Fish finder for 2020 Outback

Hello, I'm new to kayak fishing and just ordered a Hobie Outback.  Would anyone please recommend a fish finder - I'm looking for side scan and downscan.  I don't know much about fish finders but am planning for this setup to be with me for years so willing to purchase a good model.  Plan to fish rivers and lakes and maybe ocean once a year.  Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

I have a Lowrance Elite Ti2 7" with 3 in 1 transducer on my 2020 Outback.  Very happy with it.  Congrats on your purchase.

I think your decision would come down to a few things.
- Brand: Most people go with Lowrance, Garmin, Hummingbird, Raymarine.
- Size: 5" or 7"
- Coastal map. You should consider getting it if you ever use it in the ocean. Very critical when fog roll in and it will save you.

For mounting transducer and head unit you can search here, there are trillion ways to do it.

I have a 2020 outback and have a Garmin 74sv with blue water charts and side scan transducer.  Works great and the transduce fits in the outback transducer well, so that it will retract when launching or landing, and extend downward when fishing so that the side scan works.

I got a Lowrance Hook2 5 Tripleshot w/ downscan and sidescan...can't be happier. Used to have a Humminbird Helix 5, and while it's a good FF, I had issues with it after getting it near water (seal is flimsy).

If u have trouble hooking up the retractable transducer line hit me up I found out a little trick.

I got a Lowrance Hook2 5 Tripleshot w/ downscan and sidescan...can't be happier. Used to have a Humminbird Helix 5, and while it's a good FF, I had issues with it after getting it near water (seal is flimsy).

On the hook did it come loaded with navionics or c-map and did you have to request your region and preferred map system?  Will my hook4 card fit?

I have the Lowrance Elite 5 with c-map. Happy with it but had a Humminbird before and liked it a bit better. I was on the fence for Garmin too.... I know I'm not sure it helps

I got a Lowrance Hook2 5 Tripleshot w/ downscan and sidescan...can't be happier. Used to have a Humminbird Helix 5, and while it's a good FF, I had issues with it after getting it near water (seal is flimsy).

On the hook did it come loaded with navionics or c-map and did you have to request your region and preferred map system?  Will my hook4 card fit?

Mine has the basemaps but planning to get navionics on there...I do use the navionics app on my phone, so that's probably causing me to drag my feet. I think as long as your hook4 card is a micro sd, it should fit yea?

I saw some very good deals at Bass Pro Shops for Garmin FF a few days ago.  Almost half price.

Sorry for delayed reply, didn't see any notifications.  Thanks very much for all your advice!  Is there a specific ideal fish finder you'd recommend?  I'm the type to use something for years so I prefer to select the best option and then try to find a good price if you know what I mean.

The kayak shop mentioned that Hobie works with Lowrance so I kinda thought I could only use Lowrance.

I have the Garmin echomap plus 74sv with blue water chart.  Its a touchscreen, easy to use, screen is easy to see in sunlight, and it has been reliable.  Don't worry about mounting the transducer on your Hobie.  It isn't a big deal to secure a non-lowrance transducer, maybe a few more minutes where you cut a piece of plastic on the adapter plate The upper part that is inside the well.  Between hobie and garmin you end up with plenty of plastic pieces and hardware for a wide variety of installations, making it very easy...you will have everything you need.

Thank you for the info on modifying the transducer plate, good to know!  Fishermans Warehouse recommended the Lowrance Elite FS7 or FS9.  Said Hummingbird isn't touchscreen so that may be an issue.

Before cutting plastic, I would hit up Christianbrat here.  He was able to 3D print a mount for my Garmin 4cv in my Compass.  The ducer sticks out about 1/4" past the plate, but is doable and I was able to use all the mounting screws so its pretty secure and super easy, no complaints.  However, I'm not sure if this all applies to the SV's transducer, but it's worth a query before you take a knife to kayak.

The SV transducer needs to extend below the hull to work properly. You mount it on the bottom of the hobie plate that actually moves.  This way it can be retracted inside the kayak well for protection when launching and landing.  You only to trim 2 small vertical nubs of plastic on the inside upper hobie plate...no big deal; they are just part of a different mounting application.  10 seconds with a dremel.