What would you do?

[minnowdrownder]

I've been good this year so Im hoping santa will let me get a new toy if you catch my drift..........however, I'll prolly only get one sooooo ........Im thinking of either a 72# riptide w/ i-pilot, or a Lowrance Elite 5 gps/fishfinder,& navionics gold chip............

Question is........In your opinion, which of the two will bring more succes & enjoyment to the speck fishing table.......

[Crappielover]

I have no idea what I'm saying here, but I am infatuated with the I-Pilot thing. I have been dreaming of it for a year now. However, I haven't been good enough this year so I'll just get excited for you.

[gabowman]

If youre a troller then by all means go with the I-pilot.Thumbs Up

[Kellog]

That is a no brainer for me. Definitly the 72# i-pilot. I have a 55# i-pilot Rip-tide on my Carolina Skiff and I love it.

Kellog

[Speckanator]

i-piolet rip tide for sure. I love my 55 on my 16' key west.

Merry Christmas

[T.C.]

If you dont troll i would rather have a nicer depthfinder but not the Elite 5. You can get a Humminbird 798 with DI, SI, and 2D sonar for about the same price or even a little cheaper than the I pilot. Just depends on what you wanna do. If you anchor out and fish ( i know you night fish) or just drift minnows it seems the i pilot would go to waste. How do you fish mainly?

[T.C.]

minnowdrowner, there is a 65lb riptide with autopilot for sale on the Jax craigslist for $450, could prob get it cheaper. Great deal

[poleposition]

Wow that is a deal! Maybe then you could get both! Autopilot works pretty good unless in chop because mine has a magnetic compass that can go haywire if you are not carefull you can spin in circles while it tries to figure out where it is!LOL but you just have to take it out of auto real quick when that happens. I have the HB 798ci si w/navionics gold and really like it. I am sure I dont use it to its potential though.

[TnT]

I've been good this year so Im hoping santa will let me get a new toy if you catch my drift..........however, I'll prolly only get one sooooo ........Im thinking of either a 72# riptide w/ i-pilot, or a Lowrance Elite 5 gps/fishfinder,& navionics gold chip............

Question is........In your opinion, which of the two will bring more succes & enjoyment to the speck fishing table.......

They would both bring more success and enjoyment to the speck fishing table....Tough choice if you don't have neither...But I think I agree with Gabowman...If you are a troller, The Riptide with I-Pilot may edge out the Lowrance in my opinion....A good FF with GPS is also a vital tool in finding and catching specs!!

[minnowdrownder]

All good stuff guys....most seem to think the i-pilot is the best choice, but Im leaning toward the ff/gps for a few reasons.......#1 ...About half of my fishing is done on unfamilliar waters, so having a gps w/ map card would be more usefull in that situation..........#2 My little eagle ff has compleatly quit on me cause the salt water has finaly done too much damage to the power cords................#3 My old 55# endura is still kickin & putting a new high-falootin i-pilot on my boat would be like buying new rims & tires for a yugo.........

When it comes to electronics, I've got some homework to do, so keep the opinions & advice coming.........

And SYG.......as you mentioned I do alot of night fishing.......& most of the time during the day, I spider with a little help from the minn kota & the wind.......Hav'nt done much longlinning, but I want to add the technique to my trick list...... Ive got all the stuff, I just need to commit to trying it more often....