Hey everyone, 

Now that I have moved to mainly fishing in the local lakes/reservoirs around me, I feel like it may be beneficial to add some sort of fish finder and a trolling motor. I started on smaller bodies of water, but now that I have moved to bigger bodies of water(ex 400 acre lake) I feel like this may help me catch more. My current kayak is a 10 foot ascend fishing kayak. I have been catching some fish, but I see people having incredible days where I fish who have boats with electronics and trolling motors. Two of the lakes I fish are clear water where fish relate to deeper structure and brush or bait. These places are electric only btw. My question is whether adding electronics and a trolling motor will help me catch more fish and be more efficient or will they just be another piece of kayak fishing making it more difficult. Additionally, how much will electronics such as a fish finder cost all in. I have no experience on fishing boats except for one trip on a Jon boat.

I appreciate everything,

Bryce  
 

Hello Bryce,

     Electronics and trolling motors can range considerably from a couple of hundred bucks to two or three thousand for either.

     Finding a good mid-range that is the best bang for your buck can be tricky. Basic electronics that will show you depth and fish with a smaller screen can be had for under three or four hundred.  If you want the side scan and down scan and chart plotting capabilities that will cost you more. The bigger the screen and the more options the bucks go up considerably. I am at the top end of the scale with my Garmin 106sv UHD2 and live scope. But you can find a couple of year old model for much less that will have the above capabilities.  I have been mostly a Garmin user for the past 8-10 years.      Something like a Garmin echomap 73sv non UHD version you may be able to get for 3-500 bucks. It would have the side scan, down scan, traditional sonar and mapping. just not the latest version.

     Look around, take a trip to Bass Pro shops if there is one in your area.  See what they have on the shelf.  Trolling motors are about the same. lots of things to take into consideration ( how much additional weight can your Kayak carry? ).  Include both the battery and motor in that equation.  How are you going to mount it? How are you going to control it?

    Same thing for the electronics. Where are you going to mount it (unit and transducer), how are you going to power it?  Your paddling now? So then your almost have to look at center mounting the head unit to keep your paddle travel path clear.

      Lot's of questions to be answered.

Best,

FM

 

  

I started off with a 45 lb thrust Minnkota and a Helix 7 fish finder. Two things that were key in those investments:

 

•The Minnkota had spot-lock. Fishing in a kayak in wind or current can be difficult. Holding position with Spot-lock was a game changer and gave me the necessary boat control. Motorguide has their equivalent of Spot-lock as well. 

 

•With a Helix 7, you can purchase your state’s mapping card (Lakemaster) and it loads the contours/depths of your lake. Be sure to check first if your lake is included in the Lakemaster chip.  Sometimes smaller lakes are not mapped. Knowing depths, contours, drop-offs, underwater points, etc. is very helpful to follow fish patterns. 
 

IF you think you would add Livescope or Mega Live later, then you should start out with a 9 inch screen. Otherwise, the 7 works just fine in a kayak. 

I've owned Garmin EchoMap and Humminbird Helix. Both are wonderful. I found the Helix to have better side imaging (if that means anything to you).

 

Cannot recommend spot-lock enough! It has been a game changer!!

 

If you are thinking Humminbird, check for compatibility with new Mega Live 2...I believe you need an Explore model to make that work.

1 hour ago, FryDog62 said:

I started off with a 45 lb thrust Minnkota and a Helix 7 fish finder. Two things that were key in those investments:

 

•The Minnkota had spot-lock. Fishing in a kayak in wind or current can be difficult. Holding position with Spot-lock was a game changer and gave me the necessary boat control. Motorguide has their equivalent of Spot-lock as well. 

 

•With a Helix 7, you can purchase your state’s mapping card (Lakemaster) and it loads the contours/depths of your lake. Be sure to check first if your lake is included in the Lakemaster chip.  Sometimes smaller lakes are not mapped. Knowing depths, contours, drop-offs, underwater points, etc. is very helpful to follow fish patterns. 
 

IF you think you would add Livescope or Mega Live later, then you should start out with a 9 inch screen. Otherwise, the 7 works just fine in a kayak. 

No im not looking to spend that kind of money. I will look into those thank you. 

my first fish finder was a Garmin Striker 4 or something.  i was doing really well with it.  very inexpensive, easy to use,.  i gave it away when i upgraded.  i was gifted a new one in a box, and i gave it away as well.   it takes little juice to run all day long.

 

it has what i consider the most important to me.  depth and the water temp.  mostly depth.  when i do catch a fish, it is nice to mentally note the depth so i can try to find similar patches of water to repeat successes.  your kayak you may have some transducer challenges.  mounting it.   you can glue it inside your hull in a big homogenous glob of silicon, but that was not fun.  my bud kept getting air pockets.  hahah..

 

and the motor, again...mounting it.  

Garmin also makes a Striker vivid series that has mapping and a 7" screen that is about 400 for a new one.  That's Garmin's retail new.  You can probably find it cheaper on sale.  With both the electronics and the trolling motor it is really a buy once cry once kinda thing. You'll never hear someone complain about his screen being too big or his motor is too powerful.

FM

13 minutes ago, Fishingmickey said:

Garmin also makes a Striker vivid series that has mapping and a 7" screen that is about 400 for a new one.  That's Garmin's retail new.  You can probably find it cheaper on sale.  With both the electronics and the trolling motor it is really a buy once cry once kinda thing. You'll never hear someone complain about his screen being too big or his motor is too powerful.

FM

Correction - the Striker does have GPS but does not have Navionics type mapping.  You can create your own maps using quickdraw and paddling round.  But it will not have access to preloaded maps.

Thanks Slowworm, I just did a quick search on the Garmin site.

FM

I answer your other question. Adding a fish finder isn’t going to make you go from a 10 fish day to a 100 fish day. Fishing in general is a learning curve that for me anyway never stops. Adding electronics is going to add a whole new learning curve. You have to learn how to dial it in and interpret what you’re seeing in order for it to be beneficial. Don’t misinterpret what I’m saying because I wouldn’t go fishing without mine. It just takes time, effort, and a lot of learning to see results. 
 

As far as the electronics themselves, get the biggest screen you can afford. If you can wait until Black Friday you’ll save a decent chunk of change.

1 hour ago, 12poundbass said:

 

As far as the electronics themselves, get the biggest screen you can afford. If you can wait until Black Friday you’ll save a decent chunk of change.

in general, I agree.  but off a kayak - not so much.  I didnt go bigger than a 7" screen for one reason.  I needed to leave a landing strip for me to climb back aboard if I fall out.   it's tight, but I fit.

6 minutes ago, Darth-Baiter said:

in general, I agree.  but off a kayak - not so much.  I didnt go bigger than a 7" screen for one reason.  I needed to leave a landing strip for me to climb back aboard if I fall out.   it's tight, but I fit.

True. I kinda figured most kayakers would realize a 12, 15, or 18” screen would be too big for a kayak.

What do you plan to use it for? What kind of depths do you usually fish? If you fish shallow water, downscan or down imaging doesn't really do anything for you. Side scan can be useful for finding structure, but it can be difficult to fins fish.

 

BEFORE you buy anything online, go to Bass Pro or somewhere else and look at the different screen sizes in demo mode. Stand as far back or even a little father than you would be from where the unit is mounted on your kayak.

 

Next, realize the demo mode is an enhanced version of what you will actually see when you use the unit.

 

You can find 5" screens that have side scan, but if you set the range to 100 feet or even 50 feet you're not going to see much detail on that small of a screen even if you have great vision.

 

What I'm getting at is that you may not want to make the same mistake that I did and buy a small screen unit because it was more affordable. I started out with a 5" Lowrance with both down and side imaging and I found it hard to see any detail on side scan. Sure, it was better when I set it to 20 or 30 feet, but in a slow moving kayak that takes a lot of time to cover water and mark structure.

 

I ended up upgrading to a Helix 7 with side scan and that was much, much better. As mentioned earlier, the Lakemaster map cards are also fantastic.

 

Last year I added Garmin Livescope with a 9" screen while still running my Helix 7 for mapping. But you know what, I'm now kicking myself for not investing in a 10" or 12" display. 

 

So, along with checking them out in demo mode in the store, my suggestion is to read up on how to use a fish finder and make sure it's something that will benefit the way that you fish. Understand it's limitations as well as how you will use it. It's not a magic bullet. It takes a lot of practice to figure out what you are seeing and WHERE you are seeing the fish.

 

Think of sonar as taking a picture of a ball being thrown in the air. When you look at the picture you know the ball is moving, but you have no idea which direction it's moving from that snapshot. LIvescope, on the other hand, is like watching a movie. However, you still have to track that ball as it moves.

 

I would spend a lot of time watching videos learning how to use a fish finder and side imaging and decide if that's for you. If it is, check out the screen sizes in demo mode before making a purchase.

 

I have helix 7 MSI on my old town pedal drive kayak. 

 

I recommend you start with very cheap electronics. It's a huge learning curve that distracts from fishing. You can get a cheap unit with just down scan that tells you depth, temp, and can find balls of bait. That's a ton of info to learn from starting out. I highly doubt you'll start catching significantly more fish by going from 200-500 investment. Also  you don't need gps on a 400 acre lake. I have GPS on mine and rarely use it. The lake card doesn't include my lake and the screen is limited so I focus on side imaging looking for structure and shad. 

 

I'm definitely not the best at using electronics. That's because I like to fish, not stare at screen. I'd love to learn more about my setup, but have limited fishing time and prefer to be casting and looking around rather than staring down. 

 

Also, I hit my rod on me screen regularly. I'm clumsy for sure, but space is very limited on yak so think about where it'll go. You want it close so you can see it. 

I agree to get the side imaging version of the Helix 7.  Can scan for structure, bait balls, even isolated fish at times. Makes the day on the water much more productive. 
 

Here’s a rock pile I found with my Helix 7 MSI from a kayak. 

On 6/7/2025 at 7:13 AM, FishTax said:

I have helix 7 MSI on my old town pedal drive kayak. 

 

I recommend you start with very cheap electronics. It's a huge learning curve that distracts from fishing. You can get a cheap unit with just down scan that tells you depth, temp, and can find balls of bait. That's a ton of info to learn from starting out. I highly doubt you'll start catching significantly more fish by going from 200-500 investment. Also  you don't need gps on a 400 acre lake. I have GPS on mine and rarely use it. The lake card doesn't include my lake and the screen is limited so I focus on side imaging looking for structure and shad. 

 

I'm definitely not the best at using electronics. That's because I like to fish, not stare at screen. I'd love to learn more about my setup, but have limited fishing time and prefer to be casting and looking around rather than staring down. 

 

Also, I hit my rod on me screen regularly. I'm clumsy for sure, but space is very limited on yak so think about where it'll go. You want it close so you can see it. 

Ok thank you and everyone for the responses 

a helix 7 MSI G3 (you don't need a G4 or an 'N' model) is a good choice.  They have been clearing them due to the xplore models coming out and they are down to $500 or so now brand new.  It is a good balance of big enough to see things but not so big that it is in the way or that you're limited in mounts.  It is a big jump to get to a 9" from there (I did that upgrade myself) and unless you know you need it for some reason it adds just 'more' to everything- power draw, cockpit real estate, cost, mount size, etc.  

I'll weigh in although you've already gotten a wide range of good ideas.  First I'd decide if you want to take the "buy once, cry once" approach and buy the best you can afford, or get a basic setup that you may upgrade later.

 

I used a very basic 2D only unit for well over a decade.  I mounted it inside the hull (shoot-thru) and it just used it really for showing depth, bottom contours, and bottom composition.  This is a huge help if you are fishing offshore and not just casting to visible cover.  I've since upgraded to a larger unit with down/side scan, mapping, larger screen etc.  Its  much nicer, but I wouldn't consider it required.  Plan out how you are going to rig everything before buying.  It would suck to have a really nice unit that you can't rig up well to get the most out of it.

 

Motors are the same - think through how you will rig it up before buying one.  Some kayaks make for a very clean install, others (usually cheaper ones) really just arent meant to have one and you would need to get really creative to make it work.  For the size lakes you are talking, I wouldn't consider it required.

 

Temper your expectations, electronics and motors are nice to have but aren't going to be a magic fix that double your catch rate.