Fishfinder help needed

Paolo · 02-10-2012, 05:02 AM

Hey guys,
I have a 17' dc hydrasports with 115HP evinrude. I have a 140 or 160 garmin ff on there, can't surely remember. Anyways, it worked just fine for me nearshore, but last september i went out looking for a wreck and just couldn't find it. I circled a few times but saw absolutely nothing on the ff. If i drove over it i should have seen it on te ff right? I was using my iphone (motionx app) as gps and had the coordinates punched in there. Not really sure how smart that is, but i would assume the gps on the iphone is faitly precise, but wouldn't know really for a fact, especially ot on the ocean.
Now, i was thinking of getting myself a new one, maybe even chart plotter, but not sure if it's worth it since the garmin did do a good job at showing the fish and also because i only get to fish the GoM like 2 or 3 weeks per year. Somi'm def not gonna buy something over like 400$.
What are your opinions? Thanks for any advice,
Tight lines
-paolo

basnbud · 02-10-2012, 05:56 AM

if it was in fairly deep water, then you may need to adjust to the lower hertz range, or put it in manual mode and turn up the sensativity. maybe run through the manual again and look at deep water operations. sorry if this doenst help.

Basnbud

Paolo · 02-10-2012, 07:49 AM

Yeah that'd be a good idea, didn't try that out. But it was only like 60-70' deep, so...
Do you think the garmin 140/160 should do the job fairly enough?
I've seen pictures of what all the more expensive ones can do, but i really just eant to find the structure and fish it.
Thanks for the tip.

slayerextreme · 02-10-2012, 08:38 AM

that unit is more than capable of seeing the change in relief that a wreck should cause...the amount of detail wont be the best, but good enuff to locate structure....I think the issue would be more related to the gps being used...

Paolo · 02-10-2012, 08:55 AM

That's great info. Glad inhave a good reliable ff. the gps on the iphone has been pretty reliable on streets and i would say pretty exact as well, but not sure if that changes alot out on the ocean and i couldn't really tell since i had no way to compare. But sO do you thing putting money into a good gps woukd be money better spent then on a new ff with maybe a chartplotter?
Thanks guys

slayerextreme · 02-10-2012, 09:09 AM

not that its not accurate....its the intervals that the GPS updates.....on my internal antenna on my dsi unit...the gps updates about 1 time per second....on my unit with the external antenna its about 5 times per second.....making that one more accurate.....your gps can be accurate, but you may have already passed your target before your gps shows you at the correct location

SouthAlabamaSlayer · 02-10-2012, 09:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paolo

But sO do you thing putting money into a good gps woukd be money better spent then on a new ff with maybe a chartplotter?
Thanks guys

I have a GPS/Chartplotter fishfinder unit that's combined into one. I only go out up to 20 miles and it's absolutely perfect. It has a split screen mode that has the chartplotter and fishfinder up at the same time. As soon as I am approaching the coordinates I slow down to a crawl and start scanning the depth finder for structure, once I see a contour I immediately hit the mark button to mark it.

Paolo · 02-10-2012, 09:56 AM

thanks once again Southalabamaslayer. which one do you use? technically i have a chart plotter and a fish finder as well, the chart plotter being my iPhone. as slayerextreme mentioned, i`m sure my phone isn`t the best GPS, but i think it should work alright. or do you think it`s gone be a pain and i should just invest in a pretty good chart plotter/ff and that way have one for years to come?

PCfisher66 · 02-10-2012, 10:18 AM

Another thing to consider is if it's a public number that you have never been to before the wreck may have shifted. There have been many time that I'll put in a new number go to it and not be able to locate it. When you go out to explore new site just have a few options to try. And like stated before as soon as you see it, mark the site.

Tod

SouthAlabamaSlayer · 02-10-2012, 10:56 AM

I'm at school right now but as soon as I get home I'll check what mine is. You won't necessarily have to break the bank to get a decent one. Mine is probably 5-8yrs old and I've seen the same model as mine go for a couple hundred bucks recently. I'll let you know what mine is after I get out of class.

02-10-2012, 05:02 AM	#1
Paolo Senior Member Mingo Join Date: Jul 2011 Posts: 161	Fishfinder help needed Hey guys, I have a 17' dc hydrasports with 115HP evinrude. I have a 140 or 160 garmin ff on there, can't surely remember. Anyways, it worked just fine for me nearshore, but last september i went out looking for a wreck and just couldn't find it. I circled a few times but saw absolutely nothing on the ff. If i drove over it i should have seen it on te ff right? I was using my iphone (motionx app) as gps and had the coordinates punched in there. Not really sure how smart that is, but i would assume the gps on the iphone is faitly precise, but wouldn't know really for a fact, especially ot on the ocean. Now, i was thinking of getting myself a new one, maybe even chart plotter, but not sure if it's worth it since the garmin did do a good job at showing the fish and also because i only get to fish the GoM like 2 or 3 weeks per year. Somi'm def not gonna buy something over like 400$. What are your opinions? Thanks for any advice, Tight lines -paolo

02-10-2012, 05:56 AM	#2
basnbud Senior Member Mingo Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: milton Fl Posts: 105	if it was in fairly deep water, then you may need to adjust to the lower hertz range, or put it in manual mode and turn up the sensativity. maybe run through the manual again and look at deep water operations. sorry if this doenst help. Basnbud __________________ If you ain't plannin.....you plottin !

02-10-2012, 10:18 AM	#9
PCfisher66 Senior Member Trigger Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Crestview Posts: 352	Another thing to consider is if it's a public number that you have never been to before the wreck may have shifted. There have been many time that I'll put in a new number go to it and not be able to locate it. When you go out to explore new site just have a few options to try. And like stated before as soon as you see it, mark the site. Tod __________________ Tod Florida, where we skip the crappy seasons!

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02-10-2012, 07:49 AM	#3
Paolo Senior Member Mingo Join Date: Jul 2011 Posts: 161	Yeah that'd be a good idea, didn't try that out. But it was only like 60-70' deep, so... Do you think the garmin 140/160 should do the job fairly enough? I've seen pictures of what all the more expensive ones can do, but i really just eant to find the structure and fish it. Thanks for the tip.

02-10-2012, 08:38 AM	#4
slayerextreme Red Snappa Slappa Ruby Red Lip Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Griffin Ga Posts: 91	that unit is more than capable of seeing the change in relief that a wreck should cause...the amount of detail wont be the best, but good enuff to locate structure....I think the issue would be more related to the gps being used...

02-10-2012, 08:55 AM	#5
Paolo Senior Member Mingo Join Date: Jul 2011 Posts: 161	That's great info. Glad inhave a good reliable ff. the gps on the iphone has been pretty reliable on streets and i would say pretty exact as well, but not sure if that changes alot out on the ocean and i couldn't really tell since i had no way to compare. But sO do you thing putting money into a good gps woukd be money better spent then on a new ff with maybe a chartplotter? Thanks guys

02-10-2012, 09:09 AM	#6
slayerextreme Red Snappa Slappa Ruby Red Lip Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Griffin Ga Posts: 91	not that its not accurate....its the intervals that the GPS updates.....on my internal antenna on my dsi unit...the gps updates about 1 time per second....on my unit with the external antenna its about 5 times per second.....making that one more accurate.....your gps can be accurate, but you may have already passed your target before your gps shows you at the correct location

02-10-2012, 09:56 AM	#8
Paolo Senior Member Mingo Join Date: Jul 2011 Posts: 161	thanks once again Southalabamaslayer. which one do you use? technically i have a chart plotter and a fish finder as well, the chart plotter being my iPhone. as slayerextreme mentioned, i`m sure my phone isn`t the best GPS, but i think it should work alright. or do you think it`s gone be a pain and i should just invest in a pretty good chart plotter/ff and that way have one for years to come?

02-10-2012, 10:56 AM	#10
SouthAlabamaSlayer Senior Member Snapper Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Mobile, Alabama Posts: 592	I'm at school right now but as soon as I get home I'll check what mine is. You won't necessarily have to break the bank to get a decent one. Mine is probably 5-8yrs old and I've seen the same model as mine go for a couple hundred bucks recently. I'll let you know what mine is after I get out of class.

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