.

I’ve played with the side imaging rage to reduce it to around 15’ on each side for better results, but it’s still a challenge seeing bass and now with a reduced capability. I should have purchased a larger unit because this is virtually unusable for me in a canoe even with it only 2-3 feet in front of me.

I have a trolling motor propelling forward so it’s not that I’m stationary trying to use side imaging. I have to get extremely close to try and make out the image. Again, the product does what it says but you just can see well.

Forget standing trying to view it. I wish there was a way to connect a larger monitor that merely duplicates what’s on the head unit.

After using this on ice this past winter, I cant figure out how vexilar can still sell their very limited performance product at their exorbitant prices. I’ll chalk it up to redneck herd mentality. Until purchasing this I have never used or borrowed sonar, so it took some time to learn to read.

I used it through ice, in 6 to 40 feet of water. I got the most accurate results running dual frequency and a-scope. The low freq cone is very wide, allows you to see fish come into your area, while the high freq shows fish at your lure.

While stationary on ice, fish appear as red blobs of various length, instead of “arcs”, because you’re not moving in a boat. I was easily able to distinguish my hook, air bubbles, individual minnows, minnow schools, mud / weed layers, and any fish not laying on the lakebed.

In my experience, the auto gain would run high making thicker bars. I became accustomed to adjusting the gains any time I changed depth, or weed density. I mounted the supplied transducer to the end of 3/4 plastic pipe drilled with holes at intervals for an adjustable cross bar.

I would get fuzzier readings if the transducer was not 3 inches below ice. My teenage son and I greatly enjoy the mapping capability. The deeper the water the wider the reading. In 20 feet of water I could drill holes 60 feet apart and not suffer map gaps.

This would obviously be easier in a boat, and im looking forward to experiencing it this summer. I ran this with a voltage transformer on my Milwaukee tool batteries for amazing portability. 7 hours continuous in 10 degrees F would tick 1 dot off my 5ah battery.

While drilling holes or wrestling fish I often flung water onto the face of the machine with no damage. If there is a downside to this unit. It would be the few button and menu interface. Learning the ridiculous amount of features and getting setup to your liking takes alot of button chasing back and forth, which is greatly reduced once you get it setup to your style of use.

It would also be great if the buttons had some light, but for $160, the capability is still staggering.

Works great. Tells me good information on water temps and depth. Showed me good info on fish, allowing me to move on when the area is empty while bank fishing. Super easy to setup and battery is great.

When we bank fish I throw it out using the clip that comes with it on an old saltwater heavy rod, on about 40lb braid. Never had an issue with casting. While we were on the bass boat I tied it to one of the back cleats using the tether that comes with.

I forgot about it and we took off and moved about a mile or two down river. When I got back up to fish it was stilll there, so I have full confidence with a good knot you do not have to worry about it coming loose.

App works great, gives you access to Garmin maps and the ability to download other folks charts if they have mapped your pond. Bring a charger for your phone, as it will drain your battery with continuous use.

I increased the speed of the readout as I am impatient sometimes, but it seems to work fine.

I have used a couple times now and has worked great. Used casting on 6ft medium rod with 30lb braid from shore and used the included tether and towed behind a boat trolling, compared to the fish finder onn the boat and always matched up with readings.

Nice to use the mapping and save depth contours for the lakes. Just wish there was an option to use better background maps.

Living here in North Bruce, we are in the winter season and the boat is in the garage snuggled up with my Ranchero, so we can’t get out on the lake to try it. We’ll know better how it works, next spring when we get out the onto the lake.

It is hoped that it will pick up under water obstacles that have been known to break propellers.

it’s ok but cheap made. sealed just with second glue. enters water. then stops working for a while. report will show , disconnected or to shallow. that will mean water inside. but water inside will damage the battery.

anyway its weak. you can not disassemble it. so better would be that the unit would be sealed at least with some kind of silicon glue. and wrapped around with clear silicon tape for extra seal or bumper hit protective features.

now I did it better.

Really like this. Super easy to setup. Great at picking out features and mapping out a swim/water however, not sure I’ll use the fish locator icon as it informed me there are fish in my water but, been fishing it for three days but not caught anything!.

Amazing great product, very small remarkable battery life. Tried it on the beach in pinpoints fish easy to connect with your phone or tablet. Superb performance gives details of depth, fish and easy to carry.

When you first cast it out it will start sending data until you reel it in a several feet. Then it says no connection reconnect? I thought I did. Then I gets a email saying they know how bad the software is and theyre bring back a older version on the end of October to use? $300 for all this fun.

Bought this “portable” fish finder for a trip to northern Canada. The rechargeable battery is good for @16 hours. I bought 2 identical batteries online for $40. The 3 batteries (heavier than hell) and conservation managed to get me through the week.

It worked fine. I liked it but the GPS did not have a map (51°N) and my location was plotted on a blank screen. I expected a map! And I often go for two weeks at a time so there has to be a better option as far as the batteries are concerned.

The instructions are not very good but there are enough videos on youtube to get you going. Once set up and you are familiar with the unit it is easy to discern what you are seeing on the screens. Perfect for jigging lakerrs and walleye and nine times out of ten when pulling blades or Lindy Rigs if you see a fish you generally hook it as you pass by.

I bought the ice transducer and it is awesome in the winter. Overall very happy with the portability of the unit and I generally can attach the suction cup to my transom and still cruise at 25 mph no issues.

Does what it’s supposed to do, and does it well. I’m a fishing guide that works at northern fly ins. The portability of this unit is a selling point for that type of application. I also set it up to icefish with and it’s been what I expected there as well.

Easy to use and even easier to install! Accurate, clear and detailed imaging. I use a large Android tablet installed with Navionics. Turn on WiFi, connect and open the app and there it is, sonar! Split screen plotter and sonar or minimise sonar to just show depth.

Shallow water alarm! My sail boat was was already provisioned with a water filled box to install transponder internally. I tested first by just hanging the transponder over the side and comparing the image to internal mounting and the clarity and accuracy was the same.

The loss of water temperature reading just means it’s going to be slightly inaccurate. It will measure the temperature of the hull rather than the water. It’s the best way to get sonar on a boat. Tablets have bright high resolution screens and you can control it with a Bluetooth mouse.

you can’t do that with any of the comparable chat plotter sonar combos from Raymarine, Lowrance etc.

Ive set this up in hull and linked to Navionics on my iPad. I used butyl putty to stick it to the inside of the hull. The whole set up from the box to working took less than 20 mins. Ive run it for 18 hours with no problems.

Nvionics allows you to update to live charts, very useful with the shifting sands at Chichester harbour. I didnt purchase this as a fish finder and havent tried to use it as one, but as a depth sounder its proved accurate and easy to use.

The Wi-fi signal was good all over my 11m grp yacht. Im happy with this purchase, and worth noting that purchasing from the states was best value. Those advertised cheaper in the uk were all out of stock.

5* all round.

Made up a test model boat to test and learn how to get it to work – Spent an hour on a small local river with the model tethered on a fishing line. I still am playing with settings to find best display results – 3ft of water showed weeded bottom and several fish on first try.

I need to get some more time to learn how to tune to get best display for different conditions. Next stage is to fit to my fishing boat but that’s about 6 weeks away – I also plan to use a mapping app to make my own charts.

Technical help and advice from Vexilar and Navionics has been brilliant I recommend this product for quality and support received.

After using an old school mechanical flasher for years, and always thinking it was good enough, I decided to upgrade. I spent about a year researching, looking etc. I finally landed on the LX 6 for a combination of Price/Size Features.

What a great choice. This is an excellent unit. I’ve had it out 5 times since receiving it (all hard water) and I am more impressed each time I use it. The features are amazing. I particularly like the graph mode.

I never believed that I would go to graph over old school flasher mode, but I love it. The response time is amazing, its as close to real time graphing as I’ve ever seen. The flasher mode is incredible.

Battery life is excellent. If you are in the market for a high end flasher/graph do not hesitate. Buy this unit.

Do your research on the settings for inland lakes and this is invaluable. This unit has been amazing when you force yourself to step away from old flasher thinking. It’s sad, visually seeing how many missed opportunities that are presented with an old school flashers.

I had the opportunity to try out my new LX7 on the weekend. Very easy to operate, great features. Many different settings so the angler can see exactly what he wants on the screen. Very sharp clear flasher, or vertical showdown style screens.

Real time responses to fish coming into the cone coverage. You know when a fish is near your jig so you can trigger the fish into biting. Five stars are not adequate. Love it.

Love the size. Attached easily with float tube strapping included. Worked out of the box on my first lake trip. Best use of transducer was using the float and hanging over side of tube. Initially could not figure out how to attach transducer to the mount on the strap as it had no instructions/pictures etc.

even on the web site. Suggest adding a video online showing how to do this. All in all very pleased with the Fishtrax. Depth accuracy was really good.

I was initially skeptical since i have had back luck with a fish finder years ago in the similar price range which was a total fail. Got a new kayak, so i figured give this a shot and if it doesn’t work, given this price point, wouldn’t hurt too too much.

I’ve been using the kayak in the same bay for a couple of months – fishing was hit or miss, mostly miss. I took this finder out without much expectation. At first i was in the shallows, about 3-4 feet of water, was reading depth but not much else.

Went over a drop-off and all of a sudden this thing list up like a Christmas tree. Dropped a line and boom – fish on. I kept at at for a couple more hours drifting back and forth over the drop. Every time it beeped, i dropped and hooked almost immediately.

When it didn’t beep, no hits. I couldn’t believe it. I was very happily shocked. Will never go out again without this. Totally recommend.