Best fish finder: four picks by screen, transducer and charts
The best fish finder starts with whether a transducer is in the box. Four picks, from a 7 inch GPS combo for a small boat to two 12 inch screens.
We earn a commission on qualifying purchases through the links here, at no cost to you. It never decides what makes the list.
The picks
Best fish finder overall
Humminbird XPLORE 12 CMSI+
A 12.1 inch screen with the transducer, MEGA Side Imaging+ and both LakeMaster and CoastMaster charts in the box.
- Product code 412020-1, with the XM 14 HW CMSI T transom-mount transducer in the box
- 12.1-inch 1280 x 800 color touchscreen with keypad control
- MEGA Side Imaging+ out to 200 feet either side, MEGA Down Imaging+ and Dual Spectrum CHIRP
Best fish finder GPS combo
Garmin ECHOMAP UHD2 94sv
A 9 inch chartplotter bundled with the GT56UHD-TM transducer and Navionics+ coastal and Great Lakes charts.
- Part number 010-02689-01, with the GT56UHD-TM transducer and Garmin Navionics+ U.S. Coastal and Great Lakes mapping
- 9-inch WSVGA touchscreen with keyed assist, 1024 x 600 pixels
- Head unit supports traditional CHIRP at 50/77/83/200 kHz and ClearVü and SideVü CHIRP to 1200 kHz at 500 W RMS, dependent on the transducer
Best fish finder for a small boat
Garmin ECHOMAP UHD2 74sv
The 94sv head unit and charts on a 7 inch screen, with the GT54UHD-TM, that weighs 1.0 kg and draws 18.3 W at most.
- Part number 010-02685-01, with the GT54UHD-TM transducer and Garmin Navionics+ U.S. Coastal and Great Lakes mapping
- 7-inch WVGA touchscreen with keyed assist, 800 x 480 pixels
- Head unit supports traditional CHIRP at 50/77/83/200 kHz and ClearVü and SideVü CHIRP to 1200 kHz at 500 W RMS, dependent on the transducer
Best 12 inch fish finder
Garmin ECHOMAP Ultra 2 126sv
A 12 inch head unit with no transducer, for a boat that already has one or is adding LiveScope.
- Sold as part number 010-02882-00, the 126sv without transducer: the 12-inch head unit, with no transducer in the box
- 12-inch sunlight-readable WXGA touchscreen, 1280 x 800 pixels, with keyed assist
- Traditional CHIRP sonar at 50, 77, 83 and 200 kHz, and Garmin ClearVü and SideVü CHIRP to 1200 kHz, dependent on the transducer
Three of these four come with a transducer and one does not. Settle that before comparing screens. The best fish finder for a boat with nothing on the transom is a fish finder with transducer in the box, and the listing title is where you find out.
After that it is screen size against the boat, and whether the charts you fish come preloaded. Every unit here is a chartplotter as well as a sonar.
What these picks rest on
Each maker's own spec table, product page and launch announcement, plus the live listing for every part number. The one owner evidence pack run here, on the XPLORE 12, collected 206 YouTube comments, most of them under XPLORE videos covering the 9, 10 and 12 inch sizes. What it says is about the line and its networking more than this one screen.
Four fish finders on one axis
| Spec | Humminbird XPLORE 12 | Garmin UHD2 94sv | Garmin UHD2 74sv | Garmin Ultra 2 126sv |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Screen | 12.1 in, 1280 x 800 | 9 in, 1024 x 600 | 7 in, 800 x 480 | 12 in, 1280 x 800 |
| Transducer in the box | XM 14 HW CMSI T | GT56UHD-TM | GT54UHD-TM | None |
| Sonar | CHIRP, MEGA Side and Down Imaging+ | CHIRP, ClearVü, SideVü | CHIRP, ClearVü, SideVü | CHIRP, ClearVü, SideVü |
| Charts included | LakeMaster and CoastMaster card | Navionics+ U.S. Coastal and Great Lakes | Navionics+ U.S. Coastal and Great Lakes | Navionics+ US and Coastal Canada |
Basis: manufacturer documentation. Depth is left off the table on purpose. Humminbird states 1,200 ft for the transducer in its box. Garmin states 2,300 ft for the head unit at 77 kHz, a frequency the GT56UHD-TM in the 94sv box does not transmit, and Garmin's own installation guide puts that transducer's traditional sonar at 800 ft.
Best fish finder overall: Humminbird XPLORE 12
The biggest screen here with the transducer and the charts in the same box: a 12.1 inch 1280 x 800 display, the XM 14 HW CMSI T transom transducer, and one map card carrying both LakeMaster and CoastMaster, so the same unit covers a lake and the coast. MEGA Side Imaging+ reaches 200 feet either side of the boat, and Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Ethernet and NMEA 2000 are all built in. The warranty runs three years once you register it, and our Humminbird XPLORE 12 review covers the compact transducer in the box and the Helix network limit.
The owner comments are about the line, and they are specific.
Four commenters say an XPLORE will not network with a Helix, three of them owners of one, and the fourth in the words "you can't link a Helix with an xplore model". Two XPLORE 10 owners report trouble with Minn Kota integration, one whose unit would not recognize the trolling motor and one whose Follow the Contour stopped offering its colors after two weeks.
Skip it if a Helix on the boat has to stay networked with the new screen, or if you want live sonar in the box, because MEGA Live 2 is sold separately.
Best fish finder GPS combo: Garmin ECHOMAP UHD2 94sv
A 9 inch touchscreen with keyed assist, bundled with the GT56UHD-TM transducer and Garmin Navionics+ U.S. Coastal and Great Lakes charts, with a one-year subscription to daily map updates. The head unit runs ClearVü and SideVü to 1200 kHz where the transducer supports it, and the GT56UHD-TM in this box tops out at 1000 to 1120 kHz. Built-in Wi-Fi streams sonar and shares waypoints and routes between two UHD2 units, and Garmin says a UHD2 joins the wireless network of an older ECHOMAP UHD or Ultra already on board. LiveScope is the exception: it cannot be shared wirelessly between two chartplotters.
The charts in that part number are coastal.
Garmin sells the UHD2 with Navionics+ U.S. inland mapping as well, so a buyer who fishes lakes should check which chart bundle the listing names before the box arrives. Read the chart line on the listing twice.
Skip it if you want a sonar picture wider than 9 inches at the console, where both 12 inch units here sit.
Best fish finder for a small boat: Garmin ECHOMAP UHD2 74sv
The 94sv's head unit, charts and wireless sharing on a 7 inch 800 x 480 screen, bundled with the GT54UHD-TM where the 94sv gets the GT56UHD-TM. It weighs 1.0 kg and draws 18.3 W at most, against 20.7 W for the 9 inch and 36 W for the 12 inch Ultra 2. On a small boat running one battery, read that number. Humminbird rates the XPLORE 12 at 2.4 amps, not in watts, so it does not line up with those three.
Skip it if you read side imaging for structure more than you read the chart, because 800 x 480 is the least screen of the four for it.
Best 12 inch fish finder: Garmin ECHOMAP Ultra 2 126sv
The other 12 inch screen here, and the one that ships with no transducer at all. Part 010-02882-00 is the head unit alone: a 1280 x 800 touchscreen, 600 W RMS, multi-band GPS at 10 Hz, Navionics+ US and Coastal Canada charts, and Quickdraw Contours drawing 1-foot contours as you go. It supports LiveScope and wireless Force trolling motor control, and the full 126sv review covers what that buys and what it does not.
Skip it if there is no transducer on your boat yet, because every other pick here puts one in the box.
What to check before the box arrives
Three things, in this order.
The listing title first, because a head unit and its bundle share a name and look alike in a photograph. Then the chart bundle: the two UHD2 units here carry coastal and Great Lakes charts, and Garmin sells the same screen with inland mapping instead. Last, whatever is already on the boat's network. Garmin says a UHD2 joins the wireless network of an older ECHOMAP UHD or Ultra, and the Helix owners who cannot link to an XPLORE are the reminder to ask the same question of Humminbird. More of the shelf sits on the fish finders and transducers page.