Whether you're straylining, jigging, or dropping a line over the side during a dive trip, the single biggest factor in a successful day on the water is putting yourself in the right place before you even wet a hook. Finding the fish comes first.
Traditional fish-finding skills
The right sounder depends largely on what you're fishing from. For kayak anglers and those running smaller boats, portable units such as the Lowrance Eagle 4x Fish Finder or the Garmin Striker Vivid 4cv are worth a close look. Compact, straightforward, and easy to mount or move between vessels, they cover the basics without overcomplicating things.
Skippers of larger launches or yachts have more options and, typically, more demand from their fishing. Units like the Garmin ECHOMAP™ Ultra 2 105sv and the Simrad GO9 XSE bring GPS, chartplotting, and advanced sonar together in one package, giving you a much clearer picture of the water column and the seabed beneath you.
The best choice comes down to how you fish, not just what you fish from. Think about whether you spend most of your time anchored or drifting, and whether you're working shallow inshore ground or heading further out into deeper water. For anglers regularly straylining for snapper along Auckland's east coast, or running a burley trail off the Coromandel, a transom-mounted sounder with solid mid-range sonar capability will cover the job well.
