I recently got the Striker 4 and have found it very useful. Definitely has helped me catch more fish by not wasting time in places there are no fish.

If powerfishing shorelines with search baits is what's working on a particular day then yeah, a fish finder won't help you much in that situation. But there are plenty of situations where a fish finder (more importantly - knowing how to interpret and respond to what your fish finder is showing you) will be the difference maker.

There are days when I don't even bring my fish finder, because I know I'm just going to be throwing frogs in lily pads or powerfishing the shallows. There are days when I bring it just to see what the water temp is. And there are days when I'm confident I would have caught nothing at all if not for the fish finder. At the end of the day it's just another tool and knowing how and when to use it (chasing individual fish marks is often a waste of time) is what really matters.

Yes, they are a great tool, but use them -in addition to- not in place of the good techniques you already have. They are merely another point of information.

Some of the more valuable things they tell you is depth and surface temprature, and depending on the quality of the unit, they give you a great understanding of the makeup of the bottom (side sonar with a large screen is great for this). All this information is really useful in understanding whether to fish a particular spot, and how to fish it.

Regarding the 'fish finder' aspect of fish finders, I don't have much luck targeting individual fish, but it helps me see if the water I am in has a lot of activity. If an area has activity, I will note the depth, temp, and the makeup of the bottom, and then fish the whole area using good technique and a few appropriate baits. If I have luck, then I might stick with that depth, bottom type and whatever bait is doing best.

Sonar does not see fish in the weeds very well, and so the fish finding part of the device works best for me in open water. Also, if you are on top of the fish so that your sonar can see it, you may have already spooked it. Some people drift and drop shot over individual fish, but I can't imagine doing that in my fairy clear lakes unless the water is more than 15ft deep and there is some chop to hide me.

Useful for determining depth in lakes you haven't fished or after rain and runoff.

If you actually learn how to use it, yes. If not, its an expensive thermometer.

I use mine primarily for depth and identifying drop-offs and ledges or structure. You can see if there is bait as well as any fish but that doesn't necessarily mean you will catch them. Some fish finders can be useful as GPS navigation as well.

Another question- does anyone use other features like 360 imaging or side scans?

I mostly use mine for figuring out what the depth is and what the bottom looks like in areas where I'm not already familiar with the topography. My setup is a pretty basic Striker+4. I have used it for vertical jigging in deeper water, but that's probably only 10% or less of my use case. Some of the newer units have side scan, which shows a much wider image of the bottom than the traditional cone you referred to.

I use the fishfinder to learn about how the fishing spots look, structures or weeds, depth, soft / Hard bottom etc. to know what spots might hold fish.. I"m not looking for the fish itself, just trying to "look" at the bottom when I cannot see it with my eyes..

I usually fish at one small lake so after using the fishfinder a couple of times I no longer need it there, but it's great when I'm at new spots and don't know if it's 2 or 20 m depth under the boat.

For trolling I use 2d/chirp to mark bait and see where the thermocline is, which will influence where I decide to fish.

For bass fishing, I’m using side scan to find transitions from rock to sand, rocks/boulders, either singles or fields of them, and can also pick up fish sometimes.

Also, just general depth, water temp and obviously mapping. I fish the Great Lakes primarily, and you’d honestly be lost without a view of the subsurface.

Imo sidescan is the single most useful tool we've ever come up out with, even moreso than FFS.

I too am a kayak fisherman and utilize a big 9" screen on my rig.

My main use is simply for depth and temperature, but downscan/2D sonar can be really handy for pinpointing the depths that fish are at. I also use it when I'm drifting a dropper rig for catfish as I can see my weight on sonar and tell the depth I'm at.

Sidescan allows me to actually see the structure on bottom and whether its mud, sand, rock, timber, etc. In open water for trolling, sidescan + downscan can help me pinpoint schools of fish. Sidescan does make you have to go over something to scan so obviously there is the risk of spooking fish, but you can always come back later because now you know what the structure actually is. Plus sidescan on deeper water is can be pretty reliable out pretty far.

It provides information that you otherwise would never get. Depth, structures on the bottom, water temp, schools of baitfish, weed edges etc. It’s not just for finding fish, it’s for finding spots the fish might be at.

You might see fish suspended and you now know there’s a high possibility the fish, today, are suspended. So you fish with lures that cover the depth they’re on. Other times, you might see a big amount of baitfish in a particular size. You now know what size fish they’re probably eating. You size your lure accordingly. You might see fish hiding close to structure in several places. This pattern tells you that you might need to fish closer to structure this day.

There are always patterns to pick up that you can use to catch more fish. Slowly but surely, you get wiser and use that info and your experience to catch more fish. ”Last year in this spot, they ate 2” fish. Let’s rig a rod up with a smaller sized lure.” Things like that make you maximize your chances.

If you’re not out there to become better and to maximize every aspect of fishing, then maybe they’re not for you? I collect so much information from my electronics that I otherwise would never do. It helps me read the water much better. Being able to read the water is the difference between a good fisherman and a great fisherman. You can adapt more easily, to catch more fish, from being able to read the water that efficiently.

I never really use electronics to sightfish, rather, to learn how to best adapt to the conditions I’m presented with.

You should have a gps bottom navigator if you are ocean going. It's for safety and it gives your precise location in case things go sideways. You can have a radar on it which will show you larger schools of fish. Don't go on open water unless you have the proper equipment.

I’d use a contour map like on navionics which also has gps that’s probably your best bet. While you won’t see the fish you can fish areas where fish might be and hopefully drift over structure

A few things,

First, 10 miles is a long way in a 17 offshore. I have a 17 Whaler with a new engine, but don’t go that far offshore. 3 mikes tops for me and only on a clear day. I’ve been puckered too many times.

Second, you didn’t say if you had a chart plotter so I’m assuming you don’t. Finding anything without a chart plotter is a challenge. Sure, you may get lucky and see birds chasing baitfish that are being pursued by a school of Spanish Mackerel, but unlikely. You can surface troll for kings, if they’re around, but also unlikely. Trolling for grouper will require a depth finder.

Your best bet with your lack of electronics is to anchor next to a channel (stay out of the channel) and chum and bottom fish. Use a heavy bait or spinning reel and you might get lucky.

Navionics app on your phone, you can download the charts onto your phone so you don’t even need cell service when you’re using it.

Birds. Usually above fish schools. Especially flocks of them at sea.

Unless you are very skilled at reading a fish finder, your better off using it to find structure vs actually looking for fish. Side imaging is wonderful for scanning to find underwater structure, and down imaging would be easier to find fish on the structure when you find the structure. Best to watch videos on YouTube to learn more. Just a note if you are scanning for structure realize that when it shows on the screen you’ve already passed it as the transducer is on the rear of the boat. Most side imaging graphs you can mark structure that shows on the screen with a waypoint and it’ll show it on the gps exactly where the structure was.

Don't rely so much on the fish finder to find fish but rather use it to find structure that fish relates too, such as rock piles, midlake humps, and the weed line.

In addition to what everyone else has said (use FF to find structure, not fish), remember that just because your screen is lit up with fish doesn't mean they are your target species or even gamefish at all. It's very possible you were seeing something like shad stacked up near the bottom or in the mid water column, and that's why you weren't getting bit.

I have also found it harder to get suspended fish to eat compared to fish on structure.

I've been fishing with finders for over 35 years and can only recall one time where I saw fish on the screen, stopped and caught fish. That was on a lake in the Northwest Territories. Lake Trout we're just stacked on a dropoff. My sister and I caught them non stop for about 2 hours before we quit because we were tired. I'm sure there were other times, but I don't remember them. I use the finder to find structure as others have said here.

Also, never forget, fish don't eat all the time.

GO7 with Active Imaging 3-1 Transducer. $460. A 9” would be better, but you’re gonna spend more than $500. https://defender.com/en_us/simrad-go7-xsr-multifunction-display-with-c-map-discover-chart-remanufactured-055-14838-001

My suggestion is to get the biggest Garmin or Simrad unit you can afford.

There are a lot of comments already but none of them have explained that there's a difference between a "fish finder" and a "chart plotter" and it sounds like you want a chart plotter. I'm also in the market for one and hope to learn something on this thread.

A fish finder is basically just a sonar that shows you what's under the boat. It doesn't include any maps. They have GPS but only so you can mark spots where you found some great fish. They won't help you do things like avoid rocks on the bottom.

A chart plotter is more like Google Maps for water (except with frustratingly complicated interfaces). A chart is a fancy term for a map of water. Nobody has pointed that out yet.

The Garmin EchoMaps are very popular. You will want to get the ones that have charts optimized for navigation and for the water where you are going to operate! If you do buy the one loaded with the wrong charts you would have to pay for the additional charts (although I believe that's a smaller fee.)

Some fish finders will allow you to load user-generated charts. Be careful with those as they aren't necessarily as good as the one generated by chart makers. However, even charts made by the coast guard aren't always completely accurate. That's part of the challenge of boating.

The terminology and offerings can be quite frustrating for those who haven't owned one before. I learned navigation with parallel rules. But for smaller boats the chart plotters are better if for no other reason than you can actually fit them on board.

Garmin echomap is tough to beat for the price.

I like my Simrad go9 with total scan. Have had it since it came out. Good overall. Flush mounted on a 22 mako

I don't know. Never used it nor have I needed too. Fish can be easily caught from shore without it.

If nothing else, I’d be watching the water depth to find benches, shallow areas, ledges, structure, etc.

Those marks are suspended fish.  Could be schools of bait, could be large individual fish.  At the very least, it's telling you what depth, and thus water temp, is most comfortable for whatever fish those are.

The light marks below look like weeds.

Sonar can help you discern between hard and soft bottom.  Learn how to adjust gain and read bottom density.

This spot looks banging, you should be catching.  What fish are in your lake?

Side and down scan? That's definitely gonna help you catch fish. Suspended fish are tricky. Do what the poaching scopers do. Hover stroll, vision 110, 110+1, etc.

Your fish are about 10ft down, so either lower your line to that depth or set a slip bobber for 10ft.

Having a fish finder that you know how to use, 100% will make you a better fisherman. It really is the best tool to set you apart from people who just assume fish are distributed evenly across all the water.  The more time you spend using the finder and understanding the different views and settings the better you will be with it. For example, if your side scan isn’t in auto I would put it in auto. You would get a much better reading if your L/R was set to 40’ rather than 80 IMO. It is also important to understand the limitations of your low and high res sounding capabilities. You will use both to make a better guess at what is going on as in your picture some with only low res might assume that was suspended fish above bait but looking at the high res you can see those are plants with suspended fish above them.

Short version is its useful for seeing how deep it is, and that's it. It shows fish right under your boat where you can never actually fish anyway so Yea...

I don't know what any of these people are talking about. The fish finder helps you find the hot spots.

I think the better question is how accurate is it in the actual game. So in RL those fish would be right under your boat at the depth listed. You can barely make that out the depth but you can I don’t think it very accurate in the game but gives you an general idea of fish activity in your general location. In other words that huge lunker in my experience if I drop a bottom rod right over the bow isn’t going to catch that big fish. Just my personal opinion

Thanks, was trying to figure it out by doing different stuff in the game.

Just watch a video on how to use a fish finder in real life, same thing. Basically, the bottom is harder when the bottom indicated is brighter and those arcs you see are fish, with proportionate indicated size.