Lowrance Elite FS 9 Chartplotter / Fishfinder w/ 3-in-1 Transducer

The Lowrance Elite FS 9 is the sweet spot in Lowrance's Elite line. You get the proper 9-inch screen size that lets you actually read split-screen sonar and chart at the same time, the Active Imaging 3-in-1 transducer in the box ready to bolt to the transom, and the upgrade path to ActiveTarget live sonar and HALO radar when you're ready. It's the unit we recommend most often for boaters who fish hard but don't need a full glass-bridge build.

What you actually see on screen is the Active Imaging 3-in-1 transducer doing three jobs at once. CHIRP sonar gives you fish arches and bottom hardness in the column under the boat. SideScan throws photo-quality bottom imagery out to 300 feet on each side, so you can see brush piles, dock pilings, weedline edges, and the bait schools sitting on top of them. DownScan shows you exactly what's directly under the boat in fine detail. FishReveal puts the CHIRP fish targets back over the structure scan so you stop guessing which arches matter.

The 9-inch display is bright. 1200 nits of brightness means you can read it on a Florida flat at noon without cupping your hand around the screen. Resolution is 800 by 480 pixels and the touchscreen is a real multi-touch panel, so pinch to zoom on a chart works the way it does on your phone. Wide viewing angles let your buddy in the second seat actually see what you're looking at. IPX7 means rain, spray, and the inevitable wave over the bow are not a problem.

It ships preloaded with high-resolution fishing charts that include 1-foot contours on roughly 8,900 U.S. lakes, plus coastal and offshore coverage. That's the chart package that makes the unit usable out of the box for most freshwater anglers in the lower 48. Easy Routing plots a safe path for you, and Genesis Live builds custom contour and bottom-hardness maps in real time as you idle around. Drop in a microSD card for additional cartography or to back up your waypoints.

For connectivity, this is a real network unit, not a standalone. NMEA 2000 lets it talk to your boat's network for engine data, fluid levels, GPS heading, and autopilot. A dedicated Ethernet port lets you network multiple Lowrance displays so they share sonar, charts, waypoints, and cursor position. Built-in WiFi handles software updates and chart downloads. Bluetooth 4.0 with Classic support is in there for accessories. The 10Hz GPS receiver is fast enough for tournament-quality track replay and supports WAAS, MSAS, EGNOS, and GLONASS for positioning lock anywhere you fish.

One of the underrated features is touchscreen control of compatible shallow water anchors and certain compatible trolling motors over the NMEA 2000 network. Anchor down, anchor up, motor speed, motor heading, all from the helm without taking your hand off the wheel. If you've ever fumbled for a separate remote in a wind shift, you'll get why this matters.

Power. The Elite FS 9 runs on 12V with a maximum draw of 28 watts, which is light. The included 3-amp inline fuse goes at the battery end of the run. Use 14 AWG marine wire for runs under 10 feet and 12 AWG for longer runs. Keep the run dedicated, off the same fuse block as your bilge pump or VHF, and you'll see cleaner sonar without electrical interference.

Mount it flush in the dash for a clean look or use the included gimbal bracket if you want to pop it off the boat between trips. The bracket is solid enough for a center console at speed and the flush kit is straightforward if you can cut a clean rectangle. Compass safe distance is a foot from the unit, which is short enough that it lives easily on most helms.

Transducer install is the part most boaters get wrong. The Active Imaging 3-in-1 mounts on the transom, parallel to the bottom of the hull, with a slight downward angle of about 12 degrees so the SideScan beams stay clean. Get it too high and you'll cavitate at speed. Get the angle wrong and your SideScan range collapses to nothing. The included install template and a couple of careful measurements is all it takes to get it right the first time.

Upgrade path. The Elite FS 9 is ready for ActiveTarget live sonar with the addition of the live sonar module and transducer. That's the feature that lets you watch fish swim toward your bait in real time, the same tech that has reshaped tournament bass fishing in the last few years. It's also ready for HALO radar, which is overkill on a small boat but a great option if you ever move up to a center console that runs offshore. Add Lowrance displays over Ethernet to grow the network as your boat grows.

3,000 waypoints, route storage, and trail recording are standard. The microSD slot handles SDXC cards if you need more storage or want to load aftermarket charts.

1-year limited warranty from Lowrance. Same-day shipping before 3 PM ET on in-stock units.