Thread: Sonar for kayak

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  1. #1
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    Jun 2018
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    Villisca, IA
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    Sonar for kayak

    I'm looking for some sonar for a friend of mine. He's 19 and in college, so he doesnt have alot of extra money. Im guessing $200 absolute max, closer to $150 would be better. For the most part he is fishing farm ponds with it. Whats some good choices for him?

  2. Member Ring King's Avatar
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    Apr 2005
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    Santa Rosa, California
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    #2
    I would look at the Humminbird Helix 5 Sonar. It's a basic color unit but works well. Or try to find someone on here that's selling one down in the classifieds. The trick with kayaks is that he'll need more than just the unit. He will need a RAM mount or some other type of mounting bracket as well as a transducer deployment arm (if he wants it over the side so that temp readings are correct). Both of those can easily add another $100 to the price of equipping the kayak. Do you know what kind of kayak he has? Some are built with accessories included to cover those issues and some are not.

  3. Member
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    Apr 2013
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    Hot Springs Village, Arkansas
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    #3
    I stuck a Garmin Striker 4 on my Jackson kayak. They have a “plus” model now that will draw maps. That would be great on an unmapped body of water like a pond.

    I recently bought a Hobie kayak that came with a Raymarine Dragonfly 5 Pro. It’s a very nice locator, Hobie has a transducer mount that made for Lowrance transducers but works great with the Raymarine unit. If your buddy’s kayak is set up for a certain brand of transducer, I’d go with that.
    Tracker Panfish 16

    Bonafide EX123 Kayak

  4. Member
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    Jul 2014
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    Crossville, TN & Houston, TX
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    #4
    There are tons of transducers that have been "Gooped" inside of the hull on kayaks. I did it. The temperatures are slightly off, but only due to the thickness of the plastic. For farm ponds, I imagine that he is looking for temp. differences, not specifcs.