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Most fish finders come equipped with GPS nowadays. It is an incredibly useful piece of tech, and it can make finding fish all that much easier.
Now, of course, because there are so many fish finders with GPS in them, finding the perfect one is easier said than done. This is why we have put together this guide. We are going to answer, definitively, “Which fishfinder GPS is the best?”. Actually, we are going to give you a few options. After all, a fish finder that is perfect for one person may not necessarily be brilliant for another.
Before we do that, though. We want to cover a few things about GPS in a fish finder, as well as give you a few tips on finding the best fish finder for you.
Why Do You Need a Fish Finder With GPS?
Fishfinders are for finding fish beneath your boat, right? Why would you need GPS built into one? Well, there are a few reasons.
Firstly, a GPS is a useful navigational aid. Knowing exactly where you are at all times when you are on a boat is important. Many of the fish finders with a GPS will also have several maps built into them. This will allow you to track your position in relation to fish-harboring features.
We love our GPS because we can often find fishing location suggestions from other people online…when they are happy to share their lucrative spots, at least.
You will also find a fish finder with GPS particularly useful as you can keep a record of where you found a decent fish bounty and return to the spot time and time again.
Other Things To Think About When You Buy a Fish Finder With GPS
While we are (mostly) going to be focusing on the best fish finders with GPS on this page, we do want to point out that the fish finder is so much more than the GPS. There will need to be other features built into the gadget that will actually help you to find fish. This means that there are a few things that you will want to think about here.
Screen Resolution
The better the screen resolution, the more detail you will be able to see. This may be perfect for when you are fishing through the areas that are known to have smaller numbers of fish.
Screen Size
A big screen size is great. It means you get more detail on the screen. Although, of course, if you have a small boat, you don’t want the screen size to be too big. It will take up way too much space.
Type of Scan
There are two types of sonar scan on a fish finder:
- SideScan is designed for shallow water. It scans more to the sides of the boat.
- DeepScan will be designed for deeper water. Most of the sonar waves are sent downward.
The best fish finders on the market will be a combination of the two scanning types. This means that they are suitable for multiple fishing situations.
Frequency
Higher frequencies are good for shallow water. Lower frequencies are good for deeper water.
Ideally, you will try and get a fish finder that operates at multiple frequencies. Anything labeled as a CHIRP scanner will be ideal for this.
Ease of Installation
This is (mostly) about how you will attach the fish finder’s transducer (the bit that scans) to your boat. Most of the time, you will connect it with a bracket. However, for those that want the transducer to be easily removable, there are also castable options.
There will also need to be some way for the transducer to communicate with the fish finder’s screen. In most cases, this will be through a wire. However, there are also Wi-Fi options out there too. The latter tends to be easier to use, but it is more prone to losing the connection.
Additional Features
GPS will be one of the additional features that you can find on a fish finder. However, there will be multiple other features that you can enjoy too. For example:
- Fish alerts: the fish finder will alert you if it sees a fish
- The ability to mark on a map your fishing spots
- Speed tracking, although this normally comes as standard on GPS models.
Our Picks For The Best Fish Finder GPS
In this section, we want to go through what we genuinely believe are the best fish finders on the market.
We are not going to definitively label one fish finder as ‘the best’, because we know that what we see as the best fish finder may not necessarily be the right one for somebody else. So, we encourage you to go through the features of each of the fish finders with GPS that we mention here. This will allow you to determine which one is going to be perfect for your particular fishing situation.
Humminbird Helix 5
Whenever we put together a list like this, the Humminbird Helix 5 is always going to need to make an appearance. This is because it genuinely is one of the best fish finders on the market. There are a ton of features packed into it, and we don’t just mean the GPS!
The GPS accuracy is fantastic. It will allow you to quickly determine where you are. You will also be able to mark on the map exactly where you have found your best catches. The GPS pairs up nicely with the chart plotter that will allow you to easily avoid any marked obstacles in the waters that you are fishing in.
You have a wealth of features that will make it easy to find fish too.
Tired ot working out whether a particular arc in the water is a fish? Don’t worry. The Humminbird Helix 5 will be able to work out what is a fish and what isn’t. It will then be clearly marked on your screen. This will allow you to work out whether it is going to be worth dropping the line.
Don’t feel like you have to pay attention to the screen at all times too. There will be audible alarms if the Humminbird Helix 5 has spotted a fish. You also have the ability to rewind the screen readings to see whether you have missed something.
If that wasn’t enough, the Humminbird Helix 5 relies on CHIRP technology. This means that it operates on multiple frequencies and with multiple sonar scanning modes. This means that it is exceedingly versatile.
All of this is going to be displayed on a beautiful 5″ color display. It is one of the best color displays on the market. You will feel a great sense of pride having this baby in your boat.
Garmin Striker Plus 4
A Garmin fish finder had to be included on this list. After all, Garmin is well-versed in the world of GPS. They produce some of the most popular vehicle route finders in the world. We also included this because we know that some people looking for a fish finder with GPS are looking for something a touch more affordable. This fish finder can pretty much always be found at an affordable price.
The screen size is a rather compact 4.3″ long, and about half of that wide. This means that it may be one of the better fish finders to have to hand if you are in a smaller boat.
You have both a CHIRP and dual-beam sonar built into this. This means that it is built for pretty much all fishing situations. However, we reckon that it performs a touch better when you are trawling through waters under 150-feet deep.
One of our favorite features of the Garmin Striker Plus 4 is the map drawing feature. This will allow you to draw maps as you go. This means that you can easily label contours, obstacles, and even mark the areas that you picked up your best catches.
This may not be one of the most expensive fish finders on the market, but it is certainly up there with the best.
Lowrance Elite FS7
The final fishfinder with GPS that we want to highlight is the Lowrance Elite FS7 FishFinder. This fish finder has a huge 7″ screen. It has been designed for those bigger boats, so you probably won’t be hauling this into your kayak.
There are multiple sonar options built into the device. This means that you can use it in all types of water. However, that is to be expected. All of the fish finders that we have talked about so far have that. However, the scanning options on this are something special.
You see, the transducer, in combination with the screen, can produce scans of the water that are almost photographic in quality. This means that you will physically be able to see the fish and features, rather than just seeing a blur that kinda looks like a fish. It makes fishing so much easier.
Our favorite feature in the Lowrance Elite FS7 is the ‘active targeting’ feature. When you drop your hook into the water, you will be able to see the fish physically reacting. This can really help to spice up your fishing technique.
It is one of the simplest fish finders to use too. The multi-touch display will have you navigating through the features intuitively.
Conclusion
GPS is pretty much a staple with most fish finders on the market. This means that answering “Which fish finder GPS is the best?” can be rather tricky. However, after extensively reviewing all of the top options on the market, we reckon that most people will be happy with one of the three options we highlighted. They genuinely are the best of the best.
Cover Image Credit: Photo by Maël BALLAND from Pexels
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