Picking a Fishfinder for Ocean Salmon

 

One caution regarding the Raymarine, most of their fish finder are power thirsty.  I recommend something bigger than the biggest Nocqua.  Especially if you fish more than 6 hours.  More power for both FF and sounder.

One caution regarding the Raymarine, most of their fish finder are power thirsty.  I recommend something bigger than the biggest Nocqua.  Especially if you fish more than 6 hours.  More power for both FF and sounder.

Hmm I never had that issue. My 2 yr. old Dragonfly 7 Pro ran over 16 hours on a 12v 12amp LifePro4 battery. It draws 8 w at full brightness.

I'm in the same boat (pun intended, it's TI actually) - wonder if tripleshot worth the hassle with ducer sticking from the bottom. I.e. I can see loading on the trailer being more difficult  (I don't completely submerge trailer), as well as dragging over sand. I'm sure both can be worked out, just thinking of benefits vs. hassle.

Also, benefits of touchscreen - it's been touched in this thread already, still wonder about real-world applications. I have not played with touchscreen FF and usually don't actively operate FF while OTW - how beneficial touchscreen is in real world in wet environment?

Interesting thread, but I'm not seeing the appeal of a ginormous FF on a kayak (or even on a kayak*, such as a TI). On my AI, I have an old 3.5" Garmin, and the only "feature" it has is a color screen. It tells me the depth, I can usually discern the bottom material (rock, sand, etc.), it marks fish, and I can see bait balls. And, even my teeny tiny FF seems to get in the way sometimes, so I can't imagine dealing with, say,  a 9" screen.

I could see how sidescan might be useful in some scenarios, but if I want to see cool shaded contour plots of the bottom, my iPhone seems pretty good for that.

So, if you carry a smartphone (as I suspect almost everyone does), maybe it would make more sense to go "lite" on the FF and take advantage of some smartphone apps...

Interesting thread, but I'm not seeing the appeal of a ginormous FF on a kayak (or even on a kayak*, such as a TI). On my AI, I have an old 3.5" Garmin, and the only "feature" it has is a color screen. It tells me the depth, I can usually discern the bottom material (rock, sand, etc.), it marks fish, and I can see bait balls. And, even my teeny tiny FF seems to get in the way sometimes, so I can't imagine dealing with, say,  a 9" screen.

I could see how sidescan might be useful in some scenarios, but if I want to see cool shaded contour plots of the bottom, my iPhone seems pretty good for that.

So, if you carry a smartphone (as I suspect almost everyone does), maybe it would make more sense to go "lite" on the FF and take advantage of some smartphone apps...

A very good advice, something I've done myself (i.e. left my FF at home when I fish familiar grounds). 

As far as power, maybe it's just my Raymarine FF (i.e. touchscreen and 3d sounder). 

On the wet screen matter, it could get few tries to do something when the screen is wet.  That could be a pain when you need something simple done in a hurry.

Good thread.  My lowrance has crapped out on me so I'm now looking as well. 

So, if you carry a smartphone (as I suspect almost everyone does), maybe it would make more sense to go "lite" on the FF and take advantage of some smartphone apps...

Any iphone apps in particular you'd recommend?

Navionics webapp and i-boating nautical maps are both free (you can google them).  But you will need to be in the data coverage area.  You are also missing some native FF features (i.e. tracking, waypoint, etc), but if you are in familiar ground, you can do away without.

Navionics webapp and i-boating nautical maps are both free (you can google them).  But you will need to be in the data coverage area.  You are also missing some native FF features (i.e. tracking, waypoint, etc), but if you are in familiar ground, you can do away without.

I have the paid version of the Navionics iphone app, but I was out at TC this weekend and it wasn't super helpful.  The chart showed smooth lines most of the area where there is good structure/reefs.

Navionics webapp and i-boating nautical maps are both free (you can google them).  But you will need to be in the data coverage area.  You are also missing some native FF features (i.e. tracking, waypoint, etc), but if you are in familiar ground, you can do away without.

I have the paid version of the Navionics iphone app, but I was out at TC this weekend and it wasn't super helpful.  The chart showed smooth lines most of the area where there is good structure/reefs.

Did you look at the relief shading? That shows a lot more detail than just the contour lines. Also, I don't think you can view the relief shading on the webapp, just on the phone app.

The relief shading is only available on the paid Navionics app, or the Platinum + card. I upgraded to the platinum+ just for the relief shading. With it I was able to paddle along the edge of the reef, or be aware or the structure underneath. I had previously marked the spot because I had caught some nice fish in that area.

I have the Element 9 only because it was on sale for a much better price that the Element 7. I almost always run the chart plotter and sonar at the same time so having a larger screen makes them both readable. 

The image below is HMB

Platinum plus is expensive!

Platinum plus is expensive!

I'm thinking about upgrading my expired Navionics card to platinum+. The cost is $99. I could just use the app, but, for me, I think its worth it to have relief shading on my FF. Maybe it will be my Christmas present. That's another benefit of kayak fishing, you always have something to say when your wife asks you what you want for Christmas 

Arguably you can get reef shading using google map, but you have to be within data coverage.

I have a garmin echomap plus 74 with side view.  It has a bright 7" screen that is easy to see and its a touch screen which I highly recommend.  One feature I use all the time is using the bottom contour feature where it records the depths relative to the gps position and then saves this data on the fishing chart, it ends up looking like a topo map and is very accurate.  Overtime I go out I turn this on and over time it keeps building incredibly accurate charts.  I mounted the side view transducer on a hobie outback.  side view transducers need to extend slightly below the hull and would be subject to damage when launching or transporting out of the water.  However, its easy to mount it to the fantastic hobie transducer system which retracts the transducer inside the hull safely when you pull on a cord....brilliant.  The sonar part is so good I can see my down rigger ball itself, actually the other day I was using an 8oz jig and it was appearing on the Garmin.  I like the way the power plug and transducer plug connect to the display unit.  They screw in snug and waterproof; unlike lowrance which just push in.   Good luck in your research.