Garmin Striker 5DV Review [DISCONTINUED] 2024

Update: The Garmin Striker 5DV is no longer being produced in the market. Instead, Garmin is focusing on the new Garmin 7SV. Check the review here.

Fishing is not just a game of chance, at least not for me. Once you have learned your skills well, you will always be assured of going home with a big catch. Scratch that.

It’s not really about skills here; sometimes even skilled fishermen go home empty handed.

Successful fishermen rely on a combination of skills, quality gadgets and fishing knowledge. These three things are interrelated. For instance, if you know a location, are skilled and have a fish finder, you can position your line over a school of fish. If you have a quality fish finder such as the Garmin Striker 5Dv, its GPS that can guide you back to your favorite fishing spots.

Features of the Garmin Striker 5DV

#In-built Flasher

This fish finder can work as a flasher. The sensitive flasher display can alternate during vertical fishing presentations like jigging over a school of fish or ice fishing. The display screen resembles the Lowrance flasher and can indicate the depth of particular fish, water depth, vegetation, and even the bottom type. Some anglers can even monitor their bait/lure as it travels through water and recording the behavior of specific desired fish.

#Versatility

This Garmin 5DV fish finder is a multi-purpose fish locator. It can be used in both fresh and salt water fishing, can read up to 2,300 feet in fresh water and 1,100 feet in the more dense salt water. The fish locator comes with fixed mounts for small watercraft like kayaks, float tubes and canoes, and floating transducer mounts for ice fishing.

When using a larger boat, you can mount the 5DV anywhere using a trolling motor mount. The fish finder has a portable storage case. This allows you to explore all types of fishing grounds. The storage bag is waterproof and carries a rechargeable battery.

#5-Inch Display Screen

This fish finder comes with a backlit 5-inch color display screen. The screen a high resolution one and enables you to read even in bright sunlight. There is also a split-screen option that you can configure for multiple viewing (bottom imaging, GPS and flasher).

The display has a transducer with Down-Vu scanning and CHIRP for continuous stream. This means you can see detailed images of both the fish and other water inhabitants. Even better, regular upgrades that help in sharpening the image details are provided by the manufacturer.

#Regular Upgrades

Although the 5DV produces sharp images of the bottom, you can still upgrade it with extra transducers, GT23 or GT22. These transducer remove background noise for a tranquil fishing experience and provide higher resolution scans. The upgrades come in handy when riding your boat at high speed or when in search of precision and overlooked structures.

#GPS

The Garmin 5DV fish finder comes with a built-in GPS that enable you to save productive waypoints, mark all fish-constricting structures and save your favorite fishing spots in alphabetical order. You can also view your real-time current location against your saved waypoints.

When you are in big water bodies, it’s advisable to save the location of the boat ramp. If you love sharing your adventures with other Garmin lovers, you can do so electronically.

Pros

Although it’s quite costly
it offers value for money and even has features only found in high-end fish finders.
Uses the CHIRP technology. The technology has been voted the best in presenting detailed images and information.
Comes with a portable carry bag and flasher display. Therefore
you can carry it even to ice fishing locations.
The GPS technology allows you to mark productive waypoint. This quickens the process of locating fish.
Electronic sharing capability with other Garmin users makes communication and sharing information easier.
There are regular updates that are optional but can improve image accuracy even at high speeds.
Can read accurately for more than 1
000 feet deep.
Flasher display makes vertical fishing possible.
Can display the temperature of the water.
The speed of the boat is displayed by the GPS.

Cons

The manufacturer has stopped producing this model. We recommend you look for the upgraded version the Garmin 5DV,In Garmin 5DV, some users complained that the gadget was too complicated. They found it difficult to set up the fish finder since there were no instructions to help.,Finding the boat speed display setting can be challenging.

Check Customer Reviews on Amazon Check the Upgraded Garmin 7SV at Amazon

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a manual for this model? Where can I get it?

There is no hard copy manual for this model. However, you can find some online. Also, check how-to videos on YouTube on using the Garmin 5DV.

Does this Garmin model come with a trolling motor mount?

Yes, it does.

Will this model display the boat speed?

Yes, the fish finder uses the GPS receiver data to display your boat speeds.

Summary

The Garmin Striker 5DV is an all-purpose fish finder that allows you to explore all fishing grounds, including ice fishing. It comes with attractive features, the highly sort-after internal GPS, and sells at a great price. There are also upgrades that provide improved clarity for anglers, placing this gadget in the same class as other high-end units.

The ability to save and share waypoints, the quality images, and ability to show GPS location makes this Garmin 5DV a one of the best fish finder in the market.

Check Customer Reviews on Amazon Check the Upgraded Garmin 7SV at Amazon

Garmin Striker 5DV Review [DISCONTINUED]