[ProfessorLongArms]

I actually just bought an Echomap and a Striker4, so i'm quite familiar with that setup.

They're great rigs. I was chatting with someone from Los Buzos down in Panama and they said that Striker4 is the model they landed on down there after abusing and destroying every other entry level fish finder.

I got a striker 4 so I could throw it on one kayak if I go out with my dad, switch head units on the same transducer between kayaks, and the price was almost the same as buying a power cable and a transducer.

I find it kinda limited compared to the Echomap, but only because I really like to get into google earth and spot contours, put pins down, and scout them out. That's been super productive for me out past 120'. The problem is you need an SD card or their Wifi technology to do so. (that's in their crazy expensive models)

I will say this- good deep water spots look like acne scars on the bottom of the ocean.

You *can* enter manually, but I didn't really see a way to do that too conveniently. In case you ever have a buddy who's willing to share their waypoints, there's also a very poorly documented feature where you can connect two data cables on the power setup between two units and transfer all data between them almost automatically. I regularly sync my striker with my echomap that way.

All of that said, that unit is amazing out of the box for what you pay.

If you got a striker 4 _plus_, one thing I'd recommend reading up on is how to turn on Quickdraw contours. That is a really cool feature for a unit without navionics. You basically paint the map with depth readings as you go. It starts to feel like a bit of a game of pacman when you're working an area.

Another thing I really like about its mapping setup is that it has a plethora of really good icons for dropping waypoints. I have a colored/numbered fish icon for each kind of fish I catch with like 5 icons to spare, a kelp icon, and a rock icon... it's also super easy to switch between them so I'm not just dropping random points.

I don't have any screenshots handy, but I can say that it's pretty easy to tell when you're on some structure with fish on it. Suddenly you'll get bump that are different color from sandy bottom, with fish suspended over them. Calico/sandbass spots are the most conspicuous and common I've seen.

For me it was a lot of trial and error. See something interesting. Drop down on it. Start to make associations.

Out deep I find dramatic changes in depth are pretty good tells for structure. Where I fish there are some underwater ridges that run the span of a football field or two, and suddenly jut up 10-15 feet over the span of 50 feet.

Also do some searching through the forum. there are some good past posts on sonar screenshots.

Another thing I recommend when you get out deep is to figure out your settings for bottom lock. You can tell it how deep to zoom out, then lock to the bottom. It gives a really good picture so you don't have to squint to see grass/rocks, etc when you're in 170 feet of water. That feature goes a long way on such a small screen.