GPS Fish

I bought a small handheld GPS unit earlier this year, when the fish started
moving deeper, I began marking anything I got hung up on out in open water,
well it has paid off. I'm catching fish and eliminating a lot of useless
water( I think) the problem is with the 3 lakes I fish, my GPS map looks
like a sprinkeled donut from an ariel view, dots everywhere. Any good
handhelds with larger screens? I am currently using a Garmin E-trex

I don't guess you'd want to take your laptop out on the boat, would you? If
so, you could just connect the two and use the entire laptop screen map. Doc
Pentheney has a gizmo he hooks into his USB port. Its a little GPS module
with an antenna cord that he lays on the dashboard, and he just drives along
with his laptop open on the passenger seat. It tracks him all the way on his
big screen... even has a female voice that alerts him before he reaches an
intersection where he needs to make a turn.

Maybe you could set it up so this female voice says, "cast just toward that
cedar tree... there's a submerged brush pile about fifty feet from you in
that direction." Wouldn't that be useful?

Joe
___________________
"alwaysfishking" wrote in message
...


I bought a small handheld GPS unit earlier this year, when the fish started
moving deeper, I began marking anything I got hung up on out in open water,
well it has paid off. I'm catching fish and eliminating a lot of useless
water( I think) the problem is with the 3 lakes I fish, my GPS map looks
like a sprinkeled donut from an ariel view, dots everywhere. Any good
handhelds with larger screens? I am currently using a Garmin E-trex

I like the way you think Joe

"Joe Haubenreich" (removethis)swljoe-at-secretweaponlures.com wrote in
message ...
I don't guess you'd want to take your laptop out on the boat, would you? If
so, you could just connect the two and use the entire laptop screen map.
Doc
Pentheney has a gizmo he hooks into his USB port. Its a little GPS module
with an antenna cord that he lays on the dashboard, and he just drives
along
with his laptop open on the passenger seat. It tracks him all the way on
his
big screen... even has a female voice that alerts him before he reaches an
intersection where he needs to make a turn.

Maybe you could set it up so this female voice says, "cast just toward
that
cedar tree... there's a submerged brush pile about fifty feet from you in
that direction." Wouldn't that be useful?

Joe
___________________
"alwaysfishking" wrote in message
...


I bought a small handheld GPS unit earlier this year, when the fish
started
moving deeper, I began marking anything I got hung up on out in open
water,
well it has paid off. I'm catching fish and eliminating a lot of useless
water( I think) the problem is with the 3 lakes I fish, my GPS map looks
like a sprinkeled donut from an ariel view, dots everywhere. Any good
handhelds with larger screens? I am currently using a Garmin E-trex

There's a program that Doc is probably using called "MS Streets & Trips",
which comes with an antenna for the roof of your car. It actually shows a
little car moving across a map as you travel.


"Joe Haubenreich" (removethis)swljoe-at-secretweaponlures.com wrote in
message ...
I don't guess you'd want to take your laptop out on the boat, would you? If
so, you could just connect the two and use the entire laptop screen map.
Doc
Pentheney has a gizmo he hooks into his USB port. Its a little GPS module
with an antenna cord that he lays on the dashboard, and he just drives
along
with his laptop open on the passenger seat. It tracks him all the way on
his
big screen... even has a female voice that alerts him before he reaches an
intersection where he needs to make a turn.

Maybe you could set it up so this female voice says, "cast just toward
that
cedar tree... there's a submerged brush pile about fifty feet from you in
that direction." Wouldn't that be useful?

Joe
___________________
"alwaysfishking" wrote in message
...


I bought a small handheld GPS unit earlier this year, when the fish
started
moving deeper, I began marking anything I got hung up on out in open
water,
well it has paid off. I'm catching fish and eliminating a lot of useless
water( I think) the problem is with the 3 lakes I fish, my GPS map looks
like a sprinkeled donut from an ariel view, dots everywhere. Any good
handhelds with larger screens? I am currently using a Garmin E-trex

"alwaysfishking" wrote in message
...


I bought a small handheld GPS unit earlier this year, when the fish
started moving deeper, I began marking anything I got hung up on out in
open water, well it has paid off. I'm catching fish and eliminating a lot
of useless water( I think) the problem is with the 3 lakes I fish, my GPS
map looks like a sprinkeled donut from an ariel view, dots everywhere. Any
good handhelds with larger screens? I am currently using a Garmin E-trex


I have a Gamrin 176 that is pretty decent with the memory expansion chip and
data loaded fromt he roads and recs map CD.

It is actually a dual usage unit. I use it on my tin boat with a mount, and
a plug in cable tied directly to my main battery. ON a few occassions when
I want to use it on the road I simply unplug it and let it run off four AA
drycell batteries.

I am not sure if the 176 is still available, but there are some newer
versions out there. If you want I can take a look at my electronics
distributors and see if I can get you a decent price on one.

The 176 and its newer versions where never as cheap as some of the small
hand helds, but I like mine very much.


--
Bob La Londe
http://www.YumaBassMan.com

"alwaysfishking" wrote: "I bought a small handheld GPS unit earlier this
year, when the fish started moving deeper, I began marking anything I got
hung up on out in open water, well it has paid off. I'm catching fish and
eliminating a lot of useless water( I think) the problem is with the 3 lakes
I fish, my GPS map looks like a sprinkeled donut from an ariel view, dots
everywhere. Any good handhelds with larger screens? I am currently using a
Garmin E-trex"

There are many out there that will hook to a computer. I have an older GPS
no longer in production that hooks to mine. I only load the GPS points for
the area I plan to fish so to eliminate confusion. I fish in South
Louisiana from the Mississippi State Line down to the Atchafalaya Spillway.
Both freshwater and sal****er in many of these areas. There are many small
lakes and bayous with the same name in different locations throughout
Louisiana. I clear my way points after each trip. Once I decide where I
going to fish, I then download the way points for that area.

Sarge

"alwaysfishking" wrote in message
...


I bought a small handheld GPS unit earlier this year, when the fish
started moving deeper, I began marking anything I got hung up on out in
open water, well it has paid off. I'm catching fish and eliminating a lot
of useless water( I think) the problem is with the 3 lakes I fish, my GPS
map looks like a sprinkeled donut from an ariel view, dots everywhere. Any
good handhelds with larger screens? I am currently using a Garmin E-trex



Before you look over the info below, also consider EBAY for some of these.
Last generation, discontinued, and factory repaired units are often resold
by dealers on EBAY all the time at huge discounts. There are a number of
vendors who have made a regular business of buying those up, and reselling
them on EBAY.

I suggest you look for a GPSMAP-176 for the best display at a low price. It
is a couple generations old so there may not be any for sale anymore. The
two I listed below can be had new from guys wiht conenctions in the
electronics distribution industry for about $600. You might also be able to
find them on EBAY on guys who bought them up in bulk cheaper.

This one is a little on the pricey side with a litium ion rechargable
battery and a color screen, but its still a portable semi-handheld. I think
it runs around $600 retail. Maybe a little more than you were thinking.

https://www.dbldistributing.com/comm...0-00331-00.jpg

GPSMAP-276C GPS Marine Chartplotter and Auto Navigator
a.. Built-in Americas autoroute base map and tide and celestial tables
a.. 480 x 320 color 3.8" TFT LCD screen
a.. Stores up to 3,000 waypoints and 50 reversible routes
a.. Course deviation indicator notifies user if boat has veered off
course
a.. WAAS-enabled GPS receiver for 3m accuracy
a.. Accepts Garmin pre-programmed or user created data cards
a.. Alarms for anchor-drag, arrival, off-course, proximity waypoints
and clock
a.. IPX7 waterproof
a.. 5 11/16" W x 3 3/16" H x 1 7/8" D
a.. Includes rechargeable Li-Ion battery, USB/PC interface cable,
power/data cable, marine mount, and AC adapter



I have the older 176 not color that runs off AA batteries, but...

You know that some of the chart sounders from Garmin can be had in the same
price range. While they are not hand held portable tey do come with an
adaptor cable theat allows you to plug them into your computer at home to
load maps, and set way points etc.

https://www.dbldistributing.com/comm...0-00340-01.jpg
GPSMAP-178C Sounder GPS ChartPlotter and Marine Sonar
a.. 200 MHz processor for quick data acquisition, panning and zooming
a.. Single frequency 200 kHz transducer for inland lake use
a.. See-Thru® separates fish from thermoclines and structures
a.. Depth Control Gain for detailed images of structure and bottom
densities
a.. User waypoints automatically tagged with date, time, water
temperature and depth
a.. Stores 10,000 active and 700 saved PC-transferable track points
a.. Built-in marine basemap
a.. 320 x 320 CSTN 4 1/2" color screen with adjustable CCFL backlight
a.. TracBackT mode guides to points along route
a.. Alarms for shallow-water, deep-water, fish-by-size, low battery,
anchor-drag, off-course, proximity waypoints and clock
a.. 4 7/8" W x 6 5/16" H x 13/16" D
a.. Includes power/data cable and adjustable tilt/swivel mount

alwaysfishking wrote:
I bought a small handheld GPS unit earlier this year, when the fish started
moving deeper, I began marking anything I got hung up on out in open water,
well it has paid off. I'm catching fish and eliminating a lot of useless
water( I think) the problem is with the 3 lakes I fish, my GPS map looks
like a sprinkeled donut from an ariel view, dots everywhere. Any good
handhelds with larger screens? I am currently using a Garmin E-trex


Can you get close and them zoom in? I usually can zoom in as far as
possible and get a seperation on the waypoints.

Originally Posted by alwaysfishking

I bought a small handheld GPS unit earlier this year, when the fish started
moving deeper, I began marking anything I got hung up on out in open water,
well it has paid off. I'm catching fish and eliminating a lot of useless
water( I think) the problem is with the 3 lakes I fish, my GPS map looks
like a sprinkeled donut from an ariel view, dots everywhere. Any good
handhelds with larger screens? I am currently using a Garmin E-trex

Another option would be a PDA. Gramin offers a PDA with GPS. It has a much larger screen than the E-Trex and gives you more functionality. An added feature with using a PDA is, its a good place to keep your fishing log. And if the fish aren't biting you can always play solitaire!

I just bought a Magellan Explorist 500. Nice unit but still has the smaller screen. The only reason I went with it over a PDA model was durability. If all of my fishing was done in a bass boat I would go with a PDA. But I spend a lot of time in canoes, wading and float tubes so I needed something that wouldn't mind me submerging it in water from time to time.

If you are interested in a PDA GPS unit send me an email and I will get you any information that you need and pricing.

Ronnie
)

Randy

Do what Ronnie suggested - zoom out. Use the buttons on the left side
of the Etrex when you are viewing the waypoint map on the screen (I
have the same unit). When you get to the 200-500' range, you should
see waypoint seperation.

I have a data cable for mine that I can hook up to my PC - handy for
working w/ maps. One mapping program (shareware) is Ozi-Explorer -
a pretty good tool. If you can lay your hands on a contour map of your
water, it can be very useful.

The shareware version will only allow you to "sync" two co-ordinates,
but if you pay the fee, you can really zero in w/ 16 positions.

Shoot me an email if you have more questions.

Jim



On Tue, 2 Aug 2005 05:22:23 -0400, "alwaysfishking"
wrote:



I bought a small handheld GPS unit earlier this year, when the fish started
moving deeper, I began marking anything I got hung up on out in open water,
well it has paid off. I'm catching fish and eliminating a lot of useless
water( I think) the problem is with the 3 lakes I fish, my GPS map looks
like a sprinkeled donut from an ariel view, dots everywhere. Any good
handhelds with larger screens? I am currently using a Garmin E-trex