# Handheld GPS on boat



## Star1pup (Aug 3, 2004)

I was not sure how to title this, but hope this works. I fish a small private lake of 150 acres with a pontoon boat set up for fishing. I use a Lowrance X-75 sonar and have mounted my old Garmin GPS-II-plus to find structure. I mostly use the GPS to locate structure we put in the lake and to keep an accurate rate of speed.

I don't really need to upgrade, but I wanna! If I buy one of the new mapping handheld GPSs what will it show of my small lake? Will it help me find the sunken trees after I once locate them and mark in the GPS?

I also might switch the X-75 for a color sonar and many of them also have GPS built in. This might be the way to go.

I'm saving up to add this in the spring before I launch and any comments will be appreciated.


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## KaGee (Sep 8, 2006)

You get what you pay for as far as the mapping goes.


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## BlueMax (Dec 3, 2006)

The functinality of a handheld is great. The problem I have is that the screen is too small.


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## COmmodore 64 (Jun 24, 2006)

It's highly unlikely that any GPS will have a map/chart that have any depth structure info for your little lake.


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## MikeC (Jun 26, 2005)

For my older boat I bought a Lowrance XOG which is streets, trail and water and I use my Navionics lake chips. Screen is smallish compared to what i'm used to, but it does trails so you can track and I think icons are available, but I'm not postive. Overal it works very good and the screen is bigger than a handheld. If you've got a line on the chips, so much the better. I only paid $99 for the xog used on EBay. There are tons of them so be patient. don't get suckered in on bidding, cause brand new they're $150 at the Walmart. Read up on them, there's good and bad. Bright sunlight is the bad.


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## Star1pup (Aug 3, 2004)

COmmodore 64 said:


> It's highly unlikely that any GPS will have a map/chart that have any depth structure info for your little lake.



I realize it will not have contours on our lake. I just use it to mark structure once I find it. Maybe I should just stay with what I use as long as it works, but I sure was looking forward to a new toy.


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## MikeC (Jun 26, 2005)

The xog with a chip does contours on a lot of lakes, but not 150 acre private ones, but I do think it would show the lake and you could go from there! Also, if I'm not mistaken, you can use freemaps from lowrance on any old sd card!! Also, though, with postional error, you might be better off with deadreckoning or even a rangefinder.


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## Star1pup (Aug 3, 2004)

The property owners association got a little too agressive eliminating weeds with poison & amurs. Now we don't have any. The sportsman's club puts structure in and I have no trouble finding it with my sonar. Having it marked on the GPS just makes returning to each structure a lot easier.


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