Humminbird HELIX 7 G4N GPS Fish Finder with Dual Spectrum CHIRP Sonar & MEGA Down Imaging (Control Head Only)

Why it's worth it

The Helix 7 G4N brings a 7-inch 1024×600 display, MEGA Down Imaging and Dual Spectrum CHIRP, plus Bluetooth, ethernet and NMEA 2000. This listing is the control head only, so budget for a transducer separately.

The screen is the obvious upgrade. Seven inches at 1024×600 lets you split sonar and map without squinting at either half, and MEGA Down Imaging draws structure 125 feet below you with about three times the detail of standard imaging. If you fish brush piles, laydowns and bridge pilings, that difference is the whole reason to spend more.

Buy it for the network as much as the picture. Built-in NMEA 2000, ethernet and Bluetooth mean this head grows with your setup — a trolling motor, a second unit, a live imaging transducer later on. It integrates with Minn Kota and Cannon gear directly. Most kayak fish finders are a dead end; this one isn't.

From our review of 7 portable kayak fish finders

What we like

• +The screen is the obvious upgrade
• +Buy it for the network as much as the picture
• +Dual Spectrum CHIRP gives you a wide mode for covering water and a narrow mode for picking apart what you found

What to know

• –The transducer isn't in the box
• –It's also a lot of hardware for a paddle craft