Handheld portable fish finder and depth finders for freshwater and saltwater are easy to install and easy to use on your kayak, canoe, or on another marine boat. The water depth can be shown either in feet or meter. They are good for offshore fishing, kayak fishing, ice fishing, lake fishing, sea fishing and so on. You can also use depth finders on the moving boat with speed below 5mph. These versatile, wireless, castable fish finders have special fish identifier technology and can readout bottom contour, detect and show you more of what is in the water around your boat β fish location, short and tall weeds, sand and rocks on the bottom, etc. High-frequency GPS sonars enable you to create bathymetric maps from the shore and get near-photographic images with detailed representations of objects, structure, and fish. Watch fish location, their size and suspended depth as well as underwater structure, vegetation, bottom contour and hardness. Define water depth and temperature.
Table of Contents
- Comparison Table
- Best Depth/Fish Finders
- Best Durable Model
- Best Modern Model
- Best Budget Buy Model
- Criteria Used for Evaluation
- Best Depth/Fish Finders Brands
- Frequently Asked Questions
Most Reliable Depth/Fish Finders β Top Rated Test Winner 2020
Editor’s pickGPS Fishfinder for Fishing Boat [Garmin]
Why it’s better?
- Excellent quality.
- High-frequency sonar; good interface.
- Maximum depth 1,600 feet freshwater, 750 feet saltwater.
- Battery, Mounting Arm, Protective Cover, Universal Sounder Mount can be includedin kit.
TOP Depth/Fish Finders Comparison Chart
1. The Best GPS Fishfinder for Fishing Boat [Garmin]
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Quality95%
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Features95%
Pros
- High-frequency sonar; good interface.
- Maximum depth 1,600 feet freshwater, 750 feet saltwater.
- Battery, Mounting Arm, Protective Cover, Universal Sounder Mount can be includedin kit.
2. The Best Handheld Portable Fishfinder (Depth Finder for Boat/Kayak) with Sonar Transducer [Lucky]
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Quality95%
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Features90%
Pros
- Powerful functions: 5 modes sensitivity options; battery save mode; backlight mode; fish and fish school alarm.
- Normally it supports 4-5 hours continuous working with brand new batteries.
- 12-months warranty.
3. The Best Fishing Boat/Kayak Fish Finder [Humminbird]
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Quality90%
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Features90%
Pros
- 5-Inch Color WVGA Display.
- Precision Internal GPS Chart plotting with built-in Anima cartography.
- Micro SD card slot for optional maps or for saving waypoints.
4. The Best Boat/Kayak Smart Fish Finder (Wireless Bluetooth) [ReelSonar iBobber]
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Quality90%
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Features95%
Pros
- Patented sonar fish identifier technology.
- Rechargeable battery and charge status indicator light.
- Bluetooth Smart sync up to a distance of 100' for best battery life.
- GPS spot tagging with interactive map
5. The Best GPS Fishfinder with Scanning Sonar Transducer and Built-In Quickdraw Contours Mapping [Garmin]
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Quality90%
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Features95%
Pros
- Transducer, Chrome or Lead Acid Battery can be included in kit.
- Bright, sunlight readable 4.3β display and intuitive user interface.
- Built in Garmin Quickdraw Contours mapping software lets you create and store maps.
6. The Best Smart Sonar, Portable Wireless Wi-Fi Fish Finder for Shore and Ice Fishing [Deeper]
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Quality90%
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Features90%
Pros
- Casts further, scans deeper, more features than any other.
- Enables you to create bathymetric maps from the shore.
- Syncs to phone/tablet using WiFi (like a hotspot, without internet).
7. The Best Boat/Kayak Portable Fish Finder with Depth Sonar [Humminbird]
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Quality80%
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Features80%
Pros
- Sharper image.
- Easier-to-use interface, unlocking the power of Fish ID+, fish alarms, depth alarms and zoom.
- Choose from a narrow and a wide beam for great detail or a generous coverage area.
8. The Best GPS Fishfinder with Transom Mount Transducer [Humminbird]
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Quality90%
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Features80%
Pros
- Two ways to search: wide mode for maximum coverage and narrow mode for maximum detail.
- Two display modes, you can add or remove detail, account for water depth, temperature and turbulence.
- Includes transducer and mounting hardware, power cable and gimbal mounting bracket.
9. The Best 4-inch GPS Fish Finder with Bullet Skimmer Transducer [Lowrance Hook]
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Quality85%
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Features90%
Pros
- Giving you more time to spend fishing and less time dealing with settings.
- Wide-angle sonar cone gives you double the coverage of traditional fish finders.
- The included Bullet Skimmer transducer gives you traditional 2-D sonar (fish arch) views.
10. The Best Portable Fishing Boat Fish Finder (Wired Transducer, Depth Finder) with LCD Display for Ice Fishing [Lucky]
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Quality90%
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Features80%
Pros
- It detects and shows fish location with water depth, short & tall weeds, sand & rocks.
- Muti functional - five assistant settings are available.
- Works with wired transducer with a 25ft cable wire.
Criteria Used for Evaluation
Overall, there are the most important things to consider when purchasing depth/fish finders. Pay attention to the following unique features:
- product’s quality;
- price;
- etc.
Built-in flashers help you to view your sonar data in the classic flasher format; ideal for ice fishing or vertical jigging. Use the waypoint map to easily view, mark and navigate to locations such as brush piles, stumps, and docks, find fish and hot-spots faster.
Depth readout can reach to 100m (328ft) below fishing sonar transducer. minimal depth for these portable depth finders is about 1m (3ft). They generate its own Wi-Fi signal to sync with your smartphone, anytime, anywhere.
Sonar is able to create crisper fish arches with better target separation and sends a continuous sweep of frequencies which provides a wider range of information. Fish finder portable design gives you another option to hang it around your neck. These devices have powerful functions β backlight mode, battery save mode, alarms, some modes of sensitivity. Open battery save mode can be working for more than 10 hours. battery supports 3-5 working hours. Some of them have snap swivel connections for use as bobber or as a remote fish finder. Trip log help to specify the date, time, location, water temp, conditions, type of fishing, lure, number and species of fish caught. These depth finders are compatible with Google Watch and iWatch and have free apps on iOS and Android.
How to Fish Using Your Fishfinder
Do you want to catch the fish? First, you got to find the fish. Let's take a look at the basics of how to tune in your fishfinder. First things first - if your fish finder has those silly little fish symbols on it, turn them off, all they're doing is taking the data that your transducer sees and dumbing it down to make pretty pictures. When you see blobs and patches you're looking at small fish maybe some perch on the bottom or some bunker swimming around. Other than those fish symbols most of the auto functions when a modern fish finders are pretty darn good. What you want to see is an arch shape. One days when the automatic features are getting fooled you may have to do what's called peaking the transducer to get the sensitivity set right. The first thing you'll do is change the range. You have to make it at least three times the depth. Next - we're going to take the sensitivity off of auto and increase it until we see a second bottom reading down below the first one. Then reduce sensitivity until the clutter is gone but you still have that bottom reading down there, now you're getting a pretty good view of what's underneath the boat. Now that you have the sensitivity set you can put the range back where it belongs. And don't forget when you're looking at fish on the meter if they're down near the bottom, use your zoom - you get a much better view of what's going on now. Notice - all these nice little arches that's a school of fish.
Now here's another way you can get a lot more data out of your machine. Look at how the screen is moving across - I can increase the speed that it's scrolling. By doing so I'm looking at the freshest data available - that slows scroll only is showing you a history of what you went over before.
Now, what if you're using a side scanner? In that case, the auto function again is very good the one thing that's really important for people to change according to their own taste is the color palette. This can really have a very big bearing on what you see on the screen and how it appears to your own eyes.
Now don't forget your side-scan sonar tends to see structure much better than fish you won't see the arches so don't drive around and look for them. You will see really good views of what lies on the bottom. Well obviously there's a lot more to using a fish finder and a side scanner but hopefully, these basic tips will help get you started.
Tips for Choosing a Fishfinder
We're going to talk about how to choose the right fishfinder. I have three really important rules when it comes to choosing a new fishfinder. And the first is establish a budget. Discuss it with your better half, set the money aside, and then throw it out the window and double it.
The rule number two. Within your newly established budget, look for the unit with the largest screen size. These days pretty much all the major manufacturers they build with some really good technology, right across the board. Pretty much everybody offers performance that you're gonna be happy with. But a small screen makes that performance possible to appreciate. I guess what I'm trying to say is most folks are happier with a simpler unit that has a bigger screen than they are with a more complex unit that has a smaller screen.
The third step what you need to do is figure out which manufacturers menu system best matches your own personal brain. So the unit that's most intuitive to me is not necessarily the unit that will be most intuitive for you. The best way to accomplish this is simply to go to a big box store that has tons of different manufacturers units on display and start pressing buttons. Play with them, try changing the range, adjust the sensitivity, try zooming in, and try zooming out, just do all kinds of different stuff until you get a feel for which unit seems the most natural for you to use.
One final bit of advice. If this is going to be your first fishfinder, watch our how to use a fish finder video.
Best Depth/Fish Finders Brands and Manufacturers
The market is dominated by some manufacturers such as: Garmin, Lucky, Humminbird, ReelSonar iBobber, Deeper, Lowrance Hook. All of them offer a variety models of fish finders and depth finders for Bass Boat, Fishing Boat, Kayak, Pontoon Boat.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Where to buy cheap depth/fish finders for sale?
A: Take a look at this TOP 10 Best Fix/Portable Fish Finders & Depth Finders GPS Combo Units reviewed of 2020 and then press the Β«Check PriceΒ» button to check their price and availability.
Q: What are the best depth/fish finders for Bass Boat, Fishing Boat, Kayak, Pontoon Boat to buy?
A: The GPS Fishfinder for Fishing Boat [Garmin] is our Editor’s Choice as the best model of depth/fish finders with its combination of performance, features and quality.
I have been using the LUCKY fish finder for a few months now because I got it as a present. Honestly, the meter’s measurements bothered me at first but once I got used to them it really didn’t make any difference.