GPS Fishfinder in a Fog

[mikenh]

I need a new fishfinder so I'm considering a GPS model such as a Humminbird with the preloaded 4nm UniMap. I fish in Downeast Maine where sudden dense fog is inevitable and unpredictable. Is the map good enough that I can get back to the dock in a thick fog? Thanks.

 

[JB]

Re: GPS Fishfinder in a Fog

Don't know about the H'bird, Mike.

A Garmin chartplotter with the correct Bluechart will help a lot, but you still need depth display and good eyes. Sometimes "within 3 meters" just isn't good enough by itself, and the GPS cannot see other vessels.

 

[ratracer]

Re: GPS Fishfinder in a Fog

The Unimap's minimum resolution IIRC is 30 meters. I've been caught in fog before where I couldn't even see 30 meters.

IMO its equally as important to be able to easily set and recall waypoints and establish the distance/direction to them, just the map by itself really isn't quite enough.

 

[KaGee]

Re: GPS Fishfinder in a Fog

Never let a GPS be your only means to navigate. Make sure you have a good compass and are knowledgeable enough to use it... especially going out offshore.

 

[ricksrster]

Re: GPS Fishfinder in a Fog

I navigated the other night with GPS. The night was cloudy and completely black. I could not see the horizon. I travelled over twenty miles back to my launch site by following my track on the GPS which kept me in the water and not on the land. There was no fog though and I could see the nav lights of other boats. The GPS helped allot to get me back in total darkness.

 

[mikenh]

Re: GPS Fishfinder in a Fog

The Unimap's minimum resolution IIRC is 30 meters. I've been caught in fog before where I couldn't even see 30 meters.

IMO its equally as important to be able to easily set and recall waypoints and establish the distance/direction to them, just the map by itself really isn't quite enough.

Thanks, that tells me what I needed to know. Mike

 

[northvanwatertaxi]

Re: GPS Fishfinder in a Fog

what ever happened to radar?
with gps how would you avoid other larger craft bearing down on you at over 20 knots? your looking at exactly where you are meanwhile you run into the buoy that was put there with radar reflectors to help you avoid it.
imho

 

[DangerDan]

Re: GPS Fishfinder in a Fog

I used my Magellan FX324C GPS to get in from Lake Mi. through Muskegon channel, across Lake Muskegon and right up into a very narrow dredge into a slip I had rented. I never navigated this area or used my GPS to this extent but kudos to Thales navagation for the base map they've installed.

 

[Gone]

Re: GPS Fishfinder in a Fog

I support KaGee's comments about having a backup system. It is entirely possible that weather conditions could render the GPS signal so weak that your receiver cannot use it. Heavy fog or heavy rain/snow could do it.

CD