Fish finders

I need to pick up a new fish finder/gps setup for this weekend. Old unit isn't powering up after years in storage. Hit me with some opinions on what's out there now.

All depends on how much you want to spend and what you want to do with it. The basic Garmin Striker 4 can be had for $100. I started with that years ago. I have since stepped up to the Striker 4 CV. They run about $160. With the 4 CV you get clear picture of the structure. It has a slightly larger screen than the standard Striker too.
If your looking for a 20" touch screen behemoth that will stroke your ego, I cant help you. Any decent tackle shop near you should have one. Bass Pro in Manteca for sure.

Keep in mind that you need a way to mount the transducer. Some go with a scupper hole type. I prefer the rail arm mount. Some people say they cause too much drag but I don't notice it and like the way it swings up out of the way when launching/landing. Scotty, Ram, YakAttack and others all make arms. Check Utube for how to video's.

Will glue the transducer inside the hull. It is a composite boat. Already have a Scotty mount for the head unit. Thanks for the recommendation. Cheap and available works great. Guess my only requirement is being able to plug in the way points for the 20 fathom line.

Not a lot of low budget options these days if you want Maps.  You can get a GPS, but they now want ridiculous prices for maps.

Second the Striker 4 - great little no frills unit.

Question - Is a map of the 20 fathom line far preferable to just looking at the bathy contour lines and the depth reading?

You need to have the line on your ff or phone App. The regulations state that you must be within the line when fishing. There are areas outside the line that are less than 20 fathoms (120’),however, from what I have seen the line is very generous. At Albion if you go straight out from the red can it’s over 160 feet before you get to the line.

Will glue the transducer inside the hull. It is a composite boat. Already have a Scotty mount for the head unit. Thanks for the recommendation. Cheap and available works great. Guess my only requirement is being able to plug in the way points for the 20 fathom line.

You need an SD card slot to easily import the 20-fathom line, which consists of 239 waypoints along the coast. You will import it as a trail.  You only need to manually input 2-3 waypoints for most fishing spots.
Paul

Will glue the transducer inside the hull. It is a composite boat. Already have a Scotty mount for the head unit. Thanks for the recommendation. Cheap and available works great. Guess my only requirement is being able to plug in the way points for the 20 fathom line.

You need an SD card slot to easily import the 20-fathom line, which consists of 239 waypoints along the coast. You will import it as a trail.  You only need to manually input 2-3 waypoints for most fishing spots.
Paul

This is the downside of the cheap Garmin Striker 4 - no SD card slot. Need to manually enter everything, and even then it only shows up as waypoints, not as a line. Does anyone know if the CV version is different?

So far though, this hasn't been an issue for me. I really only fish Pacifica and very occasionally Capitola - you gotta go a long ways out to get deeper than about 70ft at either of those launches.


As for mounting the transducer in the hull - duct seal has worked very well for me. Holds in place very well, is removable if needed, and is cheap and easy.

You need to have the line on your ff or phone App. The regulations state that you must be within the line when fishing. There are areas outside the line that are less than 20 fathoms (120’),however, from what I have seen the line is very generous. At Albion if you go straight out from the red can it’s over 160 feet before you get to the line.

Interesting. Sure there are spots outside that come up to under the limit. I usually keep a close eye on depth and contours.  I’d stay inside that “line” if it is showing 20 fathoms on sonar.

Question - Is a map of the 20 fathom line far preferable to just looking at the bathy contour lines and the depth reading?

I also have a contour line of the California cost, for use with units that can take input (sdcard) but do not have maps.  With the cost, the 20ma, and 50ma lines you have what you need to know where to fish.

If you want to see what the line looks like in Google Earth:

1. Go to: https://data.ca.gov/dataset/twenty-fathom-groundfish-boundary-line-r7-cdfw-ds3160/resource/e7bc85bd-3af2-4d8c-baf0-b37bc67bdd10 and click the URL to download KML file
2. Go to earth.google.com and find somewhere on the coast
3. Load the KML file: File menu -> Import KML/KMZ file, and select the downloaded "Twenty_Fathom_Groundfish_Boundary_Line_-_R7_-_CDFW_[ds3160].kml" file

This reminds me, I need to import these onto my ff (Hook Reveal 7). If you want a slightly bigger screen than a Striker 4, this is a good unit for me (I've little to compare with). I managed to get this a year or so back on sale for ~$500 with maps iirc.

(in the future, if CDFW revises the 20-fathom points, might need to find an updated version of the KML files too)

Here are instructions on how to download and install into your fish finder using an SD card: https://paul95255.wixsite.com/non-motorized-vessel/20fa-gpx-download

Paul