# GPS maps of areas real time.



## Samsdad1 (Apr 13, 2018)

I am looking at two scenarios. Do I get an app for my phone or a device to give me a map of a lake, river etc... real time to see my current position? preferably I lean to the App for costs and not adding another device. I am looking for suggestions and even thought of getting an simple Garmin GPS but not sure of the accuracy due to its original intent for roads... any and all suggestions will be heard but may not be used... so my wife says...


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## Scott F (Apr 13, 2018)

How well can you read the screen on your phone while you are outdoors and wearing sunglasses? It is very hard to see the screen on my phone.


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## beetlespin (Apr 13, 2018)

Samsdad1 said:


> I am looking at two scenarios. Do I get an app for my phone or a device to give me a map of a lake, river etc... real time to see my current position? preferably I lean to the App for costs and not adding another device. I am looking for suggestions and even thought of getting an simple Garmin GPS but not sure of the accuracy due to its original intent for roads... any and all suggestions will be heard but may not be used... so my wife says...



I may be going out on a limb here....but....I think you can trust the accuracy on a Garmin GPS. Get one that takes a map card in the area(s) you will be fishing and you will be amazed.

Happy fishing.


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## LDUBS (Apr 13, 2018)

If you are talking about a Garmin for automotive GPS use, I doubt it will show the bathymetric lines on your lake or river. I could be wrong, but don't think so. Fishfinder/GPS units (including those made by Garmin) have the ability to plot your position in real time and will show the lake's underwater contours. You will probably have to shell out for a map card or look for a deal that includes the map card.


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## Scott F (Apr 13, 2018)

One of the best things about Garmin depthfinders/mapping units is that they come with 17,000 lake maps, several thousand of them are high definition maps, built in without the need to purchase additional map chips. Plus, if the lake you are on is not one of the maps built in, you can make your own high def maps with the included software.


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## richg99 (Apr 13, 2018)

I'd check very carefully if the lake(s) that you fish in are included in the high detail maps with any GPS/FF. The few that I looked at, admittedly lower cost units, just showed a blue blob with outlines of the shoreline. Unless my only need was to return to a spot, they were worthless for depth and obstruction use. 

I have the $15.00-yearly Navioncis app on my Android phone. I fully agree it is very difficult to see on a sunny day. Yet, it has the detail that I need. 

I also have a 9-inch pad with the same program on it. I keep promising myself to build a shaded housing for it but haven't gotten around to doing that yet.


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## jethro (Apr 16, 2018)

I have both the phone app and a Humminbird Helix 5 with GPS and a map card. The phone app I pretty much only use when I'm at home or somewhere other than the lake and I want to research the bathemetry of a certain lake. But on the boat nothing beats the functionality of a dedicated chartplotter/GPS. It's not cheap, my Humminbird was probably $350, plus the $150 Lakemaster chip. Having waypoints and tracks right on the device is great for cold water trolling.


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## Skunked again (Apr 17, 2018)

Get on garmins site, look for your bodies of water, see if their covered. Go to a store that has the units your thinking of, start playing with them. 
That will dispel any (or prove) questions you have.
For the phone app, as mentioned - difficult to see in sunlight, and requires a waterproof case (if using in the rain), also - you HAVE to have a cell signal.
For handheld or depth finders, no cell signal is required. 
I have the Garmin plus units, I love them. The two lakes I fish the most are not mapped. I've mapped one, working on the other. 
If you want, pm me contact info, I'll look and see if yours are one the units. Will take some screenshots for you, then you be the judge.


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## richg99 (Apr 17, 2018)

Surprisingly, and happily, the Navionics app does NOT require a cell signal.

"Knowledge Article: Mobile: GPS & Cellular Data Usage
https://navionics.secure.force.com/kb/articles/en.../Mobile-GPS-Cellular-Data-Usage
The GPS itself does not use data, it merely receives satellite signals independent of cell service. .."


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## Bateman (Apr 17, 2018)

The Navionics App is good stuff. My crew of boat friends all use it. It has been very beneficial at night, although it in no way replaces the spot light and my eyes. Some of the places we run have shallows or even islands that can be just below the surface and it's helpful to see that on the screen.


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## LDUBS (Apr 17, 2018)

jethro said:


> Having waypoints and tracks right on the device is great for cold water trolling.



Yes!! I followed the same tracks/waypoints week after week last year. It was amazing how productive my "secret spots" were. Save that waypoint data!!!

When I purchased my Helix 7 it included a Navionics map card. Originally I considered this a kind of "neat" thing to have but didn't really think I would use it much. I thought of it more as a navigation tool than a fishing tool. As it turns out I use the GPS/lake contours almost as much as I use the sonar. Seeing how the bottom is contoured can be used to find what are likely to be areas where fish hang out.


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## richg99 (Apr 17, 2018)

Much like Thomas Edison, I have a very extensive collection of GPS locations that have never provided a single fish. 

Perhaps I should publish a blog. It will save others a LOT of time!

Ha ha rich


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## LDUBS (Apr 17, 2018)

richg99 said:


> Much like Thomas Edison, I have a very extensive collection of GPS locations that have never provided a single fish.
> 
> Perhaps I should publish a blog. It will save others a LOT of time!
> 
> Ha ha rich




:LOL2: :LOL2: :LOL2:


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## Skunked again (Apr 17, 2018)

richg99 said:


> Surprisingly, and happily, the Navionics app does NOT require a cell signal.
> 
> "Knowledge Article: Mobile: GPS & Cellular Data Usage
> https://navionics.secure.force.com/kb/articles/en.../Mobile-GPS-Cellular-Data-Usage
> The GPS itself does not use data, it merely receives satellite signals independent of cell service. .."



Interesting. One lake I fish has spotty cell service (which I kinda like!), coincidentally, so does my navionics app. 
Maybe it's time for a new phone?!?


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## richg99 (Apr 17, 2018)

*"Maybe it's time for a new phone?!?"*

I'd guess that the antenna on any phone is the device that connects one to the towers and also looks to the sky to capture the signal from the GPS satellites.

So, if that is so, it might be the phone. Have you tried pointing it at different areas of the sky to see if it improves? Might help.

I remember that Apple came out with a phone a few years ago. It had, as I best remember, some kind of metal ring built-in around the unit. If you had your fingers on that ring, its reception was very bad. If you didn't hold it in that way, you were fine, or the other way around. I don't remember how they resolved the issue.

** https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3021309


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## thedude (Apr 17, 2018)

Samsdad1 said:


> I am looking at two scenarios. Do I get an app for my phone or a device to give me a map of a lake, river etc... real time to see my current position? preferably I lean to the App for costs and not adding another device. I am looking for suggestions and even thought of getting an simple Garmin GPS but not sure of the accuracy due to its original intent for roads... any and all suggestions will be heard but may not be used... so my wife says...


Recently just started researching after finding a garmin on clearance. Lots of good reviews but pricey compared to an app. If you already have sonar, then maybe the maps is all you need. Garmin has lake contours by the 1 ft increment as a baseline. This is more than adequate for most but safety is important. 

Having only a depthfinder is like trying to put your seatbelt on during a car crash....which is fine if you drive slow...[emoji3]


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