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Location: Minneapolis | How often do you find yourself using gps/ waypoints on small lakes or lakes that you can navigate like the back of your hand? Are there any other applications in these situations that you would use that feature? I'm looking at getting a fishfinder and the one's w/o gps are a lot less!
Thanks for your input.
Edited by TC MUSKIE 12/17/2012 1:07 PM
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Posts: 1756
Location: Mt. Zion, IL | I use a HDS 5 with a home made case. I will try to post pictures tonight when I get home. I use waypoints a lot on all lakes I fish. Even those that are 200-300 acres. It makes it much easier than searching for the spot on the spot. I treat all lakes as equals.
Edited by RyanJoz 12/17/2012 1:49 PM
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Posts: 3508
Location: Elk River, Minnesota | Hiya,
I would say I love having the GPS feature for the small lakes, especially those lakes that get hit so hard during the day. you can fish an area during the day by sight, but when that sun goes down, it's cloudy out, or the moon is under foot, it is quite dark out...and at times, pitch black out. To fish the same structures effectively, the trail from earlier, or the waypoints you put on the GPS make following that structure very easy to follow.
There have been times on my "home water" that I am still learning due to the GPS and the sonar capabilities which can give me an edge over others fishing the lake who may not know it very well....
The GPS also helps just for navigation alone... I also have to deal with some rock piles when I leave the lake, and if those were not a mark from me putting a waypoint on them, they could easily be hit by a lower unit... That alone makes the GPS well worth the extra couple hundred dollars....much more saved vs a new lower unit, which can run quite a few more bills than that extra two for the GPS feature...
Steve |
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Location: Minneapolis | good points...I do fish at night and the "spot on the spot" idea makes sense
what do you guys think of the elite-5?
http://www.lowrance.com/en-US/Products/Fishfinder-Chartplotter/Elit...
Edited by TC MUSKIE 12/17/2012 4:33 PM
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Location: Minneapolis | and is DSI worth the extra $50? |
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Posts: 2323
Location: Stevens Point, WI | cave run legend - 12/17/2012 5:14 PM
Don't get a unit that is just dsi. Sonar is more beneficial.
The DSI is essentially the same thing as regular sonar. It's actually way better than the sonar imo. I pretty much use the DS feature on my HDS exclusively, makes it so much easier to understand what your looking at. |
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Posts: 335
Location: Pulaski, WI | I used to use an E-Trex to mark spots, went to a HDS 5 with GPS and a chip, way better to find spots and work breaklines. Cabellas has the Elte 5 DSI 5, for only$399 right now. |
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Posts: 3508
Location: Elk River, Minnesota | I believe there is a limitation to the DSI capability when at speed, though as compared to the regular transducer. I don't have DSI on my HDS units, but may upgrade to it for the bowmount. The detail is amazing!!
I'd say start with a regular transducer, and when you get the extra $$, get the DSI upgrade so you have both...
If you go just DSI, I don't believe the unit will be able to read bottom when you are going faster than a few miles per hour...
Steve |
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Small lake electronics