# Fish Finder for Kayak



## Rocknut (Apr 17, 2015)

I've been looking at fish finders for my Kayaks. I like the idea of the side scan sonar but wonder if this is really needed or useful vs a standard down type sonar? Wondering about screen size also. I have a handheld GPS with a smaller screen and think this would be too small to be useful for a fishfinder. So what screen sizes work good. I was thinking maybe a 5" screen. What transducer cone pattern works the best. I would think a wider cone since most of the water I would be in is less than 30 feet. For the transducer mounting I was thinking about either mounting it on the inside of the haul or rigging up something to swing down on the side of the kayak. Don't want to break the bank on a fishfinder but also don't want to start cheap then turnaround and buy another one that's better. Any ideas or suggestions.


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## monsterKAT11 (Jun 20, 2004)

I recommend the lowrance elite 5x or humminbird helix 5. I recommend these because they are highly rated and both have the ability to do sonar and down imaging. I usually run a split of 83hz/200hz and 800hz on down imaging. That way I can look at both frequencies in sonar to help interpret the targets I'm seeing. I personally have the 7 inch screen because I have room for it. Side imaging can be a massive advantage in certain scenarios also.


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## yakfish (Mar 13, 2005)

I have the Helix 5 SI on mine. The side imaging is nice to have. If you get one with side imaging you will never regret the decision, but if you get a unit without it you will most likely wish you had it. The 5 inch wide screen is ok if you only have one thing on screen. If you ever use a split screen you will want something larger. I wish my screen was bigger. If you go with a SI unit a thru hull transducer mount won't work. It will need to be directly in the water with a clear 180 degree "view". If you can figure out how, mount it as close to the center line of you're yak as possible. If you have the transducer over the side you will see every single "tilt" of the yak and each paddle stroke on screen.


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## Rocknut (Apr 17, 2015)

I'm leaning towards the Helix SI but was worried about how to do the transducer. Finding a way to do the transducer near the centerline will be a challange. Along with not damaging it if your in shallow water. 

Does the elite 5X have side imiging?


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## sherman51 (Apr 12, 2011)

I don't think the elite 5 comes with si but I think it has di and its on sale at cabelas now for 279.00 regular 499.00. that's a great price. bass pro has the new elite 7 ti totalscan ff/chartplotter combo for 799.99 it has di si and regular screen but its a little high dollar.

if you really want one with side scan you can get the helix 5 si gps combo for 499.99 at cabelas. I bought the helix 7 di gps combo and love the wide screen and bright display. but so far I have found I rarely use the di mode but use the standard mode. the 7" screen just gives you so much more time to see whats down there.
sherman


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## Rocknut (Apr 17, 2015)

Sherman
So your helix 7 has SI also? You do not use the DI but what is the other mode you use? Not sure I understood what you ment. Thanks for the feed back. I just think the SI would be a neat feature. I did see the elite 5 sale at cabelas.


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## Paul David (Nov 11, 2015)

I have been looking extensively into different units for the kayak. I've looked at the side imaging transducers, and while it would be awesome, it makes things like shallow river fishing impossible. It doesn't fit in the recesses that are built in to the kayaks, so everytime you pull the boat out of the water or put it in you would have to remove that unit somehow. I know my Yak is almost 95 lbs and I drag it up and down banks and boat ramps all the time. All the Elite series units have 2d sonar and 3d downscan. You can also get the elite 5x DSI with the gps and a navigation chip for $299 at gander mountain. If money's not a huge concern, the reason the elite 5x is so cheap is that they are replacing it with the "chirp" model which is supposed to be very clear down imaging.


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## Rocknut (Apr 17, 2015)

Stopped by gander mountain to look at fish finders. I do like the helix 5 SI with GPS. The size was not as big as I thought it would be. The height was no taller than some of the little units just wider. The transducer is a little long mabe 5" or so. The display seemed bright and clear. I need to figure out the best way to mount the transducer if I get this unit.


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## CPK (Jan 31, 2015)

Paul David said:


> I have been looking extensively into different units for the kayak. I've looked at the side imaging transducers, and while it would be awesome, it makes things like shallow river fishing impossible. It doesn't fit in the recesses that are built in to the kayaks, so everytime you pull the boat out of the water or put it in you would have to remove that unit somehow. I know my Yak is almost 95 lbs and I drag it up and down banks and boat ramps all the time. All the Elite series units have 2d sonar and 3d downscan. You can also get the elite 5x DSI with the gps and a navigation chip for $299 at gander mountain. If money's not a huge concern, the reason the elite 5x is so cheap is that they are replacing it with the "chirp" model which is supposed to be very clear down imaging.


I have an elite 4x hdi. I love it. I might possibly jump on that little upgrade to the 5x. That's a pretty decent price.


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## Rocknut (Apr 17, 2015)

Since my kayak has a rudder and I would like to be able to move it to my other kayak without a rudder I found these neat mounting methods. I really like the spring mounting style check out these links.
http://kayakfishingblog.com/2008/05/fishfinder-transducer-bracket/
http://www.jaxkayakfishing.com/phpBB/topic20000.html
http://austinkayakfishing.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=9448


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## Nubes (Dec 3, 2012)

You cant go wrong with Hummbird Helix models. Down and SI on a single transducer and costs less than Lowrance models of the same caliber. I said screw it and went with the Helix 7 SI with GPS and run the transducer over the side of my PA14 with ram mounts. I went from a grayscale with DI and couldn't be happier with the Helix 7. You go with any of the Helix models you wont be disappointed


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## Nubes (Dec 3, 2012)

Rocknut said:


> Sherman
> So your helix 7 has SI also? You do not use the DI but what is the other mode you use? Not sure I understood what you ment. Thanks for the feed back. I just think the SI would be a neat feature. I did see the elite 5 sale at cabelas.



Ive got the same model. you can configure the screen many ways with what info you want to see. I like the DI to see what type of bottom I'm looking at. The DI works well with showing a hard rocky bottom or muddier bottom and you can see how the fish are stacked up off the bottom. Then use the SI for pretty much everything else. Locating bait fish or cover and you can see how high the fish are sitting in the water column with the SI. You've got eyes not just looking down but 30-40ft off both sides so I go with a screen that is split with most showing SI and a smaller screen showing me DI. I was just in FL fishing Lake Toho and didn't need my electronics as much as I do up here. Its all visible cover for the most part and the birds will show you where the bait fish are at. Up here the fish go deep and finding those points and other structure that may hold fish is a lot easier with SI. Toho is a 22,700 acre lake but barely gets deeper than 12-15 foot and if it is your probably near a ramp and its been dug out. Most of what I saw averaged between 2-8ft. The weather changes is the biggest problem down that way because of the shallow nature of their lakes a front can shut them down with the quickness! I'm still learning my fish finder to be honest but I find using both DI and SI works very well!


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## claytonhaske (Apr 16, 2010)

Does your kayak have mounting tracks on the side? If so, I would recommend the yakattack cellblock. It looks big, and cumbersome, but you have the ability to take it off if you don't need it, switch it from kayak to kayak, and not worry about drilling any holes in your kayaks to run wires. I have a elite 7 hdi on mine....I don't think the 7" screen is to big, I like to be able to see what I'm looking at.


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## chris1162 (Mar 12, 2008)

claytonhaske said:


> Does your kayak have mounting tracks on the side? If so, I would recommend the yakattack cellblock. It looks big, and cumbersome, but you have the ability to take it off if you don't need it, switch it from kayak to kayak, and not worry about drilling any holes in your kayaks to run wires. I have a elite 7 hdi on mine....I don't think the 7" screen is to big, I like to be able to see what I'm looking at.


I have a cell block and love it. The convience of taking it off so easily is great.


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## sherman51 (Apr 12, 2011)

Rocknut said:


> Sherman
> So your helix 7 has SI also? You do not use the DI but what is the other mode you use? Not sure I understood what you ment. Thanks for the feed back. I just think the SI would be a neat feature. I did see the elite 5 sale at cabelas.


my unit only has di and standard screen it doesn't have the si mode. the great thing about the helix 7 screen you can use split screen and see di and standard at the same time and still have time to see whats going on. or you can split screen with gps and the ff at the same time.

I do mostly trolling and didn't think I needed si but thought di would tell me more about what was under the boat. but I found the standard screen showed me pretty much what I wanted. so I just use the standard screen most of the time and that way I don't use the splt screen and have a better view of whats going on under my boat.

when not trolling I do like the di for showing the bottom structure better than the standard screen.
sherman


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## legendaryyaj (Nov 1, 2005)

Your style of fishing is what should determine what you want to get. If you fish offshore structure, I'd say get the SI. If you fish shallow, save the money and get a basic black and white unit.

If you want thru-hull transducer mounting, forget side imaging as it's not possible. Down imaging isn't all that too IMO. I would either go with a basic black and white unit just to know water depth or get SI. GPS on a unit is really nice too. I just really see no point in DI from my experience. I have a 998 HD SI and took it to Erie this fall to perch fish and fish showed up better on the switchfire traditional 2D sonar. You can't really go by the fancy stuff you see on the units when they are running in demo mode. Most of the places you go to around here will be like the dead sea.

Transducer mounting for a SI unit is a pain and there's no way around it. All these yaks that come transducer ready aren't made for SI units. 

Here's a video of my setup when I went perch fishing earlier this month.


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## Rocknut (Apr 17, 2015)

claytonhaske said:


> Does your kayak have mounting tracks on the side? If so, I would recommend the yakattack cellblock. It looks big, and cumbersome, but you have the ability to take it off if you don't need it, switch it from kayak to kayak, and not worry about drilling any holes in your kayaks to run wires. I have a elite 7 hdi on mine....I don't think the 7" screen is to big, I like to be able to see what I'm looking at.


No I do not have mounting tracks on my kayaks. I have 3 kayaks. A 10' pretty simple yak with two rod holders. But have not used this yak for two years I want to sell this one. I have a 12' rec yak and a 14' touring yak. I like my 14' yak the most. It's not a fishing yak but I have rigged up rod holders and a deck bag for small tackle boxes and misc stuff. I was going to try my 12' yak this coming year for fishing mainly because I have more room to move around in it. My 14' yak is narrow with not much room to move but it has a rudder that comes in handy. The helix 5 I think will work the best for my yaks. The helix 7 was nice and big but may be to wide for my yaks. I have been kicking around the idea of a fishing yak. My requirements would be lighter in weight, fast on the water and maybe a rudder system. Right now I can carry my yaks and load them by myself onto my car or truck. They are all less than 60lbs.


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## Bucho (Jun 28, 2007)

Yaj - I didn't notice on your video, but did you anchor? I troll Erie a lot in the yak but have never attempted to perch due to not having an anchor


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## legendaryyaj (Nov 1, 2005)

Bucho,

I did, but had to donate the anchor that day. It got snagged on something where I was fishing. I was in about 32' of water.


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## Rocknut (Apr 17, 2015)

I decided on the Helix 5 with SI ordered the KVD version that has the fishing lures with it. Once I have it in my hands I'll start the mounting process.


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## Nubes (Dec 3, 2012)

Rocknut said:


> I decided on the Helix 5 with SI ordered the KVD version that has the fishing lures with it. Once I have it in my hands I'll start the mounting process.


Great choice! if not too late I'd suggest just spending a little more and get the 7?? I have the 7 with SI and GPS and the larger screen is great for separating DI and SI. I fish from a PA14 so the 5 might be a better option of you're not fishing from a large kayak? I went from a Lowrance DI grayscale to this and can't imagine not having SI on any future fish finders! You're going to love it! Unless you're familiar with SI I'd suggest watching a DVD on it or Youtube. Helps take the learning curve out of it....


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## Rocknut (Apr 17, 2015)

Nubes
Thanks for the input. Yes I will need to figure out how to read it. It's been a long time since I had a fish finder. My yak is pretty narrow so the 5 should fit nicely


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## kayak1979 (Jul 13, 2014)

I have the HElix 5 with GPS and DI, love that unit.


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