For fishing lovers, going to sea is the perfect opportunity to make great catches. Be careful though, because poor preparation can ruin your day. You will therefore need to carefully prepare your fishing bag by filling it with essential and adequate equipment, such as GPS or depth sounder.
The portable GPS for going to sea
Satellite geolocation is now a major asset in fishing. Thus, there is no question of going fishing at sea without having your GPS on you. As can be seen on counternautique.com, the portable GPS allows you to have the location of underwater obstacles and areas that are teeming with fish. This device will allow you to better orient the boat and make it easier to find fish at sea.
The fishing GPS is available in three different versions, each of them adapted to a particular need. These are the GPS plotter, the sounder or echo sounder, and the combined GPS, or plotter sounder. The main use of the GPS plotter is the creation of routes, the marking of points and the planning of routes at sea. Thanks to the echo sounder, it is possible for you to read background, to detect a fish or a group of fish near the bottom or between two waters or obstacles.
The GPS handset, also called a fishfinder, is an all-in-one. It has the combined characteristics of the other two types of fishing GPS. The combined GPS and echo sounder consist of two main parts: the probe and the box or sounder. The probe will send waves into the water and will transmit electrical signals to the sounder corresponding to the nature of the obstacles encountered. The sonar analyzes these signals and projects the image on the screen.
How to choose a fish finder?
The choice of a GPS plotter, a depth sounder or a handset is made on the basis of several data, which vary according to the place planned for fishing. Thus, the settings for deep fishing will not be valid for hiking in fresh water. Here are some tips for sea fishing.
Frequency
The first criterion to consider is the device frequency. It is measured in kHz, and represents the length of the waves emitted by the probe. It's a fact: the higher the frequency, the more precise the returned image. However, its scope is limited. There are 3 categories of wave frequencies.
The first is 50 kHz and is best suited for sea fishing. The second is 83 kHz, ideal for seabed reconnaissance and freshwater fishing. As for the third, which is 200 kHz, it is used for fishing in shallow depths in order to have a narrow view of the body of water. So opt for a probe at the frequency 50/200kHz for your sea fishing.
The opening angle
Still called aperture cone, this is the range of the probe. In other words, the angle represents the surface of the ocean swept by the waves emitted by the probe. For a 90 degree cone, the aperture cone is twice the water depth. Thus, the lower the angle, the more precise the image over a very narrow field. And the wider the angle, the less sharp the image over a wider field.
In general, it is more appropriate toopt for a low angle when you want to fish in places where the water is shallow. Angles with a larger opening are welcome for sea fishing. This way, you have a more global view of the fishing surface.
technology and power
To send effective waves, you need a fairly high power. This will improve the range of the waves and the sensitivity of the probe. This data is usually located from 600 W, but some devices can go well beyond. The deeper the waters, the higher the power must be. For sea fishing, you can go up to 2000 W.
La vision technology of your device is also to be taken into account. The most widespread and fashionable is 2D technology, which gives you a two-dimensional image. Here, the fish is denoted by an arc. 3D technology gives you more realistic images, and allows you to see under the boat (vertical 3D) and side to side (lateral 3D).
With digital and technological progress, fishing has become an increasingly sophisticated activity. Thanks to the fishing GPS, the data is more secure. Nevertheless, it is necessary to successfully configure the probe in order to get the most out of it.