why GPS?????

I am looking at depthfinders with down scan or down imaging. I understand the 798 hb also has side imaging. Why do I need GPS since the lakes I fish are not on the map listing.Canepole, You seem very helpful about finders .What advantages am I going to receive by spending the extra cash. I understand the birds are 640x640 and stronger pixel count? Are the Lowrance clearer since they use dedicated crystels or is this of no concern. I also understand if I want side scan I must get the GPS. Seems like alot to pay for something I may not get much use out of. Feel free to tell me if I don't know what I am talking about, beacuse I probably don't. Thanks for any information or comments

so you may not need GPS but it's very useful.When you take snap shots on a si/di unit they have gps coordinates so you can go back to that spot,you can create waypoints,see your approx. mph(useful for trolling).... Even if your lake isn't on their map(the default one) you can still save coordinates.As far as screens go,the more pixels per in.,the clearer the screen(less pix-elated )and on the HB units you can change the pps(pings per sec.) hope this helps. btw 640x640 etc... just refers to the pixels per in. available in the screen but doesn't have anything to do with the imaging of the di/si sonar. On the HB you can change to a higher hz range to create a "clearer" image.

If your going to spend the money on a better unit, why not get the GPS also. I've never had GPS on my other units and regreted it later it's actually probably cheaper to buy it now than to add it later. Now I wouldn't dream of fishing with out it. I don't use it everyday but I use it more days than not.
As far as which unit to buy. I suggest you go to a BPS or another store and look at the units you are interested in. Push the buttons and see what visually looks good to you.
Don't worry acbout which unit is easy to operate, they are all easy once you get used to them. Sure some may take a little more time but they all have a learning curve.
Then get on line and look up BBG Marine and talk to Brian. He's very knowlegable and his prices and service are very good. You won't regret talking to him.
He's on this site so you can send him a pm also.
PS Lowrance has some pretty good reates going on till Feb I think.

have you ever had fog to move in while fishing, ever got lost in the fog yes a GPS is very nice. if you are spending the money for a DI or SI unit the GPS is not much more and well worth the money.

Scenario...

Trolling along between brushpiles watching the SI.....

I notice an interesting piece of structure on the SI screen....

The structure is 75ft out to the right of my boat's position...

I move the cursor on my screen to the structure and drop a WP on the structure...

I can GOTO that structure ....now....30 minutes from now... 30 years from now....

GPS is incredibly advantageous for finding and marking "new" structure....especially coupled with SI...

Rickie

an alternative is to buy a FF w/o gps, the $$ difference can be substantial, and then buy a $100 garmin gps unit. Some say their ff/gps combo units are not that accurate, have trouble getting on brush piles, etc., and revert back to a hand held gps (garmin) to get on the brush pile. I have a garmin 60cx HH, that I use to mark structure (I longline 99% of the time) and it will show me my tracks as well. Yes the screen is small but not a big issue for me now at 56. It really depends on how you fish, vertical, longline, spider, etc., as to what you "need" vs what you want.

I have a Lowrance Elite 5 pro dual beam on the front of my boat now, and with the garmin, I do ok, but I'm comfy with this set up, you may want a combo for the convenience. It has quite a few options in the settings once you figure them out, but alot of people on here like hb. It's a ford/chevy/blonde/redhead thing to some extent.

I wouldn't have one without it. I have sunk a lot of brush and found a lot more and without a gps where I can produce a waypoint I would never be able to remember where all these spots are, not to mention it saves so much time finding them rather than trying to line up with some bank structure and looking for these spots. Good luck.

I couldn't agree more about having GPS on your boat. Someone mentioned fishing in the fog. On a couple of recent trips, the lake I fish was "socked in" and you couldn't see 50 feet in front of the boat. I used GPS maps and the trails I had created from previous trips, to find the shoreline, avoid shallow water obstacles and troll to my favoite fishing spots. No way one should get on plane and run in this condition but it allowed me to get to my spots without having to stand at the boat ramp and wait until 10:30 before the fog to cleared.

Other obvious advantages are marking of structure and other underwater features you will want to go back to and fish in the future.

What about a trip you may want to take to a new lake. By having a trail to follow on your maps, you won't have to worry about finding your way back to the ramp should you want to investigate all the areas of the lake. Granted, you could take a paper map with you but having the GPS is so much more convenient.

As someone also pointed out, the price difference these days isn't that much between a fishfinder and a finder/GPS combo unit.

Brian

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Originally Posted by crappie1133

I am looking at depthfinders with down scan or down imaging. I understand the 798 hb also has side imaging. Why do I need GPS since the lakes I fish are not on the map listing.Canepole, You seem very helpful about finders .What advantages am I going to receive by spending the extra cash. I understand the birds are 640x640 and stronger pixel count? Are the Lowrance clearer since they use dedicated crystels or is this of no concern. I also understand if I want side scan I must get the GPS. Seems like alot to pay for something I may not get much use out of. Feel free to tell me if I don't know what I am talking about, beacuse I probably don't. Thanks for any information or comments

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quit being such a tight wad . go on spend the money and get what you want.its only moneyThumbs UpThumbs UpThumbs Up