If you plan on bringing a fishfinder to your fishing expedition. You might as well try out the Garmin Striker 4 Transducer. It’s a GPS-enabled fishfinder with an impressive set of features. It has a very intuitive and simple interface. But what it’s also is one of the most affordable choices.
The Garmin Striker 4 helps you get started from scratch. If what you know about fish finding is not sufficient. You can easily complete your training with this best fishfinder.
It’s great for freshwater and saltwater. Its effectiveness is through the roof for deep and shallow waters.
And it gives you a high resolution and premium features. The kind that isn’t so easily available on entry-level models. Truth be told, it’s the best looking and most accurate fish finder on the market.
The Features
There’s more to fishing that just catching fish. You find fish first with the help of a fishfinder that’s great and reliable. But it’s when you get down to details that things get real. And by analyzing the Garmin Striker 4, I’ve come to realize this. That it’s hard to think of any other fishfinder taking its place.
- 3.5-inch display size
- HVGA Color Resolution: 480H x 320V
- Dual Sonar Technology / CHIRP Frequency
- 2D Sonar: 15-degrees at 200 kHz / 45-degrees at 77 kHz
- 1,600 ft. freshwater depth / 750 ft. saltwater depth
- Built-in CHIRP transducer
- 200 RMS power
- Enabled internal GPS
- 5,000 Waypoints
- Built-in Flasher
What to Expect
There’s no telling how effective and reliable this fishfinder is. Not unless I expand on each and every one of its features. Trust me; you don’t want to miss out on this!
CHIRP Technology
CHIRP technology of the Garmin Striker 4 is its most ground-breaking feature. It offers intricate and clear information and specialized readings. It’s capable of mid and high CHIRP sonar.
This means you can go as low as 1,600 ft. in freshwater and 750 ft. in saltwater. The pictures it gives out are sharp, bright, and clear. Helping you declutter and target exactly what you want. The sonar takes control of the image in such a way that it stays firm at the bottom.
Another great quality about CHIRP is fish target distinction. If there’s a group of fish packed together under. Instead of showing a cluster, the Garmin Strike 4 shows you smaller targets, a fish in its correct place. So there’s no confusion about what you’re targeting.
The second element which is a part of its CHIRP technology is 2D Sonar. The Garmin Striker 4 offers you a bunch of mini but highly-effective functions.
Such as Fish IDing, Flasher mode, and automatically filtering noise.
For expert navigation, the Garmin Striker 4 has GPS and waypoints. Though it lacks a mapping system which is a huge drawback to this fishfinder. Its highly-precise and effective internal GPS makes up for that loss.
You can track and set waypoints up to 5,000. So you never get lost and go the wrong way. It even lets you track your most favorite spots that you know you are most likely to go again.
And to keep everything organized, you have plenty of icons to plot your locations with. Giving you a way in to locate rocks, weed beds, and other underwater elements easily.
Display
The Garmin Striker 4 offers a bunch of modes inside its display interface. Making it one of the best choices for anglers. Besides its high-power output, it can give you precise and sharp images.
The 3.5-inch display has a backlit technology. With a 200 kHz reading for more accurate images. While for softer images, it gives you a 77 kHz reading. Isn’t that great? You have hands-on experience of both.
The display is also certified waterproof with IPX7 backing it up. A little water splash or rain won’t stop it from being awesome.
Within the display comes the striking interface of the Garmin Striker 4. It has 3 different modes of functioning with Split Frequency on display. The split-screen view allows you to track and compare two frequencies side-by-side
This includes the traditional, flasher, and split frequency mode. The traditional mode shows fish structure and arcs. The flasher mode represents depth levels and dual sonar.
And lastly, the split mode shows two frequencies side-by-side.
Power
The battery backing the Garmin Striker 4 up is 12 volt and 7 milliamps. It comes with its personal, carry-anywhere charger.
The display has an indicator that lets you know when the battery is super low. Having said that, you can take this fishfinder out for at least 3 days on a full charge. It won’t give up easily!
Speed
I can’t talk about the Garmin Striker 4 without mentioning the Auto Gain feature. The Auto Gain feature is when the device reduces unnecessary noise from tracking. It automatically filters it so you don’t have to. This is a special and ground-breaking feature for newbies.
On top of it all, the Ultrascroll function improves speed detecting. This means you could go up to higher boat speeds and still get the tracking done. Everything is clear, bright, and precise on display.
Based on numbers, the Ultrascroll feature tracks high speeds up to 50 MPH. If you go any higher, it may lose image quality and precision.
Impressive internal GPS system.
Easy to install and waterproof.
The CHIRP is highly-sensitive and accurate.
Dual-frequency capability with multiple viewing modes.
Unit cover not available.
No map/latitude and longitude plotting.
Conclusion
The bottom line is that the Garmin Striker 4 is an impressive and affordable pick. It features CHIRP, 2D sonar, and internal GPS. These features are not that easy to find at such an inexpensive price. So you need to buy it right away!
The premium features on such a basic model are hard to come by. It completely matches up to more expensive models. And within its own price range, it’s a revelation. It offers structure and accuracy which only improves your fishing experience.
What do you look for in a fishfinder? And what do you think will completely transform your fishing experience for the best? It’s all in the details and how you put them into practice, right?
