Log fishing spots

[Thorny]

I am looking for a handheld device that I can use to mark good fishing spots when I find them. I am interested to hear what others are using. I know some fish finders can do this. I haven't decided if I want this kind or a handheld that I can use when not on a boat. Do any of you use something like this?
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[wiperhunter2]

So you are asking about info on a handheld GPS, is that correct? I'd say just about everyone that owns a boat and fishes at lot has one on their boat. Before I bought a GPS fish finder combo, I used a handheld model for many years, still use one today when I go hunting in an area I'm not familiar with. They are also useful when you are on someone else's boat. There are so many on the market now days that I won't try and name them all but the two GPS fish finder combo's that are talked about the most are made by Huminbird or Lowrance, I have one of each. As far as a handheld GPS, I have two of them as well, one is made by Garmin, the other is made by Magellan.
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[r2u2]

Thorny,

I have a Garmin 60CSx. I have had it for years and love it. I have used it a lot for following tracks while ATV riding, geocashing, and fishing helps as well. It is easy to mark your waypoints as well.

I'm sure the depth finders do an excellent job, maybe better but way out of my price range.

RJ
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[Thorny]

What was your experience using a handheld on a boat? Was it accurate finding your marked locations?
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[gofish435]

I float tube and I carry an older handheld model garmin map 60 that has worked well for me. I turn it on when I get in the water and leave it on all day, usually between 5-8 hours. The batteries will last for two trips before I have to recharge them. When I come home I download the days track on the Garmin Basecamp program. You can also view your track on Google earth if you want to. I save waypoints for underwater humps and places where I see a lot of fish on the finder. It has been very reliable and accurate for what I have needed it for. You can usually tell by looking closely at the your track and tell where you caught fish.[]
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[RonPaulFan]

[quote gofish435]... You can usually tell by looking closely at the your track and tell where you caught fish.[][/quote]

I've never taken the time to stop to write notes while making use of every precious fishing minute and especially when the bite is on and might not last long.

I also haven't studied tracks to try to fill in the blanks later.

But, I do take a few seconds to take pictures including fish I catch. My tablet's camera records data including time and location. Years later, I can look at a picture and remember. A picture is worth a thousand words (that I didn't have to take the TIME to write), so I can know if the GPS data automatically recorded with it is significant.

I've thought about using a camera as a method to go back to an exact location. The last place I ice fished Flaming Gorge was alongside about thirty feet of the face of an underwater cliff (seen by my underwater camera) which would be a natural route fish at that depth might swim alongside. If I choose to fish that exact spot in the future, I wouldn't have to rely upon memory of which waypoint is which nor notes that don't exist nor finding them even if they did. Instead, I would scroll through pictures sorted by date, see the memorable picture of my gear, ice fishing tent, fish people and surroundings and then click on details to get the GPS data.

I haven't actually used this method because every time I enjoy finding and fishing new locations. But, I wanted to find a location again, it should be easy. If I'm fishing and needed to send a location to someone to invite friends to fish with me there, than I could simply email a picture and aside from the GPS, the picture itself would help them picture in their mind the approximate location particularly if they know the area even before using GPS for accuracy.

Perhaps some here have been using the camera GPS method and have recommendations and more ideas. What's a best camera for doing this? What's good hardware and software for storing and sorting massive amounts of pictures? I would appreciate knowing of a system to do that and particularly if there is one that uses an Excel file that can pull up pictures. I imagine there must be such a system used by professional photographers who take massive amounts of pictures and then needs to find one again quickly without looking at everything by using an Excel file or whatever other method works best for that.
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[Fish-or-die]

I just got on In-fisherman and started reading an article about the top apps for fisherman and the first one was Gofish free. It has everything you want. Will store photos, you can write a log and has gps. I haven't read the others, this was the first one and I thought of this thread.

FYI I have a Hummingbird Helix sonar gps combo on my boat and like it a lot, will probably download this app and try it for non-boating
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[Kent]

[quote Thorny]

What was your experience using a handheld on a boat? Was it accurate finding your marked locations?

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I have used a handheld on my boat for years and they are as accurate as the ones built into the fish finders.
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[wiperhunter2]

I agree with kentofnsl using a GPS on a boat isn't a problem at all. I just like the larger screen of a Fish finder/GPS combo. It all depends on how much you want to spend and how much you're going to use it.
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[RockyRaab]

I have a basic fishfinder on my kayak, and so I bought an older used GPS online, then added a map chip, also found online. The chip doesn't have underwater contour lines for every lake, but it is VERY helpful for those that are on it.

I can pre-program waypoints from the GPS coordinates on some Fish-n-Map charts, too. That allows me to go right to interesting spots even if I've never been to that lake before. (Works great at Powell.)

PM/email me. I have an older handheld I'll give you. It doesn't support maps but it will store waypoints afloat and do most other GPS stuff.
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[liketrolling]

a app to put on your phone
GPS Status & Toolbox
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[betterthanwork]

I have a Garmin Rhino 530 and love it. the Rhino series also have a 2 way radio built into them and can talk to other Rhions and other 2 way radios. A handy feature when you are with a group but want to spread out a little
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