Garmin Striker Plus 4 Fish Finder
| Overall Rating | 92.9% |
| Grade | Very Good |
| Maximum Depth | Freshwater: 1600 ft; Saltwater: 750 ft |
| Sonar Frequencies | Traditional Sonar: 50/77/83/200 kHz; CHIRP (Mid and High) |
| CHIRP |  |
| Display Size | 4.3 Inches |
| GPS | |
| Chartplotter |  |
| Down Imaging | |
| Side Imaging | |
| Transducer Included | |
| Suitability for Kayaks & Small Craft | |
| Water Temperature Sensor | |
Garmin Striker Plus 4 Review: What Anglers Are Saying
The Garmin Striker Plus 4 isn’t just another fish finder; it’s a fan favorite that has earned rave reviews from over 3,000 satisfied Amazon customers.
In head-to-head comparisons, it consistently shines as a top contender for best value and stands tall as the second most powerful 4-inch fish finder on the market.
Anglers love its straightforward, user-friendly interface and the reliability of its core fish-finding function. Despite its compact 4.3-inch display, users are consistently impressed with the crisp and clear image quality.
Two features, in particular, get glowing praise: the highly accurate depth readings and the game-changing Quickdraw Contours feature, which allows you to create your own custom HD fishing maps.
Globally recognized for its practicality, the Striker Plus 4 is designed for convenience. While some users note minor drawbacks like limited display-angle adjustments and a narrow splitscreen view, the overwhelming consensus is one of exceptional satisfaction.
As expected in this price range, it doesn’t include premium features like Low CHIRP or ClearVü scanning sonar. However, for anglers looking for a compact, powerful, and easy-to-use fish finder with a 4.3-inch screen and custom mapping capabilities, the Garmin Striker Plus 4 is an unbeatable choice.
Its compact size and robust feature set make it the perfect companion for inflatable boats, kayaks, and belly boats. It’s no surprise that it ranks internationally as one of the most popular and best-performing fish finders in the sub-$200 category.
Here’s our review of the Garmin Striker Plus 4, where we break down what makes this fish finder a top choice. We’ve included a quick summary of what other customers are saying in their reviews, plus a clear, scannable list of the pros and cons for this popular unit.
Garmin Striker Plus 4: The Official Editor’s Review
Maximum Depth / Sonar Frequencies / CHIRP
In our roundup of 4-inch fish finders from Garmin, the Striker Plus 4 lands a solid third place and proudly takes home our award for Best Value.
It truly shines with its impressive depth capabilities. Whether you’re fishing in freshwater up to 1,600 ft or saltwater up to 750 ft, this compact unit handles the challenge effortlessly.
To deliver a clear sonar image, the Striker Plus 4 utilizes 55, 77, 83, and 200 kHz frequencies. A key feature is its Mid and High-Band CHIRP technology, which provides a remarkably crisp and sharp sonar picture, helping you distinguish fish from structure with ease.
When it comes to depth performance, the Garmin Striker Plus 4 is a true powerhouse. It reaches an impressive 1,600 feet in freshwater and 750 feet in saltwater, making it Garmin’s second most powerful 4-inch fish finder and putting it on equal footing with the classic Striker 4.
Whether you’re on your local lake or exploring most saltwater environments, this fish finder is a reliable partner. For comparison, the Garmin Striker Vivid 4cv offers slightly more reach, with a depth rating of 1,750 feet in freshwater and 830 feet in saltwater.
For its traditional sonar view, the Striker Plus 4 utilizes 55, 77, 83, and 200 kHz frequencies. As a general rule in sonar technology, lower frequencies penetrate deeper but offer less target detail, while higher frequencies provide more detailed images but have a shorter range.
Modern fish finders like this one often combine these to give you the best of both worlds – maximum depth and excellent resolution. A real highlight of the Striker Plus 4 is its advanced CHIRP technology.
Instead of sending a single frequency, CHIRP sends a continuous sweep of frequencies, which allows the unit to interpret more data and deliver incredibly detailed, high-resolution images of the world beneath your boat. The Striker Plus 4 specifically features Mid and High-Band CHIRP.
In practical terms, this means you get the stunning clarity and target separation of CHIRP sonar for most of your fishing depths, but the CHIRP function doesn’t extend to the unit’s absolute maximum depth range, which would require a Low-Band CHIRP capability.
Display Size / GPS / Chartplotter
The Garmin Striker Plus 4 sports a crisp, bright 4.3-inch display with a 272 x 480 pixel resolution. Thanks to its integrated GPS, you can mark your fishing hotspots as waypoints and navigate back to them anytime with pinpoint precision, typically within an accuracy of 3 to 7 feet.
While the Striker Plus 4 doesn’t have a full-featured chartplotter like you’d find in high-end models, its ability to create your own custom fishing maps using the Quickdraw Contours software is a real game-changer and a massive bonus for any angler.
The Striker Plus 4 features a 4.3-inch display with a 272 x 480 pixel resolution, the same size screen you’ll find on our top-rated pick, the Striker Vivid 4cv.
A key advantage of this display is its split-screen capability, which allows you to create a highly readable combination view with two different images – for example, displaying your custom depth map on top with the traditional sonar view on the bottom.
For anglers on medium to large bodies of water, GPS is essential for saving productive fishing spots and navigating back to them later, and the Striker Plus 4 has you covered with a built-in GPS that delivers an accuracy of about 3 to 7 feet under optimal conditions.
It’s important to know this isn’t a full-fledged chartplotter, which is a navigation device that displays official electronic nautical charts, crucial for captains of larger vessels to avoid shallows.
True chartplotters of that kind are typically found in mid-range units like the Humminbird Helix 5 G3, and they often require you to purchase the charts separately.
Instead, the Striker Plus 4 gives anglers exactly what they need: the ability to mark your best fishing spots via GPS and, more importantly, the power to create your very own custom maps, complete with depth contours, using the fantastic Quickdraw Contours software.
Fish Finder Features / Down Imaging / Side Imaging
The Garmin Striker Plus 4 comes loaded with a suite of useful features that directly benefit anglers. It includes a split-screen zoom and a Fish Symbol ID that makes identifying fish targets easier.
The AutoGain Technology works in the background to minimize clutter and provide a consistently clear sonar image.
For precise depth-finding of fish and underwater structure, it offers an adjustable depth line, and the A-Scope feature gives you a real-time display of fish as they pass through the transducer beam.
A water temperature sensor and depth range shading are also integrated into the unit. It is important to note that the Striker Plus 4 does not include ClearVü technology, which is comparable to the Downscan or Down Imaging functions from other manufacturers.
A SideVü function, for a side-scanning view, is also not included with this model.
The Garmin Striker Plus 4 is equipped with a smart feature set designed to make finding fish significantly easier. This includes a split-screen zoom, which allows for a detailed view of specific areas without losing the overall picture.
The Fish Symbol ID is especially useful, as it distinguishes between individual fish and entire schools on the display. AutoGain Technology works to minimize clutter and maximize fish targets, leading to a clearer image of the underwater world.
For precise depth readings, the unit offers an adjustable depth line that shows the exact depth of both fish and underwater objects like sunken trees or rocks, which often serve as hiding spots for fish.
The A-Scope provides a real-time display of fish the moment they are detected by the transducer beam, allowing for quick reactions to moving targets. A water temperature sensor is also included, delivering crucial information, as water temperature significantly influences fish behavior and location.
Finally, the Depth Range Shading helps by color-coding certain depth ranges, a feature that is particularly useful when you know fish are holding at specific depths at certain times.
In contrast to models like the Striker Vivid 4cv, the Striker Plus 4 does not feature ClearVü technology. This technology provides an extremely detailed, “X-ray-like” view of a narrow area directly beneath the boat, rendering structure, vegetation, and fish with incredible sharpness.
This is especially useful for precisely identifying bottom contours and the fish hiding within them. Comparable technologies from other manufacturers, like Lowrance and Humminbird, are known as Downscan Imaging and Down Imaging, respectively.
Anglers looking for a fish finder that offers such highly detailed views beneath the boat might find the following models interesting:
In contrast to looking directly beneath the boat, Garmin’s SideVü technology lets you scan a much larger area – out to both sides of your boat. You can imagine it as being able to “see” left and right under the water, allowing you to grasp everything that’s happening around you.
This feature is a game-changer for quickly searching wide stretches of water for schools of fish, sunken objects, or underwater ledges without having to drive directly over them.
On competing products from Lowrance and Humminbird, you’ll find this technology under the names SideScan Imaging and Side Imaging, respectively.
The Striker Plus 4 does not have the SideVü function. In Garmin’s Striker series, this feature is available on models starting with the 7-inch display size, such as the Striker Vivid 7sv.
Transducer / Suitability for Kayak Fishing
The Garmin Striker Plus 4 comes with a dual-beam transducer that supports traditional CHIRP. Its compact 4.3-inch size makes it an excellent choice for inflatable boats, kayaks, and belly boats where space is often at a premium.
The Garmin Striker Plus 4 is delivered with a dual-beam transducer that supports CHIRP, which saves you the extra cost of having to buy one separately.
Its compact 4-inch size makes it the ideal choice for anglers with limited space on kayaks, inflatables, or belly boats, which is why it’s especially popular among that community. The following 4-inch fish finders are also an excellent fit for this type of use:
On inflatable boats, the transducer can typically be mounted on a solid transom. For belly boats or float tubes, however, special strap systems with a mounting plate are a great solution, allowing you to attach it flexibly to one of the tubes.
When using a rental boat where drilling holes for a permanent installation isn’t an option, we recommend using a portable transducer arm or a suction cup mount for a flexible, non-permanent setup.
Customer Review Roundup: Feedback from Real Owners
The Garmin Striker Plus 4 has racked up over 3,000 customer reviews on Amazon, maintaining an impressive average rating of 4.6 out of 5 stars.
Here’s a look at what buyers had to say:
- Nice features for the price. For the price it seems to be a great product. I don’t know much about fish finders. I did some research and this one comes with a lot of features that others in the same price point don’t. Installation wasn’t too difficult.
- Great unit for ice fishing and open water.
- I have returned my complete Unit and Garmin has sent me another complete Unit. The service at Garmin was great!
- My husband has been wanting a new fish finder and this one works great. It’s easy to use and very helpful and simple to hook up. We use it every time we go fishing and we have been successful with finding fish. It also helps to see what’s under the water so we don’t mess up our boat.
- Outstanding. The Quickdraw mapping is the bomb!
- Great unit. I love having GPS and sonar all in one device.
- I’m very happy with this fish finder. It’s great for tracking my path, the size is perfect, and the screen is bright enough to read easily in direct sunlight.
- Best bang for the buck. I did alot of research on fish locators and this unit does just as much as a $500 unit. Great unit for beginners or seasoned fishermen and fisherwomen!
- Good product, fast delivery. So far, it has worked very well and is very effective.
- I bought this for kayak fishing. For the battery, I’m using a portable power bank that I put inside a waterproof case. It shows fish and structure very clearly, so it has been a huge help.
The Garmin Striker Plus 4 has established itself as a true global favorite, earning widespread praise not only from anglers in the United States but also from international users in countries like Mexico and Japan.
A dominant theme in customer feedback is the unit’s exceptional value, with many stating that it delivers an unbeatable performance-to-price ratio. It’s frequently mentioned that the Striker Plus 4 is equipped with features typically reserved for much more expensive and high-end models.
This value is matched by impressive on-the-water performance. Anglers consistently report greater success locating fish and appreciate the clarity it provides for identifying underwater structure and avoiding hazards.
The screen receives high marks for its brightness and readability, even in direct sunlight.
While the reliable Garmin GPS is a significant draw for its path-tracking capabilities, the Quickdraw Contours mapping feature is often singled out as a game-changing function that makes the unit a worthwhile investment over more basic models.
Its reputation for versatility is also strong, performing reliably in diverse scenarios from ice fishing to open water. The unit is especially favored by the kayak fishing community, where its compact size is a major asset; some users even share innovative tips like powering the device with a portable power bank.
From its user-friendly design and effective performance to reports of excellent brand support, the global consensus confirms that the Striker Plus 4 is a trusted, feature-rich tool for any angler.
For about $30 more, upgrading from the base model Striker 4 to the Striker Plus 4 gets you a larger display, the game-changing Quickdraw Contours feature, and an additional sonar frequency (83 kHz).
Based on these features, the Garmin Striker Plus 4 is our Best Value winner and is one of the best fish finders you can get for under $200.
Garmin Striker Plus 4: Pros and Cons
Praised by over 3,000 Amazon customers, the Garmin Striker Plus 4 is our Best Value winner and ranks as the second most powerful 4-inch fish finder in our comparison. Its Quickdraw Contours feature allows you to create your own custom HD fishing maps.
With a 4.3-inch display and compact design, it’s a perfect fit for inflatable boats, kayaks, and belly boats. The trade-offs are expected for this price class: it does not include Low CHIRP or ClearVü technology.
Pros
- Praised by over 3,000 Amazon customers
- Takes 3rd place overall and our #1 pick for Best Value in our fish finder comparison
- Ranks as the second-most powerful 4-inch Garmin unit in our tests
- Features the incredibly useful Quickdraw Contours to create your own custom HD fishing maps
- An ideal choice for kayaks, inflatable boats, and belly boats
- Boasts a 4.3-inch display, a noticeable upgrade from the 3.5-inch screen on the base Striker 4
Cons
- No Low CHIRP (which is standard for this price point).
- No ClearVü
The Garmin Striker Plus 4 has firmly established itself as a top contender in its class, earning high praise from over 1,200 Amazon customers and securing our #1 pick for Best Value in our comprehensive fish finder comparison.
Ranking as the second-most powerful 4-inch Garmin unit in our comparison, it delivers impressive performance for its size. A major advantage is the inclusion of the incredibly useful Quickdraw Contours feature, allowing anglers to create their own custom HD fishing maps.
It also boasts a 4.3-inch display, a noticeable upgrade from the smaller screen on the base Striker 4 model. This combination of power and features in a compact design makes it an ideal choice for users on kayaks, inflatable boats, and belly boats.
To meet its excellent price point, there are a couple of trade-offs: the unit does not include Low CHIRP, which is standard for this category, nor does it feature Garmin’s ClearVü scanning sonar.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Garmin Striker Plus 4
Does the Garmin Striker Plus 4 have a chartplotter?
No, the Garmin Striker Plus 4 does not have a chartplotter in the traditional sense. However, it does have the incredibly useful Quickdraw Contours feature.
With this function, you can create your own custom HD fishing maps with 1-foot contours in real time as you drive your boat. This is especially practical for mapping unfamiliar waters and recording detailed underwater structure for future fishing trips.
What are the key differences between the Garmin Striker Plus 4 and the Striker 4?
There are several significant differences between the Garmin Striker Plus 4 and the original Striker 4 model. Here’s a breakdown of what sets them apart:
- Screen Size: One of the most obvious differences is the display. The Striker Plus 4 features a larger 4.3-inch screen, while the standard Striker 4 has a more compact 3.5-inch display.
- Quickdraw Contours Mapping: A crucial advantage and the biggest upgrade on the Striker Plus 4 is the built-in Quickdraw Contours mapping software. This innovative feature allows you to create and save your own detailed HD fishing maps with 1-foot contours in real time. The standard Garmin Striker 4 completely lacks this powerful mapping capability.
- Screen Resolution: Interestingly, the smaller Striker 4 actually has a higher screen resolution (480 x 320 pixels) compared to the larger Striker Plus 4 (272 x 480 pixels). This means that despite its smaller physical size, the image on the Striker 4 can potentially appear sharper and less pixelated.
- Sonar Frequency: Additionally, the Striker Plus 4 includes one more sonar frequency (83 kHz), offering more versatility in different water conditions.
