Lowrance Fish Finders Buyer’s Guide

With a huge variety of Lowrance Fish Finders available for a variety of price points, our buyer’s guide will help point you in the right direction.

The advances in sonar technology have been phenomenal in the past few years, making fish finders even more powerful and a must have for all fishing expeditions. Lowrance fish finders use the latest innovations when it comes to sonar technology, display units, GPS and mapping and charting. They also come in at a range of prices, allowing everyone to access a fish finder at a suitable budget.

According to industry experts, the display is probably the most important aspect of selecting a fish finder. When selecting a model, it is worth looking at what you want in terms of color, contrast and detail as these details will have the most dramatic effect on what you are able to discern from a returning sonar signal.

It is worth checking the pixel details as a higher number will give you a smoother display and help you to make out what is actually on the monitor screen. A higher resolution, that is more vertical pixels, and greater contrast will give you more discernible images, especially in direct sunlight.

It is also worth noting that high resolution color displays means that the fish show up in different colors and you can differentiate them from other objects such as weeds, baitfish and trees.

Most sonar units operate at a low 50kHz or at a high 192kHz or 200kHz while some Lowrance fish finders operate at both low and high frequency, depending on the task that is assigned.

Water has a natural ability to absorb higher frequency signals more than those on the lower end so the 50kHz units penetrate deeper depths. However, they have a wide cone angle and produce less definition and target separation. They are also more susceptible to noise and distortion.

Higher frequency units, in the range of 192 to 200, are very effective in shallower depths, have a narrower cone angle, and produce better definition and target separation. These frequencies are less susceptible to noise and distortion.

Another feature that needs to be taken into account when looking at Lowrance fish finders is the GPS facility. The choice is between internal and external GPS receivers, although some manufacturers recommend against installing internal GPS units in cabins and behind windshields.

When selecting a fish finder you might also want to consider mapping and charting options. These can be expanded with plug-in SD cards from companies such as Navionics, LakeMaster, Garmin and Lowrance. These systems deliver incredible detail for anglers wanting to know as much as possible about the water they are fishing. Some units come conveniently preloaded with mapping and charting software.

Lowrance HOOK2 9

Lowrance HOOK2 9 is a nine-inch fish finder with TripleShot transducer and comes with a map card for the United States and Canada. It is described as easy to use with auto-tuning sonar and phone-like menus. Simply turn it on and fish. It is also worth noting that its wider sonar cone gives you double the coverage of traditional fish finders.

Lowrance describes this model as being easy to install with a single transducer that can be mounted on the transom, inside the hull, on the trolling motor or through a scupper hole.

The TripleShot transducer gives you high CHIRP wide-angle sonar, plus SideScan and DownScan Imaging. It has detailed preloaded CMAP mapping with one foot contours for over 3,000 lakes plus standard coverage of an additional 9,000 lakes.

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Lowrance HOOK2 7X

There is also a Lowrance seven-inch fish finder which also comes with a TripleShot transducer and GPS plotter, which is described as the easiest ever fish finder to use.

This model has a bright, led-backlit display with CHIRP, down scan and structure scan technology along with auto-tuning sonar and phone like menus.

The single transducer mounts to the transom of your boat and the views mean that you get a straight down image from the downscan, a view of up to 300 feet each side from the sidescan and fish arch views from the CHIRP.

The GPS plotter on these Lowrance fish finders can mark your trail, set waypoints and mark your favourite fishing spots. Not all offers come with maps, so you may have to get them separately.

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Lowrance HOOK2 5 SplitShot

The HOOK2 5 SplitShot Sonar/GPS Combo fish finder has one touch access with a solar Max display for better viewing. It also has easy access to key functions, simple menus and auto-tuning sonar.

Indeed, the SplitShot 2-in-1 sonar includes wide-angle broadband coverage with high CHIRP and downscan Imaging while simple, accurate GPS plotter charts your location. According to the manufacturer it simplifies finding fish with double the sonar coverage of traditional fish finders.  It comes with an easy to use front-dash or gimbal bracket mount. Mapping options include C-MAP, C-MAP Genesis, Navionics and more and it has a Micro-SD card slot.

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Lowrance Elite Ti CHIRP

The all new Elite Ti CHIRP series of Lowrance fish finders has an exclusive high resolution touchscreen display, support for CHIRP frequencies, and integrated Bluetooth and wireless connectivity. The easy to see, LED-backlit, widescreen display has both touchscreen and keypad options for lightning fast, fingertip access to all Elite Ti features.

In this range the Elite-7 Ti provides picture like 180-degree views of structures and fish below your boat. The award winning Broadband Sounder allows you to display and mark game fish, baitfish, and structures at higher speeds and at greater depths down to 1000 feet.

The internal GPS antenna with 10Hz position update rate provides ultra-accurate trails, smoother chart performance, and maximum position accuracy. It comes preloaded with maps with more than 3,000 lakes and rivers and a micro SD card slot lets you upgrade to more detailed maps.

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Lowrance HOOK4

For smaller budgets, the Lowrance HOOK4 CHIRP DSI comes with downscan imaging that provides easy to understand, picture-like views as well as selectable, single-frequency Broadband Sounder capability. It can separate fish targets from surrounding structures.

This fish finder and chart plotter combo model comes with a highly accurate built-in GPS that includes a detailed background base map and a microSD card slot for map upgrades. You can also use your Insight Genesis custom maps created from your own sonar logs.

It also offers TrackBack for accessing multiple pages of sonar history, advanced signal processing, and a convenient page selector menu with quick access to all features using one thumb operation. The multi-window display lets you quickly choose from pre-set page layouts, including a three panel view.

The advantages of the sonar means it is easier to identify and distinguish bait and game fish targets, gives better target identification at greater depths and mark fish clearly at faster boat speeds. It has a 4.3-inch display and goes to a maximum depth of 1,000 feet.

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