NAVIONICS VS I-BOATING (PREMIUM VERSIONS) VS GOOD FISHFINDER

[NJFishKeeper]

Hey everyone, so currently my fishfinder situation is a lowarance hook 2 4x with a bullet skimmer and basic white screen map plotter. I got it when I only had my kayak and wanted to know basic depth and bottom contours or if there were any fish under me. I still have my kayak but also added a smaller 12 ft semi v jon boat. the lowrance doesnt really help me too much, or I just don't know how to use it as I'm really struggling this year to catch any bass. I know im fishing well known good spots but have a hard time. i'm looking to invest in either a good fishfinder with maps and a good transducer on it for di and other features. so my main question is has anyone used I-BOATING or NAVIONICS ? are they better to get standalone and stick with my fish finder ? or should I just get a fishfinder and get a premium version of one of these apps? please share your experiences . Thanks for any help provided !

[MN Fisher]

Last year I was in exactly your situation - a Hook 2-4 and an 8" tablet.

 

Used I-Boating's app and it was very good. The contour maps were very accurate based on my sonar, and the 'tracking' function worked well.

 

This year, got a Striker 7CV, but no decent maps of my lakes from the Community, so still needed a tablet app.

 

Went with the Navionics - and I'll be sticking with Navionics until such time as I can afford a sonar with built in maps...ya, it's that much better.

 

I-Boating - you get contour maps...that's it

Navionics - you get contour maps with overlays such as bottom hardness - invaluable to finding the right spots to fish.

[NJFishKeeper]

1 minute ago, MN Fisher said:

I-Boating - you get contour maps...that's it

Navionics - you get contour maps with overlays such as bottom hardness - invaluable to finding the right spots to fish.

So, how accurate is navionics in terms of the overlays, for the lakes I fish or research on the free version of the app it seems like the overlays dont work for me. so (if you can even answer this) do less common lakes have support for those overlays in the premium version ?

[MN Fisher]

10 minutes ago, NJFishKeeper said:

So, how accurate is navionics in terms of the overlays, for the lakes I fish or research on the free version of the app it seems like the overlays dont work for me. so (if you can even answer this) do less common lakes have support for those overlays in the premium version ?

It all depends on how much surveying they've done on the lake. Of my three lakes, only Minnetonka has the advanced overlays - Dutch and Little Long just have the contour maps.

 

However - Navionics is good about placing things like docks, emergent vegetation and other tidbits, even in the lesser surveyed lakes. I-Boating seems to neglect those details in a lot of lakes...even some of the major ones.

[NJFishKeeper]

21 minutes ago, MN Fisher said:

Navionics is good about placing things like docks, emergent vegetation and other tidbits, even in the lesser surveyed lakes.

i did take a closer look and yes your correct theres a bunch of markings even on the contour maps that state "emergent vegetation", dead wood etc.... is there a way to see when the lake was surveyed last? 

[MN Fisher]

1 minute ago, NJFishKeeper said:

i did take a closer look and yes your correct theres a bunch of markings even on the contour maps that state "emergent vegetation", dead wood etc.... is there a way to see when the lake was surveyed last? 

Might be something, somewhere on their site - but I haven't found it.

[billmac]

On 8/2/2021 at 9:44 AM, MN Fisher said:

a Hook 2-4 and an 8" tablet.

What kind of tablet are you using? I'm considering a similar setup.  My Kindle fire doesn't have GPS, but it looks like you can buy an external GPS unit for it.

[MN Fisher]

12 minutes ago, billmac said:

What kind of tablet are you using? I'm considering a similar setup.  My Kindle fire doesn't have GPS, but it looks like you can buy an external GPS unit for it.

2018 Galaxy Tab 8", Model #: SM-T380

[Deephaven]

The problem with the tablet is the screen brightness.  With polarized glasses on and super bright light I find it hard to use.

[schplurg]

5 hours ago, Deephaven said:

The problem with the tablet is the screen brightness.  With polarized glasses on and super bright light I find it hard to use.

 

Good point. I can't read my phone with glasses on.

[Deephaven]

There may be some that are bright enough now, but it used to be awful.

[MN Fisher]

9 minutes ago, Deephaven said:

There may be some that are bright enough now, but it used to be awful.

My 2018 Galaxy Tab and my 2020 Galaxy A51 phone are a little hard to see the screen in direct sun, but a hand shading them makes them readable again.

 

Since my tablet is mounted on an arm, I'm thinking of getting something like this to help visibility on the water.

[Bankc]

On 9/7/2021 at 8:07 AM, MN Fisher said:

My 2018 Galaxy Tab and my 2020 Galaxy A51 phone are a little hard to see the screen in direct sun, but a hand shading them makes them readable again.

 

Since my tablet is mounted on an arm, I'm thinking of getting something like this to help visibility on the water.

I have something like that and found out it doesn't work as well as I'd like.  The problem is, it can only really block the sun when it's low in the sky, and pointing at the right direction.  It's better than nothing, for sure.  But I still have to use my hand to shade the sun frequently.