fishfinder only or fishfinder/GPS combo? Mono or Color?

I am new to NCKA. Pls kindly share your experience on the following: fishfinder only, fishfinder/GPS combo and the display of mono or color. Which one is better? Thanks, John

Well color fish finders with GPS are  probably going to be better.  However, in a kayak your fish finder is going to be exposed to the elements far more than on a standard boat.  I wouldn't recommend anything you aren't willing to replace about once every couple years.  Right now the Eagle Cuda models in the $100 range (I believe it's the 242) are fairly popular and have proven to be fairly water resistant.  The Hummingbird PihranaMax is in a similar price range but hasn't faired as well in terms of resistance to the elements.

It is kinda personal preference but as Bsteves says what ever you get is going to get worked, especially if you are in salt. I like the Matrix series myself the Matrix 17 is a good finder, BW and fairly cheap. I think you can hookup a GPS to it if you want.

I like to have a hand held GPS that I carry on my PFD. That way if I get separated from my boat I still have it. Also if it is hand held you can use it for other activities.

I

like to have a hand held GPS that I carry on my PFD. That way if I get separated from my boat I still have it. Also if it is hand held you can use it for other activities.

I'm with Bill on this.

Just remember that if your FF / GPS combo unit runs out of battery power, you are screwed. Always good to have a backup plan. Go with a handheld GPS and carry extra batteries and also carry a compass. It's the best alternative - no worries about running out of "power" 

I don't have a colored FF...but if I had some extra money laying around, I'd get one. But I honestly don't think it's "all that". I use my FF to look for structure and baitfish - a simple / cheaper FF can see that (get a dual beam - if you can).

The Matrixs series have been very good to me - even with foul weather. I recently downgraded to a Piranha Max 220....had problems at first but found out later on that my transducer was not gooped properly. Had it for 6 months now....still ticking.

Good luck & paddle safe!

Joel

It seems like the color units are easier to see than the black and white units, but they suck up the juice a little faster.

Here's where personal preference comes in:

I find it useful to be able to see sonar readout on the same screen as GPS tracking, especially for hitting rockfish.

Just remember that if your FF / GPS combo unit runs out of battery power, you are screwed. Always good to have a backup plan. Go with a handheld GPS and carry extra batteries and also carry a compass. It's the best alternative - no worries about running out of "power" 

Set your combo units power alarm for 10V so you don't wind up without power without any warning. My combo system will go for a couple more hours once it hits 10V. Carry a compass and know your bugout heading. Better yet, have a deck mounted compass as well as a hand held compass. Sea touring kayakers made by with compass and chart for decades, prior to the digitization's of GPS units. You can get back to shore without the use of an electronic nanny.

In order to make a GPS truly useful while on the water, as in heading to specific waypoints or moving along a certain heading, it's going to be needed to be readily visible. In other words, somehow mounted to the kayak. Thus using up deck space and possibly getting in your way while re-entering the boat. Keeping a GPS handy on your PFD could be good, if it is really waterproof or can be operated while in a waterproof container. And if it doesn't hang you up while trying to re-enter your kayak.

I personally like the simplicity of a single electronic device. I only have to worry about a single battery, a single set of connections, a single mount, and it allows me to keep my PFD pretty bare - VHF, compass, whistle, knife.

Draw your own conclusions, use your own discretion, think in terms of systems backup.

Regards,
Scott

It is kinda personal preference but as Bsteves says what ever you get is going to get worked, especially if you are in salt. I like the Matrix series myself the Matrix 17 is a good finder, BW and fairly cheap. I think you can hookup a GPS to it if you want.

I like to have a hand held GPS that I carry on my PFD. That way if I get separated from my boat I still have it. Also if it is hand held you can use it for other activities.

Thanks Bill for this tidbit of advice. Im going to keep them seperate for safety as well. I was considering a combo FF/GPS do reduce items on Yak. But this makes great sense if your knocked off and your GPS is floating away on your YAK. Last year I was using an older Magellan handheld I've had for over ten years( not user friendly) Wanting to upgade I was reading some of these older posts. Going to get a new Garmin for next season and keep it on my PFD.

I just bought one of the Hummin bird 353 units and I LOVE it so far. It's black and white. No problem reading it. It doesn't seem to use any more power than my pirrana. They are water proof. The one caviot is the terminals are exposed, so be sure to coat them with dielectric grease every time. Plus just being able to reach up and hit one button and mark where I just hooked a hali......priceless...

I have an Eagle Cuda 240, been soaked in the salt numerous times (with the plug in place), still works great, well basically evertime you go out your unit will be soaked from drippage etc, (and maybe beaten to death by the leopard shark you pulled aboard too soon)

My preference, FF/GPS w map for sure, the 240 doen't have a map 

Next up grade will be FF/color/GPS w map.

I always carry two separate battery packs and a compass, but a separate handheld GPS is just one piece too much for me.  Just my opinion.

It seems like the color units are easier to see than the black and white units, but they suck up the juice a little faster.

A lot faster actually...usually about 2x.

I have had a number of combo units and love them.  My 580c has been bombroof and so was my Matrix 67.  Way bigger screen then a regular handheld gps.

John,
You would do well with a FF/GPS w/map combo so you can both locate fish and save your hot spots.  I use an Eagle Cuda 350 S/Map Compact Fishfinder Mapping GPS with a 12 volt computer UPS battery in a waterproof box and I love this little unit.  I does not have a color display, but it's compact size and waterproof construction make it well suited for kayak use.  I have had it under water while plugged in and turned on several times and it still keeps on ticking.

Stache54, do you mind elaborating on that computer 12v UPS battery? I've been looking to improve my setup.

baisicly if yo fish the ocean you are going to need a gps one way or another

My 580c has been bombroof

X2

Stache54, do you mind elaborating on that computer 12v UPS battery? I've been looking to improve my setup.

I assume you mean something like this (they have them at Fry's etc).

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/links/link.jsp?id=0036388018049a&type=product&cmCat=SEARCHFEAT_all&returnPage=search-results1.jsp&Ntk=Products&QueryText=battery&sort=all&Go.y=0&_D%3AhasJS=+&N=0&Nty=1&hasJS=true&_DARGS=%2Fcabelas%2Fen%2Fcommon%2Fsearch%2Fsearch-box.jsp.form23&Go.x=0&_dyncharset=ISO-8859-1

I used to use the 10 AA which I still have but with this thing you can run your FF for trip after trip after trip. I think I have used it for 4-5 trips w/o needing to charge and thats a full 8+ hrs (I only have a FF so your milage may vary). Yes, its heavier (quite a bit more then the AA's) but most of the launches are close to the car so its a non issue and way nicer to not have to recharge the AA's after every trip.

same battery as i have