fish finder or no finder

[J.A. Veil]

I put up a post addressing some of the same points earlier in the year. http://www.snaggedline.com/showthrea...&highlight=GPS.

When I am fishing in open water, the GPS and the FF are very helpful. For trolling, the GPS track and the speed help put me/keep me in the target zone. For shallow water shoreline fishing for perch in the summer and pickerel in the winter, the electronics are not needed. Like Mark said, it is fun to know my speed when moving from one point to another and to calculate my total mileage for the trip. Turtle made a good point about the temperature readings. If the surface layer water temp is useful to help your fishing, you will want to install the transducer in a location where it is in direct contact with the water (not shoot through the hull).

I fish several times a year in the Tampa area. My guide does not use electronics and makes it sound like few anglers there need it. Most of the fishing is on shallow flats where sonar is not needed.

For those who fish in marshy areas with high grass and winding channels, it is possible to get lost. Having a GPS with track plotting, you can follow your previous track back out of the marsh.

[M1A4ME]

I bought the kayak to fish rivers for freshwater species (smaller rivers??). I don't need to fish where the folks who think they need 150 hp and have to do 70 mph from one spot to the next fish. At first, I didn't even consider a fishfinder/GPS. But, I keep looking at the maps of the upper James, the Nottoway, the Appomattox and other rivers in the area and thinking a GPS unit would be good.

No use getting a GPS without a depth finder (in my mind). I really wanted a GPS unit to see where I was in the float, how far I had to go before dark, etc. If I knew the rivers better (it might be different). I do like to try new places so knowing the rivers will always be an issue, therefor the "need" for a GPS.

[ComeOnFish]

How many kayak anglers are using them on this forum? And does it make that much of a difference in freshwater spots like the Potomac and lakes/creeks surrounding?

It took me for a while to interpret the images on FF. I found that the price of the FF doesn't matter much regarding the images of fish.
If you bought an FF, here is a good link that explains images on an FF.

http://blog.jimhemby.com/

joe