Forgive my ignorance on this matter. 

 

I would like to buy a low end FF, since I fish almost exclusively a shallow rocky river I don't feel that I need a high end unit.  Side view may be nice but I'm not willing to spend that type of money.  I really only want to see depth, temp, and speed/gps is a bonus.

 

The main question I have is, with a GPS unit like the Garmin Striker 4cv, can I slowly idle through shallow areas, marking waypoints that keep enough depth to keep the boat and prop from hitting, then have that route saved so next time (assuming same water levels) I can move faster through those areas with confidence?  Is the technology accurate enough to be able to do something like that?  If it is, the extra money for GPS is worth it to me, for the time saved, and possible boat damage.

 

Thanks for any help, TRF.

What are you thinking for a budget? I'm a budget guy so I can help (hopefully).

The Garmin Striker 4cv was one I was looking at.

No experience with that unit but way points I've set on my are very accurate. 

From what I have been reading, all of the consumer grade GPS units have about 3-5 meter accuracy.  That seems a bit too much, to risk smacking a rock with the boat or prop.  I need a jet I think .

1 hour ago, TheRodFather said:

From what I have been reading, all of the consumer grade GPS units have about 3-5 meter accuracy.  That seems a bit too much, to risk smacking a rock with the boat or prop.  I need a jet I think .

The Striker units have GPS but no mapping. It's basically a blank white screen you can save waypoints on. 

 

Think about this....you have a 17-18' boat and have a transom transducer you could hit a shallow rock or sand bar without it even showing up. 

 

As a general rule and you may know this, you should never use a unit or a map card as your sole means of navigation. Too many variables. Hope this helps.

3 hours ago, 12poundbass said:

The Striker units have GPS but no mapping. It's basically a blank white screen you can save waypoints on. 

 

Think about this....you have a 17-18' boat and have a transom transducer you could hit a shallow rock or sand bar without it even showing up. 

 

As a general rule and you may know this, you should never use a unit or a map card as your sole means of navigation. Too many variables. Hope this helps.

Yeah, I hear ya.  What I was hoping to do was basically map out the parts of the river that I know I can run safely, by going slow and recording waypoints, then next time out, keep the boat on the line created from the waypoints.  That way I could run a little faster to the places I know hold fish.  This being my first boat, and dealing with a shallow rocky river at that, my stress level is very high whenever I'm underway.  Thought maybe this could be a way to lower my stress level 

42 minutes ago, THfishing said:

I would look at the Lowrance Hook 4 unit. The Hook for has sonar, gps and downscan imaging for $299. It has the preloaded maps from lowrance shows the basic contours. You can get the Hook 4 unit with the Navionics+ card for $329 and the maps are 1ft contours. That's what I bought for my jon boat.

I will look into that one, thank you.  I wonder if the software would have info on the Susquehanna?