Fishing is a great sport that can be enjoyed by both recreational fishers, and by those that want to make it a family event by heading out to the family cottage during the summer or just to the lake. Fishing can be relaxing, and it is always nice if you are actually able to catch a few fish to throw onto the fire. But fish stocks in some areas are questionable, and while you may be going out for the relaxation coming home without even one fish is not fun. So how can you increase your odds of catching fish on your next trip? What will make you the fisherman that is a fully armed fish seeking missile?

While sailors have been using marine GPS for years now, fishermen (and women) are starting to rely on marine GPS units that are specialized for finding fish or Fishfinder (also fish finder) GPS.

Basic marine GPS units are manufactured by several companies – Humminbird (common misspellings are Humming Bird and Hummingbird) Fishfinder GPS, Eagle Fishfinder GPS, Garmin, Lowrance Fishfinder, Eagle Fishfinder, and NorCross HawkEye Fish Finder. As you can see the number of manufacturers for fish finder GPS is very small and the leader, based on the number of products and popularity of products based on user feedback on sites like Amazon is Humminbird (there is no ‘g’ in their name) and Garmin.

Like most portable GPS units, fishfinders by and large are portable however many do include mounting brackets for your boat. All are also water proof, so if you happen to get water on it (which is possible since you are on the water) you will not damage the delicate electronics inside. It used to be that all fish finder GPS units were black and white, however today you will find some color units. Virtually all units will include a sonar, which is what is needed to find out where the fish are.

Fish finders work using sonar, they send out a signal (or sound wave) and objects that are in its path “bounce back” letting the device know where the fish are. If the signal doesn’t bounce back right away it will reach the bottom. Soft bottoms like mud and weeds will absorb the signal while harder bottoms will reflect a stronger signal back to the fisn finder. These differences will let you know whether there are any fish in the area you are in.

In addition to all the normal fishing gear you need to make your trip enjoyable (including the beer – drink responsibly) the marine GPS unit or Fishfinder is a must, especially if you do not want to go back to camp empty handed and become the brunt of jokes.

Whether you are looking for fish finder reviews or information about portable Fishfinders, Mohammed has probably written a well researched and consumer oriented guide to help you find the information you need without all the jargon.