I've been fishing Erie for more than 50 years and I wouldn't leave the dock without a VHF radio! Good advice above. Most any brand radio will work ok. But get a fixed mount ra
dio which will be 25 watts transmit. Handhelds are only 5 watts and so the range is much less. The antenna is the most important component, more so than the radio itself. Shakespeare makes good antennas. And as said get a radio with MMSI, and hook it up to the GPS. Better yet, get a radio with built-in GPS. Push the red button and the Coast Guard knows exactly where you are. Takes the "search" out of "search and rescue".