Best Fish Finders for Bank & Shoreline Fishing [2024]
If you do any amount of fishing from the bank, shoreline, or docks, a castable fish finder can be a tremendous tool to help you catch more fish. Quality fishing electronics are not only available for boat fishermen anymore. Nowadays, there are some truly great castable fish finders you can use to quickly determine the fishing quality of a location along the shore. Picking a great fish finder is what matters.
What is the best fish finder for bank or shore fishing? The best fish finder-type to use when fishing from the bank or shoreline is a castable fish finder. The best castable fish finders for bank fishing are the Deeper PRO+ and the less expensive iBobber castable fish finders. Both of these devices are easy to use and offer very good accuracy at a fraction of the cost of a boat-mounted fish finder with a lot more versatility.
This article will dive deep into how a castable fish finder can help anyone fishing from the bank, dock, marina, or shoreline find and catch more fish. I will also highlight five of the best fish finders for bank fishing so you can make an informed choice.
These are the devices I wish I had access to 15 years ago when I was pond hopping, fishing off bridges, and sneaking around swamps after good fishing.
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My Favorite Shoreline Fish Finder
My favorite fish finder for bank fishing is the Deeper Pro + castable fish finder (check it out on Amazon to view current pricing). This fish finder is for a bank fisherman who wants a high-value product that is versatile enough for all types of fishing but who either doesn’t own a boat or have the money for more expensive sonar or CHIRP boat-mounted systems.
There are less expensive models out there like the iBobber which is really good on a lower price point, but I like the Deeper Pro + better. It provides me more than enough detail and versatility to meet my bank fishing needs. It has the versatility to be a great for bank fishing, as well as from docks, through the ice, off a jetty, and even from a small boat.
The floating transducer is lightweight and easily castable. I usually get that device out about 50 yards or so without much trouble. You do want to use heavier line and a stronger rod to handle the transducer. You definitely don’t want your line breaking and a $200+ transducer flying away.
Although the transducer is lightweight, it does produce a fairly large splash when it lands. I haven’t noticed it scaring away any fish yet because I fish over water that is 20+ feet deep but if you were fishing in shallower water, that will be something to consider. The battery life on this transducer is awesome but it will zap your cell phone’s battery running the app.
My recommendation is use the transducer to locate good water depth and features that should hold fish and look for baitfish schooling and fish on your screen. Once you are sure you have picked a good spot, put down your transducer and start fishing. Only use the transducer to scout new water or verify water depth or what have you.
You will quickly zap your phone of battery if you spend way too much time on this device. Save it for finding great fishing spots and then start fishing. I can promise you that it will help you find and catch more fish. Click here to read my complete review of the Deeper Pro Plus.
Fish Finders for Bank Fishing
Why Should You Want a Fish Finder as a Bank Fisherman?
Bank anglers can benefit tremendously from having advanced knowledge of the water in front of them. For decades, bank fishermen have been left ashore without the benefit of fish finder electronics that were the luxury of only boat fishermen with money to spend.
Why wouldn’t you want to know exactly what is going in the water in front of you if you walking along the bank or standing on the dock? That just seems silly to me.
A good fish finder can you tell you so much that will lead to more fish caught and much less time wasted. A good fish finder can tell you water temperature and water depth, locations of dropoffs, humps, weeds, rocks, and submerged trees, and most importantly, it can show you the presence of fish and baitfish.
That kind of information has long been elusive for bank fishermen. Too long if you ask me. Thankfully, nowadays we have plenty of options to compete with boat anglers for the best fish and fishing locations.
Why Consider a Castable Fish Finder?
I think castable fish finders are the only real solution for bank fishermen who want to use electronics to find fish. Standard portable fish finders have transducers connected to the main receiver and can really only scan in an area of water directly around or beneath the receiver.
These are very limited and would offer you no real value from the bank. From a dock could be decent as dropping to straight down would allow you to scan under the dock but not anywhere out in front of you. Forget using boat-mounted fish finders if you are fishing from the bank.
The best and really only solution for bank fishermen are castable fish finders. These come equipped with castable transducers that can be hurled far from shore and tell you what is happening way out far from you.
The transducers of castable fish finders are floating so they can be slowly reeled in to essentially map the water as it covers the ground. Castable fish finders can help the bank fisherman determine depth and contours, find weeds and logs, and locate fish.
Best Bank Fishing Fish Finders
1. Deeper PRO+ Castable Fish Finder
In my opinion, this is the best castable fish finder for bank fishing available. It is the most complete combination of versatility, accuracy, sensitivity, and cost on the market. This device is great for finding fish and fish-holding spots along the bank, shore, marina, docks, ice fishing, and from a boat.
You can cast the transducer 330 feet from your phone and it can scan down more than 250 feet. A great device for hiking, travel, or simply fishing the pond out back. This fish finder has earned very strong customer reviews and is the gold-standard of the portable fish finder market and a great tool for any bank fisherman.
2. iBobber Castable Fish Finder
This is my second favorite castable fish finder for bank fishing. It is priced much lower than the Deeper PRO+ and offers comparable quality and accuracy. It features a better with a 10-hour charge life and scans down to 135 feet deep.
This is a great tool for bank fishing and fishing through the ice as it can provide pretty accurate read-outs and tell you the water depth and temperature, location of rocks, ledges, weeds, and stumps, and also show you in real-time the presence and location of fish. You can buy an iBobber for under $90 which in my opinion, is a great deal.
3. Deeper Start Smart Fish Finder
This is really nice castable fish finder marked almost $140 less than the #1 on our list, the Deeper PRO+. It offers great functionality and really good accuracy. I personally like the iBobber better as a budget electronic castable fish finder though.
I feel the iBobber is a little better suited for bank fishing than this model. This model does allow for scanning 165 feet away from your phone and down to depths of over 150 feet which is impressive.
4. LUCKY Portable Fish Finder
This is a great modestly priced fish finder that can be cast from the bank or dropped off a dock or through the ice hole. As I’m typing this, it is available for $80 which I think is a very reasonable price.
This is not my favorite fish finder for bank fishing on this list, but it can be very good for many anglers. I just like the accuracy of the iBobber and Deeper PRO+ a lot more.
5. Eyoyo Fish Finder
I am curious about this model of castable finder. There isn’t a whole lot of data available on it to go off. It has earned some strong reviews and the display is very good.
It could be worth checking out but for the sake of going with a tried and true model, stick with the Deeper PRO+ for ultimate quality and accuracy or the iBobber for great accuracy at a more affordable price.
Features to Factor in Shore/Bank Fish Finder Selection
Cost
For me at least, the price tag is one of the biggest driving factors when it comes to products I will consider. I’m not at a stage in my life where I can just blow $1000+ on super-sensitive fishing electronics because the money is burning a hole in my pocket.
I assume most of you are like me. Therefore, cost was a factor I weighted very heavily in this article.
You can get an awesome castable fish finder for under $100. The ibobber, for example, can be purchased for under $85. The Deeper PRO+, which I actually rate as the #1 bank fishing fish finder is around $220. A bit pricier but still a tremendous value and with advanced functionality you just can’t beat.
Accuracy
What is the point of investing in fish finders if they aren’t accurate? When it comes down to it, accuracy is probably the single most important factor you crave.
When your screen on your smartphone tells you the water is 10-feet deep, the water temperature is 67 degrees, and 3 fish are suspended in 6-feet of water, that better be what is really the case beneath the water.
Now I will admit, castable fish finders are not nearly as accurate as boat-mounted fish finders. They aren’t all that far off though, in my opinion. They are still pretty accurate with their information and readouts.
Not only are castable fish finders only slightly less reliable than boat-mounted fish finders, they cost far less, they are portable, much more versatile, and they don’t require a boat. To learn just how good castable fish finders are & how they work, check out my article.
Ease-of-Use
I will be the first to tell you that technology intimidates me and frankly, I kind of get annoyed by it. I want something that is easy to set-up, easy to run, and simple to understand. I don’t want to configure anything or adjust the dials until it is calibrated correctly. I want whatever it is I’m buying to come ready for use right out of the box.
When it comes to castable fish finders, I feel the same way. I want it to be as painless and simple as can be. If something is hard to set-up or use, I will leave it at home.
Battery Life
The life of a fully charged battery is important when it comes to selecting a quality fish finder you can use from the bank or while in a remote lake far from a power outlet. If you want to be fishing all day long, having your battery drain and die in the first 2 hours of your arrival does no one any good.
The batteries of all the castable fish finders featured in this article are at 6-hours with some up to 10. I’m not saying that’s a perfect duration of battery life but it sure beats getting less time per charge.
Compactness
One of the things I like most about castable fish finders is their compactness. You won’t find heavy or awkward cables, mounts, and antennas. Instead, you’ll have the small transducer, which oftentimes can fit in your coat pocket and a smartphone to sync it up to.
Sure you can bring along a mount for fishing off a boat if you’d like but that really isn’t necessary.
I like going to remote lakes and swamps I can hike to. I don’t want any electronic gear weighing me down or making my trek difficult. The more compact they are, the easier they are to travel with aboard a plane as well.
Value
This is where it all ties together. At the end of the day, you want a castable fish finder that will offer great value for the price you paid to buy it. For bank, shore, or dock fishing, you don’t need any crazy expensive electronics. In fact, a few years ago, electronics weren’t even an option for you.
You simply want a device that easy to use, is plenty accurate enough to tell you what you need to know and nothing more, can be cast far from shore, and is available at a reasonable cost to you. All of the fish finders in this article offer great value for their cost.
Boat-Mounted vs Castable: Compared for Bank Fishing
There is no comparison. With a boat-mounted fish finder, you cannot fish from the bank. It’s that simple. Your fish finder needs to be mounted properly on a boat and calibrated for that boat.
You will get zero benefits owning a boat-mounted fish finder as a bank fisherman. Just fish from your boat. Now a castable fish finder, on the other hand, offers a ton of value for bank fishermen.
You can cast your transducer far from shore. As you reel it in slowly, all that water you cover will be scanned by the transducer and relayed right to your smartphone’s screen.
You’ll quickly know if a spot is worth fishing or if you should move elsewhere. You can learn water depths, contours of the bottom, see cover like stumps, trees, weeds, and rocks, determine water temperatures, and locate fish.
All of this information can be priceless for a savvy bank fisherman. When comparing boat-mounted fish finders with castable fish finders for bank fishing, there is no comparison to be made.
Practical Applications for Castable Fish Finders
Hiking & Travel
If you plan on doing any hiking to streams or lakes, you will benefit greatly from a small castable fish finder that is lightweight and easy to pack. The same is true if you are flying on a plan. Take a small fish finder that fits in your carry on.
Ice Fishing
Portable fish finders and castable fish finders will work equally well for ice fishing. Really you just need a nice accurate transducer you can place in your ice hole to tell if the depth, cover, water temperature, and presence or absence of fish. Click to learn more about fish finders for ice fishing.
Small Watercraft
This applies to jon boats, fishing float tubes, canoes, kayaks, rafts, and any other small watercraft you can potentially fish from. Having a great castable fish finder on board can offer a ton of value.
Bank Fishing & Docks
When fishing from a dock or bank, here is no single better option than a castable fish finder when it comes to efficiently locating good fishing spots and finding fish. These are the devices I wish were out 15 years ago when I was a teenager doing almost all my fishing without a boat.
Scouting for Boats
Even if your bass boat has expensive fishfinder technology on board, you can still get a ton of value from the scouting capabilities of a castable fish finder. You can cast your transducer far in front of your boat outside the range of your boat’s electronics to scout ahead.
Swimming & Diving
This is more of a safety function than anything else. If you want to find out if that water is deep enough below the cliff before you jump in, a castable fish finder can be a perfect device to save you from serious injury.
If you are watching kids along the lake’s bank and you want to determine the deep spots to keep them away from, these devices can help you set boundaries for your kiddos.
Final Thoughts
If you are going to do any fishing from the bank, you can really benefit from having a great castable fish finder. The versatility these offer is endless and the value is great. I do most of my fishing from the bank and I also hike to a lot of lakes I am unsure even hold fish.
A castable fish finder is perfect for someone who wants to maximize their limited fishing time in locations that are truly worth their time and not waste their time in spots without fish.
There are a number of good castable fish finders on the market so you really can’t go wrong as a bank fisherman. I certainly think these are devices worth taking a closer look that can only enhance your efficiency on the water and help you catch more fish.
