GPS ??????

[eyedabassman]

I want to buy a hand held GPS early next year and I am willing to spend up to $ 400. I guide alot so I would like your input on some good ones?? :-/

[BobP]

If you want a GPS with map display, the best depends on the availability of lake maps for the water you fish. Most GPS mapping units come stock with outlines of lakes, no depth info, so an regional map card is needed. Lowrance, Eagle and Humminbird use Navionics Hot Maps Premium lake maps that cost $150 per region. Garmin uses proprietary map cards that cost $100. You can check out the lakes mapped and the depth contour interval at the Navionics or the Garmin site to compare what they offer for specific lakes. I use a Humminbird GPS/sonar unit that uses Hot Maps Premium cards and like it.

If you just want to record waypoints of your fishing spots so you can get back to them, mapping isn't needed.  A $100 GPS with no map will do that as accurately as any GPS.  But without the map, you won't be able to do 'map prospecting' for new spots very easily, nor plot the track/drift of your boat in a general fishing area.

Consider future needs and upgrades.  If you plan on moving up to a console size GPS/sonar at some point (I bet you will!), buy a GPS now that uses the same cards as your future Sonar/GPS brand. Same thing goes if you want to network a console and bow GPS unit together in the future.  If those are issues for you, I'd consult with a pro shop like Three Rivers Marine in Pennsylvania.

[xxmurrxx]

Lowrance ifinder H20C

I bought this last year and it works great for a handheld unit.

It's a lot cheaper than 400, but once you buy the hotmaps card (or other map card), and ram mount, etc it will all add up.