Garmin striker 4 sonar

[Madplumber]

Does anyone have one of these units if so how do you like it I am thinking of getting it to mark my points and have as a backup flasher when my hummingbird 45 is acting up

[manitron]

I saw this post and checked it out. I ordered one cuz I am a sucker for all in one contraptions,like fishfinder,flasher and gps in one.I realize that it might not do any of those tasks as well as a standalone but I will let you know.

[mi500]

This unit has my attention.  Have you had it out on the ice?

[muzzymike]

I picked one up fri night at bass pro.  had it out on sat for a couple of hrs.  works as well as my vex fl8 ever did.  it also has zoom, split screens, graph mode and flasher mode, and gps.  gps will set waypoints but doesn't have lake maps.  gps function will work better on my kayak for route traveled, distance traveled, and wayback etc.  screen is very clear and sensirive enough to pick up every fish i caught and the fish i missed on.  used the flashe mode a little but found i love the standard graph mode with amplitude bar.  works just like flasher unwound but then shows the history.  i was able to mark to jigs from holes 3 ft apart.  dialed them down to faint blips and could see one at 20 ft and one at 18 ft in 23 ft of water.  i would say an absolute bargain for $119.  have a genz box coming from amazon to mount it in for winter and a kayak for the rest of the year.  still learning the gps functions but as a fishfinder it works great.  screen is a little small but very clear.

[VDueslerIV]

Good review. May be a worthy backup if i go someplace with a friend who wants to use it to jig.

[mi500]

Thanks for the reply.  I hope to play with one at the store and possibly buy one soon.

[mi500]

I ended up buying one of these last night and got it out on the water tonight.  I got the portable pack.  This is my first fish finder but I borrowed vexilar fl8 a few times last year. I'm still learning the settings but I was very impressed with it so far.   I was fishing about 15' of water today and was able to mark a small jig clearly.  I did have the gain set higher than I thought I should to see it.  But I'm thinking that is due more to me not knowing how to properly set it up.  I was mostly using it on 77hz chirp but dunno if that was the best.   I did really like the traditional screen with the A-scope and the split screen zoom.  It definitely helped me catch fish tonight.  Didn't play with the GPS function yet.  Really happy with the unit. 

[walpy]

Would really appreciate another update after you've had it out a bit more.. I've been looking at this too but don't know anyone whose had/used one. Thanks!

[Madplumber]

Well I ended up buying the unit and I used it twice and connected to same battery as my ice45 and I think I am liking the garmin better I am used to using the flasher but I had it on the sonar most of time with the hummingbird flasher next to it and ended up watching the garmin more sure love it so far and it it small which means I would have more room in sled and I can gps my spots and very well priced I also noticed that Amazon is sold out of them now so others must be liking also

[bearnoob]

Is the transducer different if you buy the standalone versus the portable package? I found the unit alone for $120 an the portable pack with the case and battery for $200. The package says it is geared towards ice fishing but I was wondering if that is marketing or if there is a difference in the hardware. It looked to me like the standalone unit cones with a transducer deigned to be mountd on a boat, but I m not sure.

Thanks for turning me on to this!

[mi500]

Is the transducer different if you buy the standalone versus the portable package? I found the unit alone for $120 an the portable pack with the case and battery for $200. The package says it is geared towards ice fishing but I was wondering if that is marketing or if there is a difference in the hardware. It looked to me like the standalone unit cones with a transducer deigned to be mountd on a boat, but I m not sure.

Thanks for turning me on to this!

The portable kit has the same transducer I believe.  I don't know if the mount is the same though.  The portable mount has a large suction cup to attach it to a boat but it also holds the cable to let you dangle it down the hole under a float.  Here is a picture of the transducer without the suction cup if it works, videos don't seem to want to work today.

[bearnoob]

The portable kit has the same transducer I believe.  I don't know if the mount is the same though.  The portable mount has a large suction cup to attach it to a boat but it also holds the cable to let you dangle it down the hole under a float.  Here is a picture of the transducer without the suction cup if it works, videos don't seem to want to work today.

Thanks that helps a lot. I went to the nearest Cabela's and they said they wouldn't have them in for a week or two. On an unrelated note, I have to stop typing on my phone.

[bearnoob]

Still trying to convince myself to pull the trigger on one of these. One more question. In your picture, it looks like the transducer is rounded on the bottom as opposed to the flat bottom cone on a vex or marcum. Can it still give you a reading through the ice even though it does not sit flat or do you need to drill a hole? Thanks again.

[sincityrednek]

Ordered the portable striker 4 last night, can't wait to try it.

[VDueslerIV]

Sincity make sure you give a review of that machine..good price for a machine that has the options that the portable does. It is on my watch list.

[sincityrednek]

Sincity make sure you give a review of that machine..good price for a machine that has the options that the portable does. It is on my watch list.

As soon as I can bud.

[sincityrednek]

Well the one I ordered was gonna take too long to get here since it was back ordered. I have a derby in about a week and a half so I cancelled the order and ordered the Striker 4DV instead. It's not a portable, I'm gonna pull all the stuff off an old Piranhamax portable I have and hook it up to that frame. The Striker 4DV is $179.

[nkocak]

Been using it regularly. Love it. I have an older model portable kit that took a little rigging to make
It fit but made it work. The functionality is endless. It even as an a scope mode along with flasher etc. split screen and am marking gps spots as I go. Well worth the $119 all day. Only slight to it is a little screen by even with my bad eyes it has not been a problem at all. Def would recommend this to anyone!