GPS

  • John Luebker
    Posts: 694
    May 24, 2004 at 7:38 pm #1244353

    Hey Guys – I know there are a few posts floating around already about GPS and what kind to buy. So I am going to pose this questions slightly different (but feel free to provide that info if you have it) I recently came into a $50 gift certificate to cabelas over the weekend so of course it is burning a hole in my pocket So get to the point right! In what ways have you guys used your GPS and are they worth purchasing. (I am looking to stay around $100) The problem is I could buy $50 dollars worth of something else so I need to justify a bit (for my own benifit) how much use I would get out of a GPS.

    I do not have a boat currently, so I wouldn’t really need it for fishing open water. I do hunt, but it is always on smaller wooded lots I grew up on so no need for that either. So basically it comes down to ice fishing, and possible marking some locations that have produced fish.

    Are there any other situation that you guys use them for? Should I just buy a bunch of new fishing tackle instead?

    All input is appreciated.

    Thanks in advance guys

    wade_kuehl
    Northwest Iowa
    Posts: 6167
    May 24, 2004 at 9:00 pm #305941

    Hi John, I would probably spend that $50 on tackle, etc. Any new GPS you can get for around $100 is going to be pretty limited. I prefer to have a mapping GPS, which is hard to find in that range. I think cabelas should have some of the old iFinders left that might be close to that price. As you said, you can use the GPS to mark your favorite spots. A GPS is also very helpful for trolling speed. See what some other guys think but in your situation and with what your looking to spend right now you might be best to get some tackle. Good luck!

    BTW, I saw Derek J. is selling a Garmin 76 GPS on the classified forum…

    Don Hanson
    Posts: 2073
    May 24, 2004 at 10:39 pm #305954

    I agree with Wade,buy some tackle and use a buddies handheld to mark those ice fishing spots. I use a Garmin 188 gps with the pre-programmed chip. That gives me a 3ft contour map of the body of water I am on. By marking waypoints and using the tracking feature I can retrace trolling passes over and over. All of my gps use is in the boat.

    Gianni
    Cedar Rapids, IA
    Posts: 2063
    May 25, 2004 at 2:33 am #305999

    About 90% of my gps use is on the ice. In open water, I will use it occasionally, but the sonar is really the ticket for zeroing in.

    That being said, I don’t troll much (not successfully, anyway).

    dbqbass1
    Dubuque, Iowa
    Posts: 14
    May 25, 2004 at 3:39 am #306009

    I got my first GPS (handheld) in 2000 and used it strictly for fishing because I love to explore new waters. Got lost many times on those Canadian Lakes!

    After my daughter moved to ST. Louis in 2003, I began using it to travel various routes there, then around the city. Very handy in the car in strange territory.

    last summer I took a float trip on the upper iowa and used it there out of the canoe. Marked several spots we caught fish in and plan to go back this year. I don’t know if $100 would get you one that has these capabilities or not, but you could get it for under$200. Good searching!

    mossboss
    La Crescent, MN
    Posts: 2792
    May 25, 2004 at 2:42 pm #306063

    Don:

    Do they have contour maps of the Mississippi included? If so, how accurate is the data, and how often is it updated?

    wade_kuehl
    Northwest Iowa
    Posts: 6167
    May 25, 2004 at 3:27 pm #306069

    MossBoss, Don runs the Garmin Lakemaster Maps with 3′ contours. Use the link provided and you can see the coverage areas. It does provide coverage of Pool 4 & Pool 8. The other choice for Garmin users is the new Fishing Hot Spots Software from Garmin. The new software covers a lot more lakes than in the past. To see all the info, go to Garmin FHS Central and scroll down to where it says “Click here to view a list of Central Recreational Lakes that contain additional lake detail such as depth contours or scroll below to view lakes with Fishing Hot Spots coverage.” This will show you all the lakes that have at least some detail provided. You can actually preview the areas you’re interested in by using the MapSource Map Viewer located in the upper right hand side of the FHS Central Page on Garmin’s site.

    Lowrance, Eagle, Humminbird, and Raymarine users can use the Navionics Lakemaster Software with 1′ or 3′ contours, or the Navionics HotMaps with 5′ contours.

    Lots of good software out there to make fishing a little easier.

    I should clarify my above post… It’s not that I don’t think you should get a GPS. They a great tool on the water and on the ice. I just don’t know about trying to find a new one for a hundred bucks. I see Cabelas does have the original iFinder for $150 and the eTrex Legend for $200. Either of those would do the trick.

    jcd
    Madrid, IA
    Posts: 4
    May 25, 2004 at 6:55 pm #306107

    Wade

    When will the Lowrance H20 handheld be available?

    Thanks
    Clark

    wade_kuehl
    Northwest Iowa
    Posts: 6167
    May 25, 2004 at 9:24 pm #306132

    Quote:

    Wade

    When will the Lowrance H20 handheld be available?

    Thanks
    Clark

    JCD,

    I’m not sure. We don’t even have the distribution sheet on it yet. I would have thought we have the pricing and pre-order specs by now. He’s the Lowrance Press Release for the iFinder H2O . I’ll see if I can get more info for you…

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