Lowrance HOOK2 7 Fish Finder Review

The Hook2 is a bigger, better version of the past Hook series by Lowrance. This model has undergone a total redesign and comes equipped with a triple shot transducer, making it one of the most accurate and best fish finders on the market. The three in one skimmer transducer features side scan, down scan, and CHIRP sonar, providing you with a detailed view of the action going on around and under the boat. This fish finder also comes packed with some other great features that beginner and seasoned anglers will appreciate, including a large color display and intuitive controls that make it easy to find the perfect fishing spot.

Our Verdict: If you’re looking for a fish finder that will allow you to carefully plot your next fishing adventure, a model that will allow you to save important waypoints along your journey, or a highly accurate device that will help you to steer clear of dangerous obstacles and guide you to the best fishing spots around, then your search is over. Compact, easy to use, and loaded with map plotting features that ensure you keep track of fishing hot spots, I recommend the Hook2 to newbies and seasoned anglers in need of a device that can do so much more than just help you locate fish.

Overview and Features

This fish finder comes equipped with a large seven-inch color display, complete with LED backlighting. Its depth capability is excellent, offering five hundred feet with CHIRP sonar, and three hundred feet for side and down scan.

Transducer

The Triple Shot transducer comes complete with a temperature sensor and metallic mounting hardware. The included eight-pin connector is longer and slightly thinner than what we’ve seen from Lowrance in the past, but this makes it much easier to pass through drilled holes, while also creating a nice tight waterproof connection. This also applies to the power connector. This model can use side scan and down scan imaging, in addition to CHIRP sonar.

Using the included triple shot transducer, the systems depth capabilities comes in at five hundred feet via the 2D sonar, and around three hundred feet for side scan and down scan. For a more accurate reading of fish targets and the bottom, I recommend keeping the speed of your boat at around four to five miles per hour. At this speed, you should get a more accurate reading and decent results.

Beam Shape

The transducer uses a conical beam for the 2D CHIRP sonar. For the down scan and side scan, the transducer uses beams that are fan-shaped. The side scan beams can reach approximately one hundred feet on each side at 800kHz, and three hundred feet on each side at 455kHz.

What is Track Back?

Track Back is basically sonar recording. The system will allow you to scroll back through the sonar history so you can view routes and certain fishing spots. This feature alone will save you plenty of time since you won’t have to worry about returning to an old spot to re-scan the area.

Amplitude Scope

This is a sonar view that’s available in 2D mode. It will display information that’s captured by recent sonar pulses. This device also comes with the circular flasher mode, which is perfect for ice fishing or when down dropping.

Fish ID

You can only use this sonar view in 2D mode. Basically, all this mode will do is use fish icons in place of fish arches. Users can choose to view the depth of every fish icon displayed.

Navigation

This model comes equipped with an internal GPS system which can display the coordinates of your exact location or any waypoint. It can use the MSAS, WAAS, and EGNOS satellites if they’re available in the area. It can also determine the speed of your boat.

Waypoint Memory

This model is able to save up to three thousand waypoints. Use the trail recording function and route creation function to save up to one hundred routes with up to fifty waypoints per route. You can also create up to one hundred trails with a total of ten thousand breadcrumb points for each of the trails. Users can choose to record the trail points based on distance and time.

Charts

As I briefly mentioned earlier, this model comes with maps that cover more than three thousand lakes in the US. The maps themselves are very detailed, however, they do clearly display the boundaries between land and water pretty accurately.

Advantages and Disadvantages

Pros

Cons

Hook2 Vs. Garmin EchoMap

The EchoMap by Garmin is one of Lowrance’s top competitors. It comes loaded with ClearVu scanning sonar, and CHIRP sonar, both of which provide a comparable performance to this model’s CHIRP and down scan and side scan sonar. The Garmin model allows you to use maps for both the US and Canada, while the Hook2 only provides maps of lakes located in the US. In terms of features, both are equipped with equally powerful transducers, built-in maps, and the ability to save waypoints. however, this model by Lowrance comes with a steeper price tag and some great extras that you won’t get with the Garmin, such as an SD card slot, upgradable design, and high detail mapping.

Conclusion and Rating

Our Rating: (4.5/5)

With this fish finder by your side, you can focus on learning how to reel a fish that’s putting up a fight, instead of guiding your boat around aimlessly for several hours, in search of the perfect fishing spot. While the price may be a little steep, if you’re looking for a device that’s easy to use and very accurate, then you’ll be happy with what this Lowrance fish finder has to offer. I gave it a rating of four and a half out of five stars.