Garmin Striker Plus 4 with Dual-Beam Transducer and Protective Cover, 4.3 inch LED Display Fishfinder Review (2026)

Who this fishfinder fits

The Striker Plus 4 is aimed at kayak and small boat anglers who found a 3.5 inch screen too cramped but do not want the size, price, or power draw of a 7 inch chartplotter. It keeps the same simple keypad-driven interface as the entry Striker line, so there is no learning curve for someone upgrading from a basic sonar. The included protective cover is a practical touch for anyone who transports the unit off the boat between trips rather than leaving it mounted. Because the housing is a bit larger than the base Striker 4, it suits kayaks with a flat console or dash rather than very tight cockpits, where the smaller unit would fit more easily. Anglers who fish deep clear lakes and want to see individual fish arches clearly will appreciate the extra screen real estate.

Display, sonar, and mapping features

The unit uses a bright 4.3 inch LED display housed in a waterproof casing, with the transducer and mount included. It pairs Garmin Chirp traditional sonar with a dual-beam transducer covering 50, 77, 83, and 200 kHz at 200 watts RMS transmit power, which widens the cone of coverage under the kayak compared to a single-beam setup. Built-in GPS handles waypoint marking, route creation, and speed readouts, and the unit includes Garmin Quickdraw Contours, software that lets you build and store your own 1 foot contour maps covering up to 2 million acres of water as you fish it. That mapping feature is useful on small lakes or farm ponds that commercial chart data rarely covers in detail, since you effectively build your own map over repeat trips.

Mounting and everyday use

Like the rest of the Striker line, this is a portable panel-mount unit rather than a flush-mount display, using a tilt and swivel bracket that bolts to a RAM arm or a track mount common on fishing kayaks. The transducer comes with a 20 foot cable, long enough to route from a bow or stern mount back to a console near the seat without needing an extension. A 12 volt battery and mounting hardware for the transducer still need to be sourced separately, since Garmin ships the display, transducer, and bracket only. Owners transferring the unit between a kayak and a small boat benefit from the quick-release bracket, which lets the head unit come off without tools.

How it stacks up against other Striker and Lowrance units

Against the base Striker 4, the Plus 4 trades a bit of compactness for a larger screen, a wider dual-beam cone, and Quickdraw Contours mapping, which is a reasonable upgrade if console space allows it. Against the Lowrance Hook Reveal 7 TripleShot, the Striker Plus 4 gives up a full 7 inch screen and side and down imaging in exchange for a smaller footprint and lower power draw, which matters more on a kayak running a small battery. Anglers deciding between the two should think about how much imaging detail they actually use versus how much console real estate and battery capacity they have to spare.

Bottom line

The Striker Plus 4 earns its place as a mid-tier kayak fishfinder, and our score of 9.4 out of 10 reflects a unit that improves on the base Striker 4 in the ways kayak anglers actually notice, a bigger screen and wider sonar coverage, without jumping up to a full imaging unit. It is a strong pick for anyone who fishes the same lakes repeatedly and wants to build custom contour maps over time. Anglers who mainly fish unfamiliar inland lakes and want preloaded mapping out of the box may prefer a unit that ships with charts already installed.

Frequently asked questions