Customer Ratings & Reviews

Gearing up for offshore fishing on the northern coast of California I was in search of a new Fish Finder/GPS for my newly purchased vessel that would suit me well. I did a lot of research before committing to buying and the new series of Garmin Echomap seemed like the obvious choice for me. And I couldn't be happier with my decision. The only reason I didn't purchase the Ocean maps was to save a few bucks in the beginning. But having the ability to upgrade to the charts for offshore fishing, the included expandable storage and the option for up-gradable hardware made it easier to decide. This is my first Fish Finder/GPS and I found it extremely easy to navigate through the touchscreen menu. The shortcut keys are extremely useful to bounce back and fourth to different screens as needed. The main reason I went with the SV was to utilize this tech for scanning for rock structures and reefs while bottom fishing and WOW! I was blown away. I was able to scan clearly more than 700' off of both sides of the boat and when I spotted an area I liked, I simply touched the area on the screen and easily navigated to that structure. FISH ON! The chirp is amazing. I was able to see schools of snapper and other rock fish. Calling out to friends that the fish were below, we would always hook up on a great catch! This was true 100% of the time we saw schools of fish on the rocks below the boat. I was able to locate big bait balls of fish where the salmon were feeding as well. As for the GPS it worked as expected and is extremely accurate. I was able to mark and name the locations where the fish were on and was easily able to navigate back to that spot to catch more fish! Recording contour maps was a breeze and they were very detailed. Being able to retrace my steps was a must when fishing 7 to 10 miles offshore. I could go on and rave more about the Garmin Echomap 74sv. I am extremely happy with my decision to buy this and I would absolutely buy it again.