Hand Held, or not to be Hand Held

[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.

[numbskull]

Buy lots of life insurance before you entrust your life to an electronic device while fishing. Good electronics make you feel more secure than you really are, and take risks you shouldn't take. Ask yourself first what you will do when it fails....because eventually it will. Count on it.

[Back Beach]

Originally Posted by numbskull

Ask yourself first what you will do when it fails....because eventually it will. Count on it.

Isn't that why you carry two? Good thing it worked last summer...

[JohnnyD]

Originally Posted by numbskull

Buy lots of life insurance before you entrust your life to an electronic device while fishing. Good electronics make you feel more secure than you really are, and take risks you shouldn't take. Ask yourself first what you will do when it fails....because eventually it will. Count on it.

This is why when I do any kind of fishing that has me walking a ways into the water (or out kayaking), I have a reliable compass on me. I have an older GPS (very generous hand down) - always bring spare batteries - but if the unit fails, I know roughly the heading I need to get towards shore safely. At the very least, I won't be heading further into the ocean.

With navigation systems for cars, it's interesting how inept many people have become at simply reading a map. Electronics make our lives easier, but I can't bring myself to completely depend on them since they all fail eventually.

[MAKAI]

Originally Posted by numbskull

Buy lots of life insurance before you entrust your life to an electronic device while fishing. Good electronics make you feel more secure than you really are, and take risks you shouldn't take. Ask yourself first what you will do when it fails....because eventually it will. Count on it.

Wearing a wetsuit, a compass, and carrying a submersible handheld that also has gps numbers takes some of the angst away.
But last year one of our group decides to leave early without telling anyone. We were in a panic looking for him. Get to the beach his truck is empty, I am ripping the kayak off my truck to go look for him as he stumbles up the beach. He got disoriented and came in a mile up the beach. Now no one goes in the water without strict rules, compass,red LED clip on lights, constant chirping between everybody, no pre drinking. Constant accountability, I always keep telling anyone without gps the the compass direction back in as we move around. . . . . still not perfect.

[piemma]

Originally Posted by 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.

My fishing partner invested in one back in 94 for fishing the Back beaches. Run in the dark on a moonless night, with fog and try and find the hole between the Mission Bell and Laura's*. Not without having marked that hole on the GPS during the day.

* I don't thnk anyone on this board would know where laura's was except Makai and Back Beach.

[numbskull]

Originally Posted by piemma

My fishing partner invested in one back in 94 for fishing the Back beaches. Run in the dark on a moonless night, with fog and try and find the hole between the Mission Bell and Laura's*. Not without having marked that hole on the GPS during the day.
.

Hopefully you mean by beach buggy. Running a boat in the dark AND dense fog by GPS is a big risk. I've done it more than I'd like to admit, but only to get back when caught somewhere unexpectedly. Making a decision to head out into those conditions without radar (which also can fail you) is a big gamble. Hitting a bouy or other boat is a real possibility, and losing someone (who has trusted you with their safety) overboard at night in fog isn't likely to end well.

[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!!