Any thoughts on this? I have always been a minimalist but thinking about buying a fishfinder for the first time. I was researching the Garmin Striker 4 and then came across this guy.

Stricker Cast

Is this a brand new product? Really seems like it might be ideal for BWCA fishing.

I think it’s new for Garmin but certainly not a new concept. Similar products from Vexilar, ibobber, deeper, etc.

I’ve never used the castable version but I did have one of the vexilars that used the phone as display. It was glitchy for me, personally. Maybe Garmin’s is better. The mapping looks similar to what I have on my phone that syncs with my garmin plotter on the boat.

I just went through the process of selecting a fish finder for a BWCA trip, and for use on my local lakes and rivers. I looked at the cast-able models, my conclusion was that they don't make sense.

First of all, they require a smart phone. My phone is rather expensive, needs regular charging, is not waterproof, and is a pain in the arse to try to use in a waterproof case.

Secondly, the floating transponder design doesn't make sense for drifting, trolling, or actively searching for bottom structure. It'll give erratic readings if it's being towed along, constantly being pulled out of level. I guess it could be hard mounted to the canoe, but at that point why not just use a dedicated fish finder with a hard wired transponder?

After I ruled out the cast-able models, I started searching for one unit that would do everything I wanted it to do: lightweight (including batteries) for long canoe trips, have excellent bottom structure visualization, and chart plotting functions (not just waypointing, but a full map). The conclusion I reached is that there is no single rig that's going to do all that AND be lightweight when battery power for a week+ is factored in. So I decided to get two units.

The first is a used black & white Lowrance X-4 Pro I found on FB marketplace for $35 (in excellent condition). This will be the one I use for long canoe trips, because it only consumes 170mA of power. It won't do mapping or down imaging -- but two sets of 8 Energizer Ultimate Lithium AA batteries will last me a week, fishing every day. The whole rig, including battery case and two sets of batteries, weighs just over 2.5 lbs.

I'm still deciding on what the second one will be. It will have chart plotting functions, down imaging, and a larger color screen (probably 5"). I'll use it for day trips on my local lakes and rivers, where I'm not portaging and not concerned about weight.

The easiest way to get a good reading while underway would probably be to shoot it through the hull. Garmin makes a "mount" to do so for $20 otherwise there are a few threads with instructions kicking around here on how to do it with stuff from a home improvement store if dropping 4 Lincolns on a piece of foam isn't your thing.

I think a big advantage to this system is that the battery situation looks a lot more user friendly than a conventional fish finder since everything can be recharged from a powerbank, which is a lot less complicated than getting a deep cycle battery, some type of water-resistant enclosure, and a charger for said battery if you don't have one (currently planning a battery box build to run a striker plus 4 - I might otherwise consider the cast GPS but I'm buying with giftcards and the retailer doesn't carry it)

the canoe, but at that point why not just use a dedicated fish finder with a hard wired transponder?

You mean a transducer? These units are junk.