Walking into fish finder shopping cold is genuinely confusing — screen sizes, sonar types and acronyms everywhere. Here’s what actually matters when choosing your first unit.
1. Screen size
Bigger isn’t always better — it’s about your boat and budget. A 5-7 inch screen suits kayaks and small boats. 9 inches is the sweet spot for most trailer boats. 12 inches and up make sense once you’re running split-screen views or forward-facing sonar regularly.
2. Sonar type
CHIRP (traditional) sonar — shows fish arches and bottom structure directly below the boat
Down imaging — near-photographic detail directly beneath you, great for identifying structure
Side imaging — scans wide to either side, excellent for covering water quickly to find structure and schools
3. Do you need GPS?
If you want to mark waypoints, navigate home in poor visibility, or eventually add charts, get a GPS-equipped unit from the start — retrofitting later means buying a new unit rather than adding a module.
Choosing the best fish finder in the UK for 2026 comes down to matching sonar power, screen size and mapping features to how and where you actually fish — a small boat angler chasing bass off the Solent has very different needs to someone running a rigged bass boat on a reservoir. Below are seven fish finders we stock, picked to cover every realistic budget from your first unit to a full flagship display.
Best Budget Fish Finder: Garmin STRIKER Plus 4 Fish Finder with GPS
At £172.99, the Garmin STRIKER Plus 4 Fish Finder with GPS is the easiest way to get built-in GPS and CHIRP sonar on a small boat or kayak without spending big. It won’t compete with a flagship on screen size, but it plots waypoints, marks your favourite marks and shows water temperature — genuinely useful basics that a lot of anglers never move past.
Best Value: Lowrance Hook Reveal 5 TripleShot Fish Finder vs Humminbird HELIX 5 CHIRP GPS G3 Fish Finder
Both the Lowrance Hook Reveal 5 TripleShot Fish Finder and Humminbird HELIX 5 CHIRP GPS G3 Fish Finder sit around £287.99, and both bring proper GPS mapping into the budget bracket. The Lowrance leans on TripleShot sonar for wider side coverage, while the Humminbird’s CHIRP DualBeam PLUS sonar is slightly better at picking out individual fish arches in deeper water. If you fish mixed structure and open water, the Lowrance’s side coverage tends to find more; if you fish primarily deep water for species like pike or cod, the Humminbird’s target separation has the edge.
Best for Kayak and Bank Fishing: Deeper PRO+ 2 Smart Sonar Castable WiFi Fish Finder
Not every angler wants a fixed transducer. The Deeper PRO+ 2 Smart Sonar Castable WiFi Fish Finder is a castable, WiFi-connected sonar ball that pairs to your phone — cast it out from the bank, a kayak or a float tube and it maps depth and fish position in real time. At £229.99, it’s the only fish finder on this list that needs no mounting or wiring at all.
Best Mid-Range: Lowrance HOOK Reveal 7 TripleShot with SideScan
Step up to £574.99 and the Lowrance HOOK Reveal 7 TripleShot with SideScan adds a bigger 7-inch display and proper SideScan alongside TripleShot sonar — enough to actually read structure either side of the boat rather than just what’s directly underneath.
Screen size: 4–5 inches suits kayaks and small boats; 9 inches and up suits helm-mounted use on larger boats where you’ll glance at it from a distance.
Sonar type: CHIRP gives sharper target separation in deep water; Side/Down Imaging gives a wider, more photo-realistic view of structure either side of the boat.
GPS and mapping: worth having on any unit above entry level — it turns a fish finder into a basic chartplotter for marking spots and finding your way home.
Transducer compatibility: higher-end units support swappable or dual transducers, useful if you fish both shallow inshore marks and deep offshore water.
Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the best fish finder for a small boat under 16 feet? A 5–7 inch unit like the Lowrance Hook Reveal 5 TripleShot Fish Finder or Lowrance HOOK Reveal 7 TripleShot with SideScan gives enough screen space without dominating the console.
Do I need Side Imaging? Only if you fish structure — docks, weed lines, drop-offs. If you mostly fish open water or troll, standard CHIRP sonar with GPS is enough.
Can I use a fish finder as my only chartplotter? Combination units like the Humminbird HELIX and Garmin GPSMAP ranges include full chart plotting, so yes — many UK anglers run one as their sole display.
Still deciding which fish finder suits your boat and budget? Our UK-based team can talk through your setup before you buy — or browse the full range in our online shop.
