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ive been waiting to ask this question since i joined bft. now i think i am ready to pursue fishing with a gps. i know almost zero about them, other than some features i want- and i think i need. i need you guys to tell me what i need/dont need for my purposes.
what i want to be able to do, in order of importance to me is: 1-know my trolling speed, 2-mark spots to hit trolling and vertical jigging. (i want to be able to find schools more than once!).
other than those two things i dont think i need anything else. i was wondering if you could suggest brands/models that would be good for those two things. (plus some suggestions on features that would be nice- that i am not aware that i may want!) what do you guys use for fishing?
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I have 2 GPS units - one is part of my Humminbird Fish Finder, the other is a hand held Garmin.
You have the most important features already in mind - at least for fishing. Trolling speed - enough said. The other you mentioned can be very useful as well. GPS, when used with sonar can allow an even more accurate picture of the body of water by being able to precisely mark locations or structure.
My Humminbird GPS is quite simple - as GPS units go. It tells me speed, distance traveled, time elapsed, marked locations, GPS compass bearing or heading.
My Garmin hand held does all of those things and also has; elevation, barometric pressure, ambient pressure, electronic compass as well as GPS compass and the topo maps of all of Utah in memory. It also has a few things like features and functions that I have not quite figured out yet.
My rambleing point is, for fishing, I think you got the GPS advantages and usages narrowed down to the important ones - speed and location.
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ive seen where they sell the map software with the gps. is that necessary? what are they advantages that having maps in there give you? how specific are the maps? can you get a map of say, flaming gorge, on there?
thanks for your quick response! do you use it fishing a lot?
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Garmin sells the map software for the topos of everywhere. I bought them because I use them extensively. Garmin also sells software for the lakes of the western states - it includes Flaming Gorge and Lake Powell among others. Those map have detailed fishing information with lake depths on contour lines. They also have fishing hot spots on them(no telling how current or accurate that might be though). I don't have those but might get them in the future.
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how big of a deal is the memory? how much do i need to save my fishing spots? id like to save them so that i can look for the fish every trip. does that require a ton of memory?
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It depends on which GPS you get and the features it has. My Garmin cost alot, but it does alot more than the standard GPS is needed to do. My Garmin has 24 Mbytes of memory - so it can hold alot of map data, which I use extensively while in the field with my hounds. Not all GPS's have the capability to load external map software, so you need to check them out. BTW - Garmin map software is proprietary - meaning you have to use their software. Other GPS manufactures are more standardized(somewhat) in that they can accept a generic kind of map.
You can get GPS units starting from around $100 up to (who knows). The map software for Garmin is expensive unfortunately - the topo software cost about another $100 and the Western lakes is another $100 - they also have other map software that you can buy as well.
The nice thing about my Garmin, is that I loaded the software last year and even though the device sat for 3 months without batteries in it, it kept everything in it's memory, including the marked spots I wanted to keep.
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I have a Garmin Etrex Legend. I think you can get one now for under $200.00 and you can use the map software with it. After a trip hunting or fishing I go home and download my maps on a floppy disk for my next trip. Its real esay and would have to be because I'm computer stupid.
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I own the Garmin Rino 120 which is awsome not only is it a GPS but also a radio with a 5 mile range then u can add maps for fishing hot spots or any other maps u choose to use. It will tell you the speed u are moving and much much more. simple to use ase well
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Sounds like you have the same needs I had when I went shopping for my gps.
I ended up getting a Garmin eTrex and so far it has been exactly what I needed. Speed, landmark markers, trip planning (to and from), compass, and the feature to be able to save a days trip to the GPS for future access so I know of marked structure, hot spots, etc. Cost is relatively low, got mine for $89. Great little handheld with some awesome features and and the capability to get the accuracy within a couple feet.
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I got the Garmin Etrex Legend, blue gps unit, for $130 and you can find them for that price all over the internet. It has enough memory if you want to download some maps but does not have tons of memory. It is simple to use and probably has everything on it you need for your fishing. It all depends on how much you want to spend and what special features you need.
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The handheld units will certianly do what you want to do but the larger units are easier to use. The larger screen units can be easily used in vehicles while traveling as the maps are easier to see.
Lowrance has available free on their website, contour maps for Flaming Gorge, and Jordanelle as well as Glendo and Jackson Lake.
Cabelas has a $700 unit on sale now for $400. If you can come up with the extra money for the bigger screen, you won't regret it. I wish I'd bought a bigger one the first time around.
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I have an early garmin 76. It has no map underlay but will still do what you want.
You just need a maping page that will track your path. When you hit a school push MOB (man over board)and keep copming back on them.
A good $200 hand held gps by Garmin will do all you need and then some.
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well, i got my gps the other day. i went with a garmin etrex legend. i think it will work out really well. sportmans had refurbished ones on sale as well as a good deal on a combo pack. i got the combo which included a video, car power cord, the gps unit, and a topo map cd rom. i figure that all in all it was a 100 dollar savings compared to cablelas...so, im happy about that. now i just need to practice so that i can get good at using it! thank you all for the tips! it helped me a lot to learn a little about what other fisherman were using- and why. thanks!
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