Handheld GPS and lake maps - possible?

[rubba bubba]

I have a Garmin Etrex Vista C handheld GPS that I was wondering if it were possible to get a topo map of individual lakes that I fish and download it into the GPS?

Any GPS experts on here that might know if so and where I can get the maps of the lakes I'd like?  Thanks!

[Lund Explorer]

Not sure if your handheld has the card slot, but here's something from Cabela's.....

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/product/standard-item.jsp?id=0043409019072a&navCount=1&podId=0043409&parentId=cat600079&masterpathid=&navAction=jump&cmCat=MainCatcat21276-cat600079&catalogCode=QZ&rid=&parentType=index&indexId=cat600079&hasJS=true

[bcmark]

rubba google google XOG by lowrance it is a handheld that takes navionics.

mark

[Wayne P.]

Lowrance has other handhelds with the Navionics capability, check their website.

[tnhiker44]

My experience with my hand held GPS is good and bad. For using as a "where have I been... how do I get back" tool it is awesome. It is also fantastic for marking spots that I find. I get right back to the spots I marked... within the EPE (estimated position error). Where I have had no luck whatsoever is putting in GPS way points from a map/guide and finding them. Using datum data from the various maps/guides still does not get me within reasonable range. As I near an entered spot I zoom way in to find that submerged bridge to be about a 1/4 mile inland... in the middle of the woods.

But finding and revisiting spots is very accurate. Go figure.

[RoLo]

Without bothering to read any responses, let me just say that "handheld" GPS

is what most captains use who routinely venture 100 miles offshore (mounted of course).

GPS is a very broad topic, but if you have any technical questions regarding same,

feel free to shoot me a PM. If you don't feel free, stick with Garmin over Navionics.

Roger

[JDK.]

lowrance h2oc is a great handheld unit and will take all map cards check them out

[RoLo]

lowrance h2oc is a great handheld unit and will take all map cards check them out

Yeah, it'll take all map cards, but "ONLY" map cards produced by Navionics, and no cartography created by Garmin.

Furthermore, Navionics (Lowrance) employs SD cards "only",

which is a horror show compared to the CD-ROMs and DVDs utilized by Garmin. (I have both)

Roger

[Clark Stewart]

If you can find the old mapsource hotmaps by garmin then you can load most of the bigger lakes on your unit. It's discontinued so you'll have to use clandestine means to find it online. There's also a thread on gooogle somewhere that talks about making your own maps for garmin units. It's a complex little program but when it's done it will overlay your custom map over whatever map you have brought up at the time. Pretty cool. I used to have a topo map down to the water then contour map of the lake i fish. Once you find that article and create your map you can use something like expert gps to draw roadbeds on your contour map that will show up like tracks in your gps. Makes it easy to follow them. Do a search for "how to create your own maps for garmin gps". Look for garmin's hotmaps

[BobP]

Lowrance, Eagle, and Humminbird use Navionics cards including the popular Hotmaps Premium cards.  Garmin uses proprietary map cards.  JMHO, if you're a freshwater bass fisherman, Navionics and a compatible GPS is the way to go for the best and most complete sets of lake maps.  I say that as a long time professional user of Garmin GPS units.  They make a great GPS.  If they used Navionics, they'd be just about perfect!   To answer your question about map cards for Etrex units, go to the Garmin website and look at the Etrex specs.  It will tell you whether and which Garmin mapping cards can be used in your unit.

[RoLo]

Garmin uses proprietary map cards.

Garmin "offers" SD cards, but they also offer a lot more than SD cards.

In addition to SD cards, Garmin is the only mapmaker that offers CD-ROMs and DVDs, placing Garmin in a class of its own.

Just like your computer operating system, Garmin cartography is loaded directly onto your resident computer drive,

where the user enjoys total interaction. Since it resides on your computer, the user is able to create waypoints instantly

on the computer, make routes, type waypoints names, etc. You're also able to instantly transfer waypoints from computer

to GPS unit or from GPS device to computer, without ever seeing or handling an SD card. On the contrary, with Navionics

you need to remove the SD card from the unit, then reinstall it back into the unit for waypoint creation and revision.

In my opinion, SD cards are a horror show.

Every time a lake is visited, some waypoints will naturally be added, deleted and edited. Once you decide on the lake or lakes

you're going to fish, in less than 60 seconds you can delete all waypoints currently residing on your GPS unit,

and load only the newly edited waypoints for the lakes you're going to fish that day. Every waypoint for every lake

is stored on your resident computer drive (no proprietary cards, it belongs to you).

JMHO, if you're a freshwater bass fisherman, Navionics and a compatible GPS is the way to go for the best and most complete sets of lake maps. I say that as a long time professional user of Garmin GPS units. They make a great GPS.

Did you know that Navionics used to be the cartographer for Garmin hydrography?

This was because Garmin is the choice of the US military, and were preoccupied in government projects.

Today however Garmin no longer uses Navionics, but all their maps are proprietary, including their hydrographic cartography.

Both Garmin and Navionics produce accurate bathymetry, but over time the accuracy may be compromised

by erosion, hurricanes, muck scraping and the like. Therefore, any difference in accuracy is not due to the mapmaker,

but hinges on which company offers the "latest upgrade". Since upgrades are in random order, this depends on

the lake in question, and keeps changing with new upgrades.

Roger

[Wayne P.]

RoLo, your information is incomplete about Lowrance mapping products. In addition to it's compatibility with Navionics, these are also available ( some of those are CD/computer based )

Fishing Hot Spots PRO

LakeMaster Pro Maps

MapCreate

Free Enhanced Lake Maps

FreedomMaps

MapSelect.com

Enhanced Safe Flight 21

Jeppesen Database

Legacy Mapping

Additionally, how many lake maps does Garmin offer with the 1' contour lines like the Navionics HD surveyed lakes?

[RoLo]

RoLo, your information is incomplete about Lowrance mapping products. In addition to it's compatibility with Navionics, these are also available ( some of those are CD/computer based )

Fishing Hot Spots PRO

LakeMaster Pro Maps

MapCreate

Free Enhanced Lake Maps

FreedomMaps

MapSelect.com

Enhanced Safe Flight 21

Jeppesen Database

Legacy Mapping

Say what?  ;D

I didn't offer ANY information regarding Lowrance mapping products. because this is a Garmin thread.

The original poster owns a Garmin Etrex Vista C handheld GPS, not a Lowrance.

Although it's off-topic, I own and operate both a Garmin GPS Map76Cx and a Lowrance iFinder H20c.

Nevertheless, I didn't post anything that compares "charplotters" (hardware), instead my post compares

the bathymetry software offered by Navionics versus Garmin. In my opinion, you should always begin

by selecting the most useful software first, then select any chartplotter that supports that software (there are many).

Roger

[Wayne P.]

Thanks, it is a good idea to determine the lake mapping software available for one's needs and then pick a product that utilizes that software.

You stated that Garmin is in a "class of their own" when it comes to CD based mapping software. Is the Mapcreate software not comparable?

Does Garmin have a comparable product to Navionics Hotmaps Explorer?

I mentioned all of this because someone suggested the XOG as an alternative so the Navionics software could be used. I have an H2O and don't know of anyone that uses any handheld Garmin products for fishing purposes. Looking for some education about them.

[RoLo]

Thanks, it is a good idea to determine the lake mapping software available for one's needs and then pick a product that utilizes that software.

You stated that Garmin is in a "class of their own" when it comes to CD based mapping software.

By "class of their own" I was referring to their fully interactive maps which are downloaded from CD-ROMs and DVDs.

The maps are physically loaded onto your resident drive, and not tethered to SD cards.

Is the Mapcreate software not comparable?

Unfortunately, patchwork software does not forego the need to shuttle the SD cards,

and cannot substitute for the freedom of working directly from your computer where it physically resides.

Does Garmin have a comparable product to Navionics Hotmaps Explorer?

Loaded on my computer are several Garmin CD-ROMs, and one is called "US Recreational Lakes with Fishing HotSpots".

However, Garmin recently replaced that CD-ROM with a DVD named "Inland Lakes 2009".

(By the way, I'd avoid the DVD called "Inland Lakes Vision", which is locked on an SD card).

Roger

[BobP]

RoLo, I just bought Navionics Hotmaps Explorer DVD sold by Fugawi with the 10,000+ Hotmaps lake maps. The program allows me to explore lakes on my home computer, mark waypoints and download them to a SD cartridge for my Humminbird 987C chartplotter. I'm not a cartographer so can't comment on the accuracy of Garmin versus Navionics. Though I used numerous Garmin GPS units over the years working for the USG, I bought a Navionics/Humminbird GPS when it came time to buy a unit for my bass boat. I agree with you that for many lakes, it won't make a difference because the Navionics and Garmin cartography is based on the same data sets. But Navionics also conducts new hydrographic surveys of popular bass lakes in 1 foot depth resolution. I thought that was sufficient reason to go with Navionics. Were I a coastal fisherman, it might have turned out differently. I'm also more comfortable using cartography employed by many GPS manufacturers versus one, for consumer-oriented reasons.  That isn't a knock on Garmin, it's just a function of my buyer's caution.

[RoLo]

Navionics also conducts new hydrographic surveys of popular bass lakes in 1 foot depth resolution..

Both Garmin and Navionics offer High-Definition maps for certain lakes, which are charted in one-foot increments.

(I use both Garmin and Navionics). However, some of Navionics Hi-Def maps very misleading (useless).

For instance, the Navionics Hi-Def chart of Lake Kissimmee begins with the "six-foot" contour line!

The lion's share of bass habitat in Lake Kissimmee is between the shoreline and the 6-foot depth line,

but this entire depth zone is uncharted on the Navionics HiDef map. In sharp contrast, the Garmin map

of Lake Kissimmee displays the depth lines in 1-foot increments beginning with 1-foot (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, etc).

Roger