Looking for opinions on new graph for kayak.

Lowrance, Hummingbird or Garmin

I am watching this thread as well.

They all have their pros and cons; they all have their fans and foes. All of those brands build a quality product. Some folks want a unit that does everything possible; some just want the depth, bottom composition, and water temperature. You have to decide what you need (or want) in a graph. How you fish, where you fish, when you fish; these are all factors to consider, as well as your budget. It all comes down to what YOU need, not what someone else says you need. I'm happy with a 4" monochrome basic unit in my kayaks; I don't want or need anything more than that (speaking for the yaks here; not my powerboats). But I see people who put a $3K bigscreen in their yak that supports satellite imagery GPS, sidescan, and will probably whip them up a mess of bacon & eggs when they get hungry. And they feel they couldn't make it with anything less. Look at the features each offers and compare that to what you feel you need or want, and go from there. What works for me may not work for you. It's your boat; rig it your way.

If you want to be able to see details more easily, I recommend at least a 7" graph. 9" would be better/ideal if you have the real estate. I'm going to assume you want a all in one graph with SI, DI, and Sonar.

Nothing beats Humminbird Mega for side imaging, and the down imaging is at least as good as any. Sonar isn't the best but does the job. Helix are the most affordable model with Mega. That said, the Helix 7 units have a smaller transducer and the imaging quality lacks a lot compared to the bigger models with the bigger, legit Mega transducer. The DI on it is not real DI either. It is a composite of both SI images. You need to get a Helix 8 Mega SI+ at the least, or Helix 9 and up for the better transducer and imaging quality. The 9 is still on sale for $1,199, which is the regular price of the 8.

Garmin UHD with the GT56 is said to be the closest to Mega as far as imaging. But they typically come with the GT54 transducer though. Everyone loves how user friendly they are. The imaging is good enough on the GT54, and Garmin has the best 2D sonar. If you think you ever might want to add the almighty Livescope later, it's the one to get. The 93SV with the GT54 is still on sale for $699 at the moment.

Lowrance HDS Carbon are a really good option too. HDS Live is the newer version, but for 7 and 9 inchers, the HDS Carbon shares much of the same features and tech for less money. Just make sure it has the 3 in 1 or Totalscan transducer. The HDS down imaging is better than the Garmin with GT54. The SI might be as well, or about even. The Fish Reveal feature looks cool, but I don't know how useful it is.

I feel the same. I went with the 7 inch Garmin 73sv thinking a 7 inch screen would be the max size I would want on a kayak. I should have gotten the 9 inch. If you plan to run multiple graphs at the same time, the bigger the better.

I'm a fan of Garmin. They have the Active Captain app and with the Echomap units you can use that app to wirelessly transfer waypoints to your unit and also from Navionics. The 73 or 74 Echomap units are awesome and plenty for the kayak in most situations. A 9" screen would be better in some ways but could also get in the way and would use a little more battery power.

Here's a fairly recent thread on the topic https://texasfishingforum.com/forum...151048/fish-finder-opinions#Post14151048

Same. I had a 7in Lowrance unit on my old hobie. I will have a 9" or maybe bigger on my new one.

Get this one. I wasn't looking to upgrade, until now. Sometimes, I get hungry while fishing. That's more than my wife does, and she cost a lot more than an initial investment of $3K

I picked up a used Lowrance Elite 7xhdi.
I'm going to try it and if I decide I want bigger I can put this one on the bass boat.

Thank you for all the input.