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Best Portable Fish Finders reviews 2019

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Wouldn’t it be great if you knew exactly where to find fish when out fishing? Well, now you can with a portable fish finder and here we provide a buying guide and reviews to help you find the best one.

Best portable fish finders

Comparison

 

In this modern era, technology is at the heart of almost everything that we do, and fishing is not an exception. Nowadays, fishing does not have to involve a lot of guesswork or spending a lot of time in an area that does not have any fish because a fish finder makes this much easier.

With a fish finder, you can easily tell where the spot you are at has fish, and if yes, where they are so that you can increase the chances of going home with a catch.

But with so many varieties of portable fish finders in the market, it is not always easy to narrow down your options to just one as they all look good and promise to offer the best experience.

However, this piece aims to change this by highlighting the important factors you need to look for in these gadgets and with our top 5 reviews.

01

ReelSonar Wireless Smart Fish Finder by ReelSonar

Our Pick

Pros

  • Unique fish identifier technology
  • Free IOS/Android app
  • Small and highly portable
  • Includes fish and strike alarms
  • Long battery life

Cons

A little too small and easy to lose.
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ReelSonar makes use of some advanced technology on this fish finder to make it a highly useful resource for fishing, and you will never want to leave it behind.

It comes with free apps for Android or IOS devices and in a small and highly portable size.

There are many other things that make this a top-notch fish finder such as the rechargeable battery with an indicator that will last for more than 10 hours.

Also, there is an optional social media share that allows you to share your fishing experience with friends and a built-in fish and strike alarm.

Compact, rugged and feature-rich gadgets that will take your fishing experience a notch higher.

For more about ReelSonar Wireless Smart Fish Finder, check out customer reviews on Amazon. If this is what you're looking, Check current price and Buy Now on Amazon

02

Garmin Strike 4 Fishfinder by Garmin

Pros

  • Easy to install and use
  • Handy waypoint map included
  • Built-in flasher for vertical jigging and ice fishing
  • High-frequency sonar for great image quality
  • Includes waypoint map and chirp sonar
  • Convenient keypad control

Cons

Instructions are not clear or very detailed.
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Despite the simple look of Garmin's Strike 4, it is still a top-notch and well-built fish finder that will help make it easy for you to locate fish. It uses high-frequency sonar that will deliver great image quality, and with a highly detailed representation of fish and other objects.

Setting it up and using it is also quite straightforward as it also comes with a convenient and intuitive keypad control. Also, it has a waypoint map that makes it easy to map, mark and navigate to different locations on the waterway and chirp sonar to provide a wide range of information.

This is also a great fish finder for ice fishing thanks to the built-in flasher.

A perfect pick for ice fishing thanks to the built-in flasher and chirp sonar.

You know what’s the most important feature of Garmin Strike 4 Fishfinder? One customer wrote details about this on Amazon. If this is what you're looking, Check current price and Buy Now on Amazon

03

Deeper Pro+ Smart Sonar by Deeper

Pros

  • Quick installation with no cables or batteries
  • Rich data output
  • Casts far and will scan deeper
  • Great connectivity with no internets required
  • Includes a built-in GPS

Cons

A little expensive.
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This portable and castable sonar fish finder is by far one of the best options out there, and this should explain its relatively higher price tag. It is designed to provide as much information as possible to improve your fishing experience and it will cast further and scan deeper than many other similar ones.

Also, it has inbuilt GPS that will come with many advantages such as allowing for mapping from the shore and live view and share.

The rock solid connectivity allows you to sync it with your phone or tablet using WiFi and without the need for internet. And it will install in just a few seconds without the need for cables or batteries.

If you prefer the improved connectivity of WiFi and are looking for something for getting to fish that are deeper this is your ideal choice.

You know what’s the most important feature of Deeper Pro+ Smart Sonar? One customer wrote details about this on Amazon. If this is what you're looking, Check current price and Buy Now on Amazon

04

Venterior VT-FF001 Fish Finder by Venterior

Pros

  • Package includes both display and transducer
  • Ideal for different fishing conditions
  • Displays depth in both feet and meters
  • Simple controls with few buttons
  • Highly affordable fish finder

Cons

  • Long cord can be annoying to deal with
  • Not completely waterproof.
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You do not have to spend a lot of cash to get a high performing fish finder because something highly affordable like this one still works great.

It is a compact and highly portable fish finder that comes with a transducer and a 25-foot long cable. With this fish finder, you can detect and display the water depth, approximate the location of the fish and other things like both tall and short weed and sand or rock.

The fish finder is designed to be ideal for different fishing conditions from ice fishing to fishing on the boat and from the shore.

There are only three buttons on the gadget to make control quite straightforward, and you can use them to choose one of 5 selectable settings.

The perfect choice for those looking for something highly affordable that still provides highly useful data and is straightforward to use.

If you’re interested in reading customer reviews of Venterior VT-FF001 Fish Finder, you should check from Amazon Now. If this is what you're looking, Check current price and Buy Now on Amazon

05

Humminbird 410210-1 Chirp GPS by Humminbird

Pros

  • Large color display
  • Highly efficient Chirp sonar
  • Intuitive and user-friendly features
  • Micro SD card slot included
  • Includes maps for entire US coastline and thousands of lakes

Cons

Quite a pricey gadget.
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The larger 5-inch color display is the first thing that will draw your attention to this portable fish finder, and it is a good indication that this is a top-notch gadget that will provide highly useful data.

It makes use of different sonar types such as Chirp and Dual Beam plus to provide quick and valuable information from depths of up to 1500-feet.

There is also a memory card slot in case you have other maps to view and the controls are intuitive and quite user-friendly.

Like most other top-notch fish finders there is also a built-in GPS that will also be very handy when navigating on the lake or coastline.

With the larger color display and chirp digital sonar, this fish finder is designed to make it super easy to locate fish and is also a highly user-friendly device.

For more about Humminbird 410210-1 Chirp GPS, check out customer reviews on Amazon. If this is what you're looking, Check current price and Buy Now on Amazon

Key factors to consider when buying

Fish finders might be highly useful gadgets, but if you do not pick the best one you will not get any of its many benefits, and you can instead end up having a terrible fishing experience.

But picking the perfect one should not be a laborious task as you only need to watch out for the following things.

Transducer

The transducer is what produces the sound waves that generate the image that you get when using a portable fish finder, and so it is an important factor to consider.

When it comes to the transducer, the most important thing to look at is the beam width. The larger the beam width the more the area the transducer can cover. Also, consider other things like the kind of beam emitted and frequency capacity to determine whether the transducer is good quality or not.

Screen size and the Resolution

While the transducer is what will generate the image, you still need to be able to see it clearly. Hence, the size of the screen and its resolution matter a lot as they will determine how you see the image. The larger the screen the better as it means you will get a larger image, and when it comes to the resolution, you should go for at least 240x160 pixels.

Display

You should be careful not to confuse display with a screen size or resolution because these are different aspects of a portable fish finder that you should consider. For the display, the color screen is the best and is also becoming the norm. And this is because the color screen will typically carry more detail than the black and white types and they are easier to read in any lighting condition.

Extra Features

There are some things that are not always necessary to have in a fish finder but can still make it more useful. They included things like preloaded maps of common waterways to make it easier for you to navigate the river or lake, suction mounts for easy attachment to your boat or canoe and protective casing to enhance the gadgets durability.

Conclusion

Fish finders will always make fishing a more interesting and successful activity, and if you are on the market for one, this guide is for you. But, if you do not have the time to go through everything

above, the ReelSonar Wireless Smart Fish Finder is our best overall product while the Venterior VT-FF001 is your best pick if you are looking for something highly affordable.

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01 ReelSonar Wireless Smart Fish Finder image large ReelSonar Wireless Smart Fish Finder
by ReelSonar
Compact, rugged and feature-rich gadgets that will take your fishing experience a notch higher. Buy now on Amazon
02 Garmin Strike 4 Fishfinder image large Garmin Strike 4 Fishfinder
by Garmin
A perfect pick for ice fishing thanks to the built-in flasher and chirp sonar. Buy now on Amazon
03 Deeper Pro+ Smart Sonar image large Deeper Pro+ Smart Sonar
by Deeper
If you prefer the improved connectivity of WiFi and are looking for something for getting to fish that are deeper this is your ideal choice. Buy now on Amazon
04 Venterior VT-FF001 Fish Finder image large Venterior VT-FF001 Fish Finder
by Venterior
The perfect choice for those looking for something highly affordable that still provides highly useful data and is straightforward to use. Buy now on Amazon
05 Humminbird 410210-1 Chirp GPS image large Humminbird 410210-1 Chirp GPS
by Humminbird
With the larger color display and chirp digital sonar, this fish finder is designed to make it super easy to locate fish and is also a highly user-friendly device. Buy now on Amazon
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