importance of having electronics

[KCMO CRAPPIESLAYER]

hello fellow slabhunters!

i have another question out there for everyone. obviously electronics and more advanced technology are a major advantage we as fishermen have now. what i want to know is how much am i missing out on. iv'e pretty much became a full time crappie fisherman, and i know i've got a ton to learn. i use a fish eagle mark 480 that i purchased just last year. i did'nt want to spend much and i did a lot of research on them and i decided with that one. just how important is having gps, color screen, thermocline, barometric pressure(if there is such one)also the newer ones that show sideviews, and all the added features that come with a more expensive one. will it help me that much more? i just have a 15' aluminum lowe with a 15 horsepower 2 stroke, nothing fancy. but it's kind of like when i was in highschool, i drove a ford fiesta i paid $300 for and had $1000 speakers lying in the hatchback, so if having a more advanced fishfinder is gonna make me a better crappie fisherman then maybe i need to start looking around. thanks for any advice

jeff the crappieslayer

[jh_blount]

IMHO, nicer elctronics may make things a little more convenient sometimes, but so would having a bigger boat. I have a 14 foot alum. boat that I cant see spending 800$ or more on electronics for. My $100 eagle seems fine to me. The only reason I like GPS is for knowing my trolling speed. Have a handheld, so Im still not putting one the boat. If I had a great big nice rig that I spent 30000 on, then yeah, I could see $1500 on a unit, but not the case. My two cents, anywho.:D

[drill instructor]

i spent a lot on my electronics. I have a Garmin 398C with maps,gps, fishfinder pretty much everything i need in one unit. The more you learn about fishfinders and GPS the more you will end up spending on a better unit than the one you currently have.

[Crappie Reaper]

If I could afford a brand new Hummimbird 987 or 997c si, I would buy it in a heartbeat. I don't care if I had to mount it on a rubber raft. I paid just as much for my Minn Kota Auto Pilot trolling motor as I did buying my fiberglass boat off Ebay. It was well worth the price. I don't care what is keeping me afloat, but the motor, trolling motor and electronics are essential to me.

[coony278]

I will say that the more expensive the electronic the better it works. I have a M68c and a 510 lowrance on my boat and very happy with them , but the 510 shows way more detail than the 68c.

But just because you can look at fish on sonar dont mean you can catch them


Coony

[reelcrappie]

I've got a 20' ranger center console with a 200 merc. It's equiped with a minkota terrova with auto pilot and copilot. Electronics are, garmin 240, lowrance 522c and matrix 17 on bow. If I ever have to sell the boat and go back to fishing my old 14 bomber you better believe that the minkota and my electronics aint going with the new boat. They will go on the old boat. I love that trolling motor, lets me spend more time tending rods and less time steering the boat, and the electronics are fun too. With the GPS if I do manage to find a good spot I can return to it with no problem, even in the pitch dark. The bottom line is, go fishing every chance you get, no matter how you are equiped.

[crappieken]

KCMO - I have two Eagles mounted on my boat. The one on my trolling motor is a 1990 model and the one on my console is a 2006 Fishmark 480. I have a handheld Garmin GPS 72 I paid $152 for at Walmart. The most expensive electronics you can buy will not make up for lack of fishing knowledge and experience. Yesterday we had thunderstorms here in central Illinois so I decided in between storms to do some bank fishing. As I walked up to the riprap point I wanted to fish, I saw two bass boys in a $40,000 Ranger with all the fancy gear working the point. I watched them fish it for ten minutes or so without catching a fish and they then moved down the bank a few yards. I walked down to the edge of the point and threw in a minnow on a slip bobber and my first fish within a few seconds was a bass around three pounds. I heard the guy in the Ranger say to his partner, "I was beginning to think this lake didn't have any bass until that guy just caught one." I think they were prefishing yesterday for a big tournament being held today.

[EDDY CREEK BANDIT]

I have an older Nitro (94) with a 115 horse Mercury on it. Fairly nice boat but nothing real fancy. It has been my experince that the equipment doesn't make the fisherman, its how he uses what he's got. The Bass Boat is for comfort only, the electronics help me to be a little better fisherman. Some of the best catchers that I know still fish out of a 14' flat bottom and uses a flasher. They just know how to use what they have.
THE BANDIT

[Team9nine]

While it's certainly not a necessity, count me in as another vote in favor of better electronics. The 480 unit you have is good and will show you fish, cover and even thermoclines fine. I don't know of any unit that has barometric pressure (LOL), but I don't put a lot of stock in that any way. GPS and color on the other hand are both great features to have, along with the ability to read/record to SD/MMC cards. On the side reading deal though, I'm still not sold yet.

-T9

[randybenham]

i think being able to find brushpiles off shore is crucial, and being able to find your way around is important too. Some other factors are crucial too, like water temp. Some things like color on your fishfinders are a luxury. A good solid fishfinder is a very valuable tool. A good gps is also very valuable. my main units are a matrix 17 on the front, hbird 535 on back, & lowrance h20c mounted back by the motor, so I will know where I'm at. The gps will come in very handy when you are on unfamiliar water also.