Bushnell Backtrack

[alcom]

(06-14-2013 03:43 PM)OldTimer Wrote:  Hey,

I bought one of these yesterday (they are on clearance sale at Sail) and hope that it might be useful in my fishing this summer. I do not own, nor want, a cell phone.



It's apparently the simplest GPS on the planet. Stores 3 locations and simply points the direction to the target with a distance readout in yards.

Thought it would save me a lot of time on the lake to help me stay on a few deep mid lake humps and drop-offs.

I'll let ya know how it does........... anyone else own one?

Cheers,

OldTimer

I use Amazon.com to review the gamut of owners' experiences.
<http://www.amazon.com/Bushnell-BackTrack-Personal-Locator-Tech/product-reviews/B001F7BL0A/ref=sr_1_4_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1>
I like to look at the one-star reviews (with a grain of salt, because some people just don't know how to use the thing), then work my way up.

If you want to try another GPS, the Garmin eTrex 10 ($95 at MEC.ca) runs for 25 hours on 2 AA batteries. All the eTrex models (I have a Vista HCx) are durable and accurate units.

My son and I used to fish from a Folbot (a two-person folding kayak) before there were GPS units. I would take along a map of the lake in a waterproof map sleeve and use triangulation to get a fix on where we were. This takes time, and it's not nearly as accurate as a GPS, but it's cheap and somewhat fun. Here's a good resource on getting a triangulation fix <http://www.atlasquest.com/tutorials/compass/triangulation.html>.

I would photocopy the lake map from a Backroads fishing map book and mark landmarks in colour with lines and bearings to structure we wanted to fish. If this was a long deep hole, I'd mark triangulation bearings to the two tips and a course line between the two.

A mirror orienteering compass can take readings to within two degrees, which can put you within 50-100 feet of where you want to be. I used a Silva Model 15. If you use an optical compass that you hold up to your eye, be careful that your eyeglasses don't have plated steel frames (don't ask me how I know this).

Of course if you're fishing from shore, you only need one bearing from a landmark across the lake. Where that intersects with the shoreline is where you are.

Today's Silva compasses aren't what they used to be. A good inexpensive sighting compass is the Suunto MCB Floater ($29 at MEC.ca).