Hand Held, or not to be Hand Held

[BassDawg]

GPS,,,,,that is??

my family sent me with my brother, and a fistfull of B-Day cash to Cabella's near Reading, PA over the weekend. there are GPS' there that will give you a contour map of every submerged rock and ALL structure from where you are standing, when you crank it up. there is a software program that must be purchased to make it work but it would be amazing at places like the AVES, the Ditch, among MANY!!! it also marks spots and stores them for you.

which brings us to the ethics committee question,,,,,,,,,,

i didn't go for it, but aren't i a prop and a locator away from being a boat guy if i do?? my bro almost had me get one, and now the bride likes the idea from a safety standpoint. MOST TEMPTING and i was just wondering~~~

if you could get one, would you? and is it one step closer to the dark side, if i do??

[Raven]

and along comes the DARK side.....

you will never be the same

what has your family DONE ???

A big happy Birthday wish Bassdawg

[numbskull]

Critical on a boat
A waste of money from shore unless you are fishing woods
The accuracy of underwater features, particularly near shore rocks, is worse than horrible on the best marine GPS map programs (which cost several hundred dollars extra by the way)
Hard to see why you'd need a GPS to find your fishing spots from shore where there is no shortage of landmarks
If your wife is worried about your safety, get a personal locator beacon instead.

[BassDawg]

Originally Posted by numbskull

Critical on a boat
A waste of money from shore unless you are fishing woods
The accuracy of underwater features, particularly near shore rocks, is worse than horrible on the best marine GPS map programs (which cost several hundred dollars extra by the way)
Hard to see why you'd need a GPS to find your fishing spots from shore where there is no shortage of landmarks
If your wife is worried about your safety, get a personal locator beacon instead.

that's what i was thinking,,,,,,,,,sort of.

thanks for shedding the LIGHT on the viability of them from shore. it IS half the reason i was not interested. by the time you added in the software,,,,,,,,,,,,,,it was approaching 3 to 4 bills!!! definitely NOT worth it, unless i am getting data that would "sketch" the bottom for me.

besides, i truly do prefer "reading" the bottom by feel. it gets burned into the cerebrum much better that way. i do like the concept though, it's a shame that the mapping software hasn't advanced itself for places like the Ditch~ which would seem to be relatively constant! thanks again, George. as always, i appreciate your direct and wise responses.

[Grapenuts]

food for thought...we used h.h gps on the beach for a few years...dead of nite..pee soup fog...couldn't see your feet....x marks the spot[hole] .. using your brain and landmarks as to where you were are fine, but not on nites where the lights went out....like on the end of bars with the tide coming in that brings fog with it..or flats that go out for a half mile.... your life is worth more then a few bucks if you plain on fishing places like this.

[MAKAI]

Night time flats fishing in the fog you would absolutely need one. It's not always a straight line back. Last week one night in very dense fog, a long way out, no wind reference without the garmin only bad things would have happened.

[BassDawg]

Originally Posted by Raven

and along comes the DARK side.....

you will never be the same

what has your family DONE ???

A big happy Birthday wish Bassdawg

THANKS, me Bruddah!!!


Tuesday will only be made extra specially nifty,
Iffin i can go to the surf and land me a 50!!
~~~a BIG GURL, a COW, a TROPHY, sum LAHHHHGE~~~
That matches my years and sets me season awf right.
ALL HAIL ~reels that scream, rods that bend, lines that TIGHT!!

i am very grateful to be even seeing the big Five-OH!!!
thanks be to God also for family, friends, health, and the ability to
worship and praise Him~~~ by His Grace that is His Son and by His Strength which is His Spirit.
shore hope we get to wet a line this year, perhaps you'll attend one of the Cookouts?? Peace, my friend!!

[Adam_777]

happy birthday.A compass and someone who can use it is priceless.I thought about gps for yak fishing but see no real need in the areas I get skunked.

[tynan19]

I use my Garmin handheld for everything. I use it shed hunting, hiking, cycling and running, snowmobiling in the winter and so on. I love the stats it gives on speed, mileage, moving time etc. I also used it on Cutty this past weekend. For sure not a fool proof method of navigation but it is a great tool to have.