Garmin GPSMAP 740S GPS Chartplotter w/Sounder Review
Some years back, anglers highly depended on guesswork when finding fish. Sometimes you would be lucky and bring home some catch while at other times you would hardly catch anything after spending the whole day on the waters.
Today, fishing has become the easiest task with the introduction of fish finders. You don’t need guesswork anymore when you are fishing. With a fish finder, you can clearly see the bottom structure under the boat, and it will be so easy for you to differentiate between fish and other objects.
Garmin is a great leading brand in the manufacture of fish finders and other fishing accessories. The Garmin 740s is just one of their top quality devices that many users love for its incredible performance. Personally, this is my number one fish finder, and I can’t head to the waters without my device.
If you are a serious angler or a boater, this fish finder best suits you. The fish finder comes with preloaded charts of US coastal areas and other places like Alaska, Hawaii, and the Bahamas. This review gives you more details about the Garmin 740s, and I’m hoping you will like the fish finder after reading it in details.
Table of Contents
Display
The display feature in a fish finder is very crucial. After all, how are you going to see fish if you have a device with a poor quality display? When purchasing a fish finder, it should help you see fish not bring more trouble to you, and this is what Garmin has done. The device features a high-resolution touchscreen display. The screen is large enough to provide you with all single details that you need to know. It also features a very simple user interface making it very easy to operate the fish finder.
Garmin GPS Marine Maps
The Garmin fish finder beats many models on the market. It has a nice chart plotter feature and loaded with Garmin GPS marine maps that cover US coastal areas, Hawaii and Alaska just to mention a few. The high sensitivity GPS receiver provides accurate satellite tracking so you can highly depend on the device. The fish finder is compatible with GXM 51 satellite and BlueChart g2 Vision, but you need to purchase the two additions separately.
Sonar
The sonar of the device is great in chart plotting and fish finding. The fish finder has a transducer that helps in defining fish targets as well as giving you details of the underwater structure and depth capacity of about 2000 feet. However, the maximum depth will depend on various factors like water salinity and the bottom type among other factors.
Expand With Radar
The fish finder is also designed with a built-in radar port that gives you the chance to add GMR marine radar system to the device, but you need to buy it separately. Once you purchase it, you can easily add it at any time, and it is a very simple process.
Routes
Building routes with the device are very easy. You just need to touch a final destination on the chart page and then press the route to get started. You should then touch the chart and then click the add turn field necessary for every waypoint that is added along the way.
Ease Of Operation
The fishfinder is designed to offer you with a simple time when you are operating it. Just like other fish finders, everything starts from the homepage display menu. From there you go ahead and select the charts, weather, configure, radar, information combination, where to and information pages. You can also use the touch field to come up with a waypoint.
Accessories Included
After buying the fish finder, there are other important accessories that you will get on the box. The accessories included will help you as you tackle fishing and they include the following:
- A protective cover
- GPSMAP 740s
- Knobs
- Documentation
- Threaded power/data cable/ sonar
- Flush mount gasket and hardware
- Top and bottom snap covers
- Bail mount with built-in cable management
Pros
- Has an easy to use touchscreen interface
- The screen is large with good viewability
- Provides accurate tracking
- Works well in finding fish
- Easy to add GMR marine radar system
Cons
- The depth finder doesn’t work well
Garmin GPSMAP 740S GPS Chartplotter w/Sounder
Frequently Asked Questions
- Q: Is it easy to adjust the brightness of the screen? Anybody who has tried doing it?
- A: I use this finder for fishing, and it works well. You can easily adjust the brightness of the screen to your liking.
- Q: Does the fish finder come with a protective cover? I’m looking forward to upgrading to this fish finder, and I want a device with a protective cover.
- A: Absolutely! I purchased the fish finder a few months ago, and I received a protective cover.
- Q: How is the overall display of the device from the anglers who have used the fish finder?
- A: As compared to other fish finders that I have used before, I must say that this one has the best display. It has a high-resolution screen that provides clear images.
Final Words
Not all the fish finders you find on the market will meet the performance of the Garmin 740. This is a quality device that is designed to withstand all the conditions of the rugged sea. It is designed to provide you with durability and waterproof feature so you can use it for so many years for finding fish. Many users love the chart plotting capabilities that give you all the data that is important for fishing.
If you are planning to buy a new fish finder or upgrading the current model that you have, I would recommend you to try the Garmin 740 model, and you will enjoy a convenient and easy operation. It has the best features, and its performance is also impressive. Get the device today, and you will love fishing even more.
Garmin GPSMAP 740S GPS Chartplotter w/Sounder
Relevant Resources:
- Best Fish Finders Under $500 – Unbiased Reviews & Buying Guide
- Best Fishfinder GPS Combos under $1000
- Best Fish Finder GPS Combo Units – Comparison Included
- Lowrance Elite 5 TI Fishfinder Review – Should You Go?
- Best Ice Fishing Fish Finders – Comparison Included
- Best Fish Finder Under $200 on the Market
