garmin etrex handheld gps with topo map for backcountry streams

[k-bob]

I have one of these, about $225 from cabelas. It is very handy, you can have it create a marked path you followed on the screen, show you which way to reach the stream is in middle of nowhere, etc, shows SGL borders with private land, etc. Has issues: takes time to learn use it, does not have enough memory for more than about 1/4 of PA in topo map memory, won't always work (clouds don't help), batteries may give up, better to have a paper map and mechanical compass, too. Map is very detailed, shows things like crabby creek near valley creek.

Much better to buy one with extra cost topo map, factory map has very litle detail, can't use the etrex for fishing without it.

 

[k-bob]

I see you can get the etrex venture bundle, with the topo map, for $229 now at several places. it won't work for backcountry fishing without the topo map, so you need the bundle. once you learn how to use it, which takes a while, it can:

: show your location on a detailed topo map that shows streams, roads, and even some trails... if you move around a lot this is fantastic, what's the best way to go to some bit of stream? this rhodo is awful, where's the nearest road?

: let you mark a spot and return to it later -- such as the car you want to walk back to, or a stream section you want to revisit on another day. tells you far you are from these points.

: if you leave it on as you walk, it will record your path on the screen, and you can just return the way you went out, or go back part way and change a decision. this is a big help when hiking or climbing is hard

: if something went wrong -- and your cell actually worked (mine usually doesn't out when I am fishing), you could tell people where exactly you are

: make getting lost less likely:

but, like anything else, it has limits: it won't always work, you could kill the batteries or break it, so I still carry paper maps and a mechanical compass.

 

[edhank]

I have an etrex too. Last year, I was using Google Earth to virtually explore some local streams. On one of the wilderness streams by my house, I spied a pond of some sort. I got the Lat and Lon coordinates from Google Earth and programmed them into a waypoint on my garmin. That next spring, I selected the pond as a waypoint, it told me where to go. Low and behold I found the most beaautiful beaver pond on a native brookie stream. The fish were pudgy and a lot of fun to catch.

You don't necessarily need the maps to get to where you want to go.

 

[k-bob]

I usually use the etrex venture "live" with a topo map, so it shows me where I am in relation to some stream or road. I never thought of choosing a place to fish from google earth's images and entering that place's latitude and longitude in to the etrex for navigation. That is a good idea, although some of the google earth images might be a little old, or may have been taken when streams were high or low, so things could have changed a bit? Some of the best brookie fishing I have found was above beaver dams. hmmmm

You can pay about an extra $70 to get the topo maps, I think they add a lot, but this is a good idea.

You can also tell someone else exactly where a spot is using coordinates, not a hint or anything