# Fish Finder and GPS



## mdrobe2 (Oct 12, 2007)

Guys I have a bottom machine on my boat for the first time ever. It's a Bottom Line Side Finder Tournament Leader 1200. It's probably a piece of crap but it was like 200 bucks from Cabela's when I got it early 2000 or later- don't recall. Should I keep it and learn to use it or just go ahead and buy a new unit now that I have the rigging installed? Also, I think I'd like to buy a GPS, likely hand held, for my boat to help position with the fish finder. I love the GPS I got for my car, so why not? What kind of GPS would you buy if you did not wantto have a unit installed in your boat because my boat is a small 14 footer and I don't want to havea lot of gear installed. Thnx...Mike


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## sniper (Oct 3, 2007)

my opinion is to buy a unit you can keep for a while that has a lot of acc. cause you will want them. You can get a hummingbird cheap and they have gps and everything for them. There is something to be said for buying namebrand if you want add ons and reliability.


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## floater1 (Oct 31, 2007)

Garmin is the way to go 440 has gps and fish finder combo


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## Red Fly (Jan 23, 2008)

I'm a Lowrance fan, most of these have the new networking capacity. They have a good variety for your budget and application.


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## cuzmondo (Oct 1, 2007)

If you're looking for a great handheld unit with lots of memory, check out the Garmin 76 series. Very good quality, accurate and great functions. Comes with pc download cable and you can buy a stand and 12V adapter kit if you want to set up real nice. I run the Garmin 498 combo unit, and the handheld is my back up, but used it for my main unit on one of our boats after getting away from the loran system.


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## Getsome (Sep 28, 2007)

I bought a Humminbird 787 combo. It was around $800.00 and I love it. I bought a new boat that came with a Garmin 172c and a Furuno FCV 667 and will be changing both out to the single Humminbird unit, it replaces both of them and works much better,especially the bottom finder.


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## GONU (Oct 3, 2007)

I bought a GPS/fishfinder combo it's a Garmin 480 got it at www.gpsdiscount.com , I can't remember exactly how much I paid but I do know I saved a bundle. It's easy to switch between functions and does not take up a lot of room.


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## Finatic (Oct 4, 2007)

In all likely hood, you will probably be better served to buy a new fishfider. What sort of fishing are you doing? If you just want to know water depth, a basic B&W unit will suffice. If you are wanting to locate structure, etc, you may want to consider a color unit. A Garmin 300c would go for around $200 and would do the trick. Screen size would be your next consideration. You will neverregret buying a larger screen. As for the handheld, the eTrex Venture HC is probably the most affordable colorHH unit. The 60 series and 76cs aregood choices as well. Of course, you could get a combo unit like the 420s or 440s. Good luck with your decision...let me know if I can help!


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## Sea-r-cy (Oct 3, 2007)

A 14' boat? Most of your fishing probably will be bay/pass/freshwater? Not really worth spending the bux for a higher power fish finder. BUT, if you have the budget, buy a Furuno LCD colorbottom machine. Make sure it's waterproof. A garmin 76 is a good hand-held choice. I carry one for a back-up in case my main gps goes out. It is just as accurate as the larger units.

Sea-r-cy


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