Which Fish Finders Are Touch Screen?

Touchscreen fish finders are certainly nothing new, however, there are a surprising amount of fish finders out there that haven’t incorporated the technology into their own devices, for whatever reasons. Of course, that leaves the rest of us behind to sort through the ones that are.

Fortunately, there are a lot of good choices when it comes to touchscreen fish finders, so you won’t be lost trying to find one. Most major brands—such as Garmin, Raymarine, Lowrance, and Humminbird all have feature fish finders with touchscreens. 

Which ones are worth your while is all a matter of opinion and personal experience, however, most of the ones that you find are going to be pretty solid, at least in the touchscreen department. 

With that being said, here are some impressive, touchscreen fish finders that may find their way into your shopping cart and—at some point in the future—onto your boat. 

Lowrance Elite 7 Ti

The Lowrance Elite 7 Ti doesn’t have a gigantic touchscreen but although it’s lacking in screen real estate, it makes up for it in high resolution, with crisp, clear images and intuitive, responsive touchscreen controls. 

Features

• High-Res Touchscreen
• Touchscreen Controls for compatible devices
• Great connectivity
• TotalScan
• Med-High Skimmer
• HDI
• LSS-HD
• TrackBack

One interesting touchscreen feature—well, it’s actually a feature derived from the guts of the Elite 7 Ti—is that it allows you to sync with other devices. This includes SmartSteer controls and essentially turns your craft into a “smart boat.”

More specifically, you can use the touchscreen to control compatible devices, such as Xi 5 Trolling Motors, Power Poles, Shallow Water Anchors, and the SonicHub 2 Marine Audio System.

Since it’s small, it’s great for smaller boats or when you’re really loaded down with plenty of equipment and people. It also has a high degree of connectivity to go along with the improved clarity of the screen.

Its screen isn’t the only thing that’s in high-resolution either, as the precise and extremely clear Down-Scan imaging that it’s capable of indicates. You’ll get incredible levels of detail that include fish, structures on the seafloor, and the underwater geography as it dips and curves. 

The Lowrance Ti comes with what’s called a TotalScan transducer that’s extremely efficient, in that you only have to run through a single transducer install to take advantage of all the features that the Elite 7 Ti has to offer. 

The Med-High Skimmer Transducer is just another way of saying that this device can seriously zero in on the fish. It has high-performance capabilities and you’re not likely to miss out on much, especially if it has fins and moves around. 

HDI is included in the transducer and plays a major role in how everything comes together to bring you immediate, crystal clear imagery from below your craft. The addition of LSS-HD helps the transducer target fish, wherever they are. They simply won’t be able to hide from this thing. 

The Trackback feature allows you to go back and view all of your sonar activity throughout the trip, which gives you the advantage of being able to spot what you missed and mark locations for future visits.

Garmin EchoMap Plus 93cv

The Garmin EchoMap Plus 93cv has some size on its Elite 7 Ti counterpart. The touchscreen is 9” diagonally and while it doesn’t come equipped for high-definition viewing, it is designed to be readable in direct sunlight or at night. 

Features

• 9” key-assisted touchscreen combo
• LakeVu g3 Maps with Navionics
• GT52 Transducer with ClearVu, SideVu, and Panoptix
• Quickdraw Contours Mapping
• ActiveCaptain App Companion
• ECHOMAP Plus

This Garmin fishfinder variation includes a GT52 Transducer that includes Garmins more traditional CHIRP sonar and combines it with ClearVu and SideVu scanning sonars as well.

While it doesn’t necessarily use Panoptix, the system is compatible with it should you want to add that software at a later date. 

ECHOMAP plus gives the 93cv the capability to separate targets and differentiate between fish, seafloor, and other objects while also giving everything a high level of definition and clarity. On top of that, it also supports Minn Kota and MotorGuide transducers.

LakeVu g3 is a preloaded package of maps that cover a wide range of maps. Integrating Navionics extends that capability to up to 17,000 U.S. bodies of water. The Shallow Shading software helps you differentiate between shallow areas and deep areas when you’re trolling inland.

The addition of the customization options comes from the Quickdraw Contour Mapping that allows you to create your own or overlay any map that’s already in the system, creating your own plot points along the way. 

The ActiveCaptain App companion allows you to transfer tons of data collected throughout your sonar readings, including your customized maps and plot points. 

Raymarine Axiom 12

The absolute largest screen on this list, the Raymarine Axiom 12 has a 12” RealVision 3D visual display, which doesn’t even compare to the fact that this thing is a full-bore computer with a quad-core processor running a LightHouse 3 Operating System.

Features

• 12” RealVision 3D Display
• Quad-Core LightHouse 3 OS
• High-Frequency CHIRP with 600W Sonar
• SonarChart with Navionics
• Dock-to-Dock Autorouting
• RealVision 3D Transducer

This thing looks like a high-end tablet on a boat and, for all practical purposes, it is. Except that this high-end tablet is designed to focus all of its raw energy on finding fish, along with just about everything else you will need out on the water.

The display is downright stunning and the 3D is true to marketing. The transducer provides stunning imagery by combining the elements of Side-View and Down-View scanning, a built-in gyroscope for automated stabilization, and high frequency to bring the ocean or lake floor to life.

The SonarChart and Navionics combination provides detailed maps of over 20,000 bodies of water in the United States and Canada. And you also get to access, create, and customize your own maps or simply overlay new contours and map designs onto originals. 

If you’re looking for raw power out on the waves, this beast will find the fish for you, put you right over them and let you see their gills working as they swim.

Lowrance HDS Live

Lowrance continues its tradition of producing high-quality fish finders with the Lowrance HDS Live. The 9” display is a high-definition, SolarMax IPS touchscreen with all of the bells and whistles that you expect. 

Features

• SolarMax IPS HD Touchscreen with key support
• ActiveTarget Live Sonar 
• 3 in 1 ActiveImaging
• StructureScan 3D Ready
• Preloaded Contour C-Map
• Wireless Syncing Touchscreen Controls
• NMEA 2,000/Bluetooth/LiveCast

The display screen is a work of art and truly breaks down everything you need to see in crystal-clear imagery. The ActiveImaging and StructureScan Software brings the water beneath you to life, with incredibly detailed images.

The ActiveTarget software allows you to see everything that the fish are doing, including when they decide to move or even when they go for cover. You can watch how they respond to your bait and adjust accordingly. 

FishReveal combines DownScan imaging with high-definition imagery from the water below and does so in a way that it doesn’t need to be presented on two different panels on the viewer. 

Contour+ allows you to take full advantage of the built-in maps that include 15,000 U.S. lakes and 9,000 lakes in Canada. You can overlay them with your own, customized version, including your plot points and your own maps. 

Garmin EchoMap Plus 74cv

The EchoMap Plus 74cv isn’t quite in the same league as its cousin, the 93sv, but it’s still quite the machine in its own right. 

Features

• 7” WVGA Display
• IPX7 Water Rating
• GT23 Transducer
• BlueChart g3 Charts and Navionics
• ClearvuScanning Sonar
• Quickdraw Contours Mapping
• ActiveCaptain App

The 7” WVGA display isn’t going to give you a reason to write home about it, but what it does, it does effectively. You still get clear imagery and the benefit of being able to see it even in direct sunlight.

Echomap combined with Garmin’s traditional CHIRP sonar capabilities creates excellent target separation with clarity in their distinguishing characteristics. The ClearVu capabilities give you photo-realistic imagery, including the fish.

BlueChart g3 and Navionics combine for access to the coastlines of the United States, Canada, and Much of the Gulf of Mexico. You also have a high degree of flexibility in creating your own maps and plot points as well. 

The ActiveCaptain app is an excellent companion app for the 74cv, which includes access to all of your maps, charter, plot points, and community forums that share the use of Garmin fish finder devices. 

The app also allows you to download new charts and plot points that are then integrated with the existing maps on the 74cv.

Final Thoughts

Of course, there are more touchscreen fishfinders than the ones listed in this article. Many of them are outstanding in their own right, but listing them all would require the work of a novelist. 

What the fishfinders on this list do represent, is the pinnacle in touchscreen fishfinder technology. These brand names have a lot of experience and are consistently designing new products and services to help get you on the fish.