hand held GPS unit

[fishinRod]

thinking about getting one, anybody got any info, preferences or knowledge
about 'em? Are they really all that handy?

fishinRod

[big "E"]

If you fish lakes that you aren't that familiar with , then they can be handy as you dont have to feel lost.But on home lake I have seen gps units go unused for several trips in a row.If you like to log big catches or hot areas it is handy for sure , but I haven't ever had trouble remembering the good spots I fish.Also good for marking other peoples brush piles.I can attest to this as many folks have casually punched in my piles while riding by.(he'll never notice what I'm doing...:rolleyes: )I will say it was nice on Rango's boat during a storm one night to follow the red line on the screen when visibility was crap , but I rue the day for any stranded boaters who may have been in our path that night .I dont own one personally , so maybe my opinion aint for nothing , but a lot of the guys I fish with have 'em so I have gotten to tinker with them.In the big blue water they are a must (for me anyway)when the land disappears , that red line is a BIG comfort zone.

[fishinRod]

yeah, I know what ya mean about remembering holes "E". I can recall details about every spot I've had success at. Thats why I'm tossing around the idea about getting one around. I really don't need one just because everybody else has one. My home lake is the same as yours, Wylie, so its not like you can actually get lost but can get turned around in bad or foggy weather. I am kinda interested about using one for how fast I'm going while I'm trolling. Doesn't Rango use one for that?

fishinRod

[SteveJ]

I have a Garmin GPS 72 that I use on a 3500 acre lake that I have fished since 1971, also have photos of it before it was filled and I think it is a great investment. It is not an expensive unit. I have a lot of stumps etc. marked along the creek and find it very easy to go back to them time after time. Lately I have been trying to learn how to crankbait troll for crappie and it is a great help in the track mode to retrace your trolling run, if you caught any on that run. I use the pointer page when I'm jigpoling to take me to my spots. Wish I had gotten one a long time ago. Use to use line-up along the shore but the tree lines change so much the GPS is so much better.

[bugman]

I have an e trex legend and now that i have gotten used to it i would'nt leave home without it, the lake i fish is huge with no cover unless you build your own i have over 100 brushpiles and stakebeds saved in mine,they make it so much easier to find your spots its almost unbeliveable,well worth the money.

[EDDY CREEK BANDIT]

I have the same unit bugman has. In the past I would triangulate my holes and kept a list in my head. Later on I did make a map with positioning notes. My list grew larger and my memory grew shorter. Atree got cut down or a bouy got moved by winter ice and I lost a few. E-Trex cured that and I have tons of info stored. Great product, very useful.

[fishinRod]

thanks for the info guys. I went to the Garmin website and checked out that etrex, pretty impressive gadget. I think I'll go take a serious look at em and shop around.

fishinRod

[mduncan62]

Rod, you might want to check ebay and see what kind of a deal you can get. I have a Lowrance Ifinder H20. For me the turning point on buying a gps was when my son and I were fishing on Stockton lake, in a 15ft boat with a 9.9Hp motor on it. We had probably gone an hour out of the state park marina, and all of a sudden this monster storm came in and you couldn't see anything and the waves I swear were at least 3 feet. It was crazy, and let me tell you, if you are not familiar with a lake and a storm rolls in, it can be very stressful, even more so if kids are with you. The next day I ordered my GPS unit. Would not go out on unfamiliar water without it.

The reason I chose the Lowrance unit is you can add memory and maps to it using an sd card. I have a 1GB card in mine. That will store a ton of maps and waypoints. I'm pretty sure on most of the other brands you are limited to the internal memory, normally 16MB. The fact that the H2o is waterproof and floats doesn't hurt either.

I don't think you can go wrong with any unit, and it can certainly save your hide. I wouldn't feel safe on new water without it.

[possum1]

I also use the Lowrance h2o, excellent to troll with. Mark your route then you can go back almost exactly the route you were on when you caught fish. Many of the fish I catch (trolling) are open water fish, meaning not near the shoreline or very far from the shore, simply mark a spot on the gps when you catch one(like throwing out a bouy marker) and return to the exact place again and again. Invaluable tool. possum1

[crome]

[QUOTE=possum1]I also use the Lowrance h2o, excellent to troll with. Mark your route then you can go back almost exactly the route you were on when you caught fish. Many of the fish I catch (trolling) are open water fish, meaning not near the shoreline or very far from the shore, simply mark a spot on the gps when you catch one(like throwing out a bouy marker) and return to the exact place again and again. Invaluable tool. possum1[/QUOT

just what possum1 said,
i have the lowrance h2oc,when ever you do get a gps,you'll wounder why you didn't get one sooner,