BigOBear
04-29-2009, 10:07 PM
I've had a chance to use the HDS 7 a few times now. I like it. Ok... maybe that's an understatement. Granted, I'm coming from an experience of using whatever came on my boat when I bought it which was probably a $2 piece of equipment.
I've used the GPS quite a bit. Some of the things I've found it useful for are finding spots to fish based on channels, using it at night to follow stump free trails (that I created during the day... I fish some pretty stumpy water) back to the boat ramp, marking points where I've put hooks out in unfamiliar waters, and saving information on places that have produced fish.
I have an B/W H20 GPS so the GPS on the HDS was familiar allbeit in a glitzy kind of way, but the sonar was a world of difference compared to my old one. I've marked fish arches and caught fish in places I've found with fish showing up. I'm not sure if what I've caught is what I saw earlier, but...
The biggest confidence booster for the sonar piece came last weekend. We put only about a half dozen limb lines out one night around 6:30 on some places that we picked based on the GPS map and old fashioned looking around. While we were pulling away from the last tree, we saw the biggest fish arch we've seen on the unit. We eased on out of there and went to a bream bed to catch a few more baits for the rod fishing that night. On the way to where we were going to set up with the rods at about 7:30 we eased by the lines. The one that had the huge arch near it earlier had a 28lb blue cat on.
The sonar didn't make the decision to put the hook there, but it sure felt nice to have it all fall into place like that and end up catching a nice one.
I sure do like it and am glad I bought it. Now to start taking some screenshots to show my buds and Dad :wink:
I've used the GPS quite a bit. Some of the things I've found it useful for are finding spots to fish based on channels, using it at night to follow stump free trails (that I created during the day... I fish some pretty stumpy water) back to the boat ramp, marking points where I've put hooks out in unfamiliar waters, and saving information on places that have produced fish.
I have an B/W H20 GPS so the GPS on the HDS was familiar allbeit in a glitzy kind of way, but the sonar was a world of difference compared to my old one. I've marked fish arches and caught fish in places I've found with fish showing up. I'm not sure if what I've caught is what I saw earlier, but...
The biggest confidence booster for the sonar piece came last weekend. We put only about a half dozen limb lines out one night around 6:30 on some places that we picked based on the GPS map and old fashioned looking around. While we were pulling away from the last tree, we saw the biggest fish arch we've seen on the unit. We eased on out of there and went to a bream bed to catch a few more baits for the rod fishing that night. On the way to where we were going to set up with the rods at about 7:30 we eased by the lines. The one that had the huge arch near it earlier had a 28lb blue cat on.
The sonar didn't make the decision to put the hook there, but it sure felt nice to have it all fall into place like that and end up catching a nice one.
I sure do like it and am glad I bought it. Now to start taking some screenshots to show my buds and Dad :wink: