Lowrance Elite 9 Ti
Perfect choice for anyone who owns a powerboat and goes fishing in large bodies of water.
The ocean is big, it takes up 70% of the planet and accounts for over 96% of all water on earth, which means finding fish in it takes skill, knowledge, and understanding.
I used to think fishing blind and relying on instinct was how to do it. I realized the only way to truly know what’s happening beneath your boat is by owning a fish finder like the Lowrance Elite 9 Ti.
A fish finder like this removes the unknown.
You will have access to charts showing you the bottom contours, sonar technologies showing you exactly what’s under you, and a GPS to show you where you are and to be able to mark fishing spots for later.
With a unit like the Elite 9 Ti fish finder, you’ll never be fishing blind again. Check out my in-depth review to see how it can illuminate your fishing game.
Is the Lowrance Elite 9 Ti Right For You?
The Lowrance Elite 9 Ti is a great fish finder from Lowrance and with it, you’ll be able to add charts of anywhere in the world, see what’s under and to the side of your boat, and use the GPS to navigate to your favorite fishing hotspots and through tricky waters.
But, is it the right fish finder for your needs? Or would you rather choose it’s little brother the Elite 7 Ti?
The Elite 9 Ti is quite a serious unit and it’ll suit any fisherman who owns a powerboat and fishes on the ocean or needs valuable lake insight.
It’s overkill for a kayak fisherman or anyone who fishes on boats without onboard power as it’s not portable and requires a solid battery connection to function. You’d be better off going with fish finders that are suited for small vessels, and the best ones are right here.
Lowrance Elite 9 Ti
Perfect choice for anyone who owns a powerboat and goes fishing in large bodies of water.
Lowrance Elite 9 Ti
What is the Lowrance Elite 9 Ti?
This unit is a GPS, chart plotter, and fishfinder all in one from Lowrance.
With the Lowrance Elite Ti installed you can add maps of anywhere in the world and navigate to the furthest islands in the ocean if you wanted to, and see what fish are on the bottom-most of the way there.
Does it come with a Transducer?
The unit comes with a transducer and there are three to choose from depending on what sonar technologies you want from the Lowrance Elite.
We’ll dig into the details of those in the next section.
The Lowrance Elite Ti is the perfect choice for anyone who owns a powerboat and goes fishing in large bodies of water, whether it’s the great lakes or the Pacific ocean, this unit is a great choice.
NOTE
Remember though, you’ll have to drill some holes in your boat to install it and learn how to use the unit once it arrives.
It’s also not a portable unit, and you’ll need onboard power that is large enough to run the system, so it’s not going to suit kayaks.
Pros
- Accurate GPS and sounder
- Simple to use touchscreen
- Large easy to read split-screen display
- Access to great broadband sonar technologies
- 3 transducers to choose from to suit you
- Use trackback to review sonar history and mark any sports you might have missed
- Comes pre-loaded with high detail C Map Insight Pro charts
- Wifi connectivity for easy updates and syncing to your smartphone
- Use the wireless connectivity to steer your trolling motor and use your power pole shallow water anchor
- FishReveal Smart Target View combines sonar technologies for a clearer picture
Cons
- Included Cmaps is not the best
- Not the easiest unit to understand at first
- Some people have ordered Navionics Maps and received Cmaps instead
Features & Benefits
What is the display size, is it large enough and easy to read?
The display on this unit is a high-resolution touchscreen for easy navigation around the software and with 9-inch screen size, it is large and easy to see with a great screen resolution.
It’s specially designed to be readable in direct sunlight and you can split it into 4 views so you can see multiple data fields at one time.
Active Imaging – What sonar technologies is it capable of?
The Lowrance Elite Ti fish finders come with a range of active imaging sonar technologies that you can use to see what’s under your boat depending on the transducer you choose.
CHIRP
CHIRP imaging is what you would generally use when you’re using your trolling motor or looking for structure on the bottom to find fish on. It uses multiple frequency sonar waves to give you a full picture of everything under your boat, from shallow to deep water.
Sonar Frequency
Low-frequency sonar waves penetrate deeply to the bottom while picking up less detail. High-frequency sonar waves get absorbed by the water so they don’t go as deep but they pick up a lot more detail in shallow water.
The Lowrance CHIRP sonar on this fish finder uses multiple frequencies of 50/200 or 83/200 kHz at the same time to give you as much detail of any fish and debris in the water column so you plan your fishing tactics accordingly.
SideScan
SideScan imaging, essentially side imaging, sends high-frequency sonar waves to the left or right of your boat allowing you to see if there are fish in waters you haven’t disturbed with your engine yet.
It’s a particularly useful feature to have, as it gives you some added knowledge of where shoals of fish might be holding.
The SideScan on this unit will show you fish up to 150 feet away from the side of your boat, allowing you to sneak up on them without them knowing.
DownScan
DownScan is similar to SideScan’s side imaging but instead of showing you what’s to the side, it sends high-frequency sonar waves beneath you to give you a very detailed image of what might be lurking in the drop-offs down there.
It’s great to use once you have found a fishy structure you’re interested in as it’ll show you exactly what’s down there and whether it’s worth fishing or not.
The DownScan’s down imaging on this unit penetrates to 300 feet deep which is more than enough for a bird’s eye view of any structure you might want to bottom fish.
FishReveal Smart Target View
This fishfinder comes with a super handy feature called FishReveal.
The feature works by combining both CHIRP imaging and DownScan imaging into one full picture on the screen.
This not only eliminates the need to have one view for CHIRP and another for DownScan, but it also merges the picture into one view.
This means you will get the rounded picture of CHIRP from top to bottom, along with a highly detailed DownScan overlay that will let you see everything from structure details to shoals of baitfish and more.
Trackback Lets You Review Your Sonar History
Along with FishReveal’s active imaging this unit also comes with Trackback.
While your sonar is turned on, it’ll record all the data it’s gathered so that you can go back and review it later on.
This means if you hook up to say, a marlin, you can deal with catching it first, and once the fight is over and the fish is safely released, you can look at your sonar history to see if you drove over anything interesting that caused the fish to be there.
Marking Spots
You can also use Trackback to review your history to mark spots you may have missed on the GPS.
Maybe there was a ledge or pinnacle you caught fish on and forgot to mark.
With Trackback, there is no need to go out on the water and try to find it again to mark it, you can just rewind, find the ledge, and mark it for your next trip.
What transducers come with it?
As I mentioned before, the Elite Ti fish finder comes with a range of options when it comes to transducers and you have three to choose from depending on what sonar technologies you want to be able to use and how much you would like to spend.
TIP
If you already have a transducer that will work with the unit, you can of course opt not to buy one at all, or buy a specialized one from below to add the features your current transducer can’t provide.
Mid/High Skimmer
The mid/high skimmer transducer gives you CHIRP sonar only.
This is enough to get a detailed full picture of what is under your boat but doesn’t give you access to detailed images of what’s to the side or beneath your boat.
You won’t be able to use the FishReveal feature with this single transducer either as DownScan or down imaging is not included.
This is the most basic transducer available with the Lowrance Elite Ti and it comes at an affordable price.
Mid/High HDI
A step up from the Skimmer is the Mid/high HDI transducer gives you access to both CHIRP and DownScan sonar technologies from the unit.
This means you’ll be able to use both CHIRP and Downscan plus combine them using the FishReveal feature but you will not have access to SideScan.
StructureScan HD
The LSS-HD transducer gives you access to Structure Scan HD which means you’ll get both SideScan and DownScan from it.
You’ll be able to see super detailed images of what’s to the side and under your boat but you won’t have access to CHIRP.
This means you will only be able to see depths up to 300ft instead of 3000 ft with CHIRP and won’t be able to use the FishReveal feature as it requires both CHIRP and DownScan to function.
TIP
If you already own a CHIRP transducer that works with the unit, you buy the StructureScan HD transducer to add to your boat along with the existing one to give you all the features: CHIRP, SideScan, DownScan, and FishReveal.
TotalScan Transducer
The top transducer available is the TotalScan transducer.
The TotalScan is basically an all-in-one transducer and gives you med-high CHIRP with StructureScan so you can access SideScan, DownScan, CHIRP, and FishReveal.
You’ll be able to see and use every feature on the Elite Ti fish finders with the TotalScan transducer.
Easier Installation
Another great benefit of using the TotalScan transducer over say your existing CHIRP and additional StructureScan transducer is that the installation is a lot simpler.
Instead of mounting and wiring two transducers, the StructureScan plus your current one, you just have one to deal with, the TotalScan transducer.
This means drilling fewer holes in your boat and having an easier install overall.
RECOMMENDATION
I would highly recommend going for the Totalscan transducer for simplicity’s sake in the installation and so you can unlock all the awesome features.
With the Totalscan transducer, you only have to install one transducer and you get CHIRP with StructureScan, DownScan, and SideScan all in one.
Is it easy to install the unit on your boat?
All of the transducers mentioned above are designed to be mounted on the transom of your small to medium-sized boats.
The Lowrance Elite 9 Ti comes with a detailed instruction manual that you can find online too that tells you exactly what to do. You can also read our detailed guide on how to mount fishfinders for other tips and instructions.
- To install the transducer, you just have to find the right place, usually outside of the wash on the starboard (right) of your engine, at least 3 inches away from the prop.
- Once you have the right spot, drill 4 holes for the screws that hold the transducer on, and one larger hole for the cable that runs to the display. Simple.
- Once you have mounted the transducer you then need to adjust it so it’s pointing down at around 60 degrees. If it’s facing too flat, it’ll miss a lot of treats and now show you as much detail as you’d like.
If you’re adding a second transducer, like the StructureScan one to your own CHIRP one, things get a little more complicated.
RECOMMENDATION
I’d recommend calling an expert in regards to adding a StructureScan to your existing CHIRP.
Ram Mount
If the idea of drilling a hole in your boat isn’t what you had in mind, then a Ram Mount is a good option.
It’s essentially an arm you can attach your transducer to and then attach to your boat so you don’t have to drill any holes in the bottom.
This also means you can take the transducer in and out of the water as you like and adjust the angle with ease.
Map Options
The Elite Ti fish finder comes with a few different map options to choose from and to ensure you pick the right one, we’ll go into each of them in detail below.
C-Map Pro
You can choose to get the unit with C-Map Insight Pro.
This option gives you a map with 1-foot contours on more than 3,000 lakes and standard 10-foot contours on more than 11,000 lakes in the US.
The unit also includes preloaded, high-detail coastal mapping for US waters. These go great with an Insight Genesis subscription
C-MAP Genesis Live
The Elite Ti series comes with access to C-MAP Genesis Live.
Genesis Live allows you to self map onto your CMAP Pro maps down to ½ a foot of accuracy, adding new details and features automatically so you can see as detailed a chart as possible of areas you have fished.
US/Canada Nav+
You can opt to get the unit with Navionics+ instead of Cmaps that covers both the US and Canada. With Nav+ you get 1-foot contours of the entire US and Canadian coastline plus 24,700 lakes. Navionics update their charts daily and have one of the most accurate charts out there.
Preloaded Basemap
Most GPS Chartplotters come with some kind of basemap so you don’t have to add maps if you don’t want to. Speaking of GPS and chartplotter, you might be interested to know the difference between the two with our Chartplotter vs GPS article. Some might say they are just the same, but in reality, they are not.
The Elite Ti fish finder does not, you have to choose between Cmaps or Navionics when you buy one of the units. You have the option to use Insight Genesis as well.
Wireless Networking
The Elite 9 Ti comes with wireless networking, both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi that allows you to connect up your smartphone, power pole shallow water anchor, and trolling motor to it.
Once everything is connected, you can view the display on your smartphone, raise your anchor, and steer your motor with it too using the Wi-Fi hotspot the unit creates.
Smartphone Notifications
By connecting your smartphone to the unit, it will also show you any notifications on the display so you can get updates from your phone while leaving it safely tucked away in your waterproof backpack.
If you want to use your phone as a screen, then consider investing in a phone fish finder as an alternative.
Software – How do you update the software on the unit?
One of the first things you’re going to have to do when you get the unit is to update the software. Luckily, the unit has Wi-Fi.
Once it’s connected to the Wi-Fi, the updating process is easy.
Use the touchscreen to go into the settings like you would on your smartphone, and in the about and advanced section, it’ll let you know if software updates are available or not.
If an update is available, just click on it with the touchscreen and it’ll start downloading it for you.
Usability – how to read a Lowrance fish finder?
The software on this unit is intuitive to follow and thanks to the touchscreen, with the quick access control bar, navigating between menus and views is simple and just like using a smartphone, but how do you read the sounder view?
- When using any of the imaging options you’ll be presented with a screen that shows you the depth scale along the right-hand side and the actual depth as a number in the bottom right-hand corner.
- You’ll then see the bottom in one color, blue or red depending on the mode you’re in, and then other arcs of color in the water column that show any fish or debris that the sounder is picking up.
The larger and more solid the arc the larger the fish you’re seeing. Larger dotted arcs show you schools of baitfish.
Debris will be shown as light dots on the display and are not shown as arcs, but as solid dots or blobs depending on the size.
What do owners of the Elite 9 think?
Doing this Elite 9 Ti review, I naturally scoured the internet looking at what everyone who’s used the fish finder thought of it, and 90% of people seem to love it.
Alternatives
Before you go buying the Lowrance Elite 9 Ti, it’s probably worth seeing what else is out there and if another unit is more suited to your needs.
You can check out this Lowrance Hook review I wrote if you’re interested.
Below I have compared the Elite 9 Ti to a few other models for you.
Lowrance HDS-9
Both are equally capable in terms of sonar technologies except that the HDS 9 has StructureScan 3D
Lowrance HDS-9
Lowrance Elite 9 Ti vs Lowrance HDS 9
When you compare the Ti and the HDS, they come out pretty similar. Both are a fish finder with GPS and chartplotter and are equally capable in terms of sonar technologies except that the HDS 9 has StructureScan 3D.
Sonar
Each unit comes with StructureScan and CHIRP, and both of them have Wi-Fi, FishReveal, and a high resolution touchscreen.
The HDS does have a few features that the Elite is missing though, and that is to be expected considering the HDS is quite a bit more expensive.
Here are the extra features you’d get with the HDS.
- Autopilot control via Lowrance SmartSteer
- Dual micro SD card slots instead of one
- Compatible with Broadband Radar and SonicHub
- StructureScan 3D is a step up from StructureScan as it shows you what’s beneath in 3D whereas StructureScan is simple just a name for a package that includes DownScan and SideScan
If you’re looking for a unit with additional features like radar and auto-pilot it’s worth jumping up to the HDS 9, and you’ll get StructureScan 3D that’ll give you high-detail photo-like images of what’s beneath you too.
Here’s our full Lowrance HDS review if you would like to learn more.
Lowrance Hook 9
Very similar to the Elite 9 Ti as a fish finder when it comes to everything except for the display as it does not have a touchscreen.
Lowrance Hook 9
Lowrance Hook 9 vs Elite Ti 9
The Hook 9 is again very similar to the Elite 9 Ti as a fish finder when it comes to everything except for the display as it does not have a touchscreen.
Both have CHIRP, SideScan, and DownScan imaging plus FishReveal and all the same map options.
Sonar
Don’t be fooled by the wording either.
You’ll see that StructureScan isn’t mentioned in regards to the Hook 9, but StructureScan, when it’s HD, is just a term for Down and SideScan, which the Hook 9 comes with.
Here are the differences between the Hook 9 and the Elite 9 Ti.
- The Hook 9 is more affordable
- The Hook 9 does not have a touchscreen
If you’re looking to spend a little less and are happy to live without a touchscreen, then the Hook 9 might be a better option for you. It does everything the Elite does in terms of sonar and screen resolution, it’s just the touchscreen that is missing.
Garmin Echomap 94Sv
If you’re used to Garmin products over Lowrance, then it might be a little easier to get used to the 94sv.
Garmin Echomap 94Sv
Lowrance Elite 9 Ti vs Garmin Echomap 94Sv
The Garmin EchoMap 94Sv is a chartplotter, and sounder just like the Elite, it’s just made by Garmin and not Lowrance.
Both units are almost identical except for a few minor things. Here’s a summary of the differences.
The Garmin echoMAP 94sv:
- Has a touchscreen and button display
- Comes with blueChart® G2 coastal maps preloaded instead of Cmaps or Navionics
- Lacks a feature like FishReveal
If you’re used to Garmin products over Lowrance, then it might be a little easier to get used to the 94sv in terms of usability than the Elite.
Otherwise, they are very similar in both features and price.
For a detailed review of the EchoMap, click here.
Summing Up
The Lowrance Elite Ti is a very comprehensive unit that will give you all the features you need to know where you are, where you’re going, and what’s beneath you when you’re out on the water.
It’s super accurate, shows you great details, comes with multiple map options for you to choose from, and with the Totalscan Transducer gives you all the sonar imaging you could want from CHIRP to Side imaging and DownScan.
Great Features
It’s also an easy unit to use just like it’s little brother the Elite 5 Ti, thanks to the touch screen, split-screen display, and intuitive layout.
The HD screen size is also large and easy to see thanks to the high-resolution
Sounding Out
Thanks for reading the article and I hope you enjoyed my Elite 9 Ti review.
You should now know everything you need to go and buy the Elite 9 with confidence.
If you are still not convinced that the Elite 9 will help you find more fish, here’s a link to our detailed review of the Humminbird Helix 9. The Helix 9 has tons of great features that you might be looking for.
Share your thoughts and fish finder feelings with me over on social media – I can’t wait to hear all about your next adventures.
