Navionics app dumb question

Hey all,

I’ve seen talk and know some of you use the Navionics app for your smart phones on the water and ice. I’m interested. I noticed that on the website, a couple of my local lakes had depth ranges that are WAAAYYY deeper than real life. I’m assuming that this is just a “demo” type view and that more accurate features will show once I purchase and download the app? I guess that’s dumb question #1.
As for the rest, was mostly hoping to gain some feedback on how useful and accurate you find it to be, especially as applies to ice fishing. To me, the concept of being able to view lake maps right on my phone is an awesome idea overall, but don’t want to waste my time on an app that isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
So, how accurate do you find them to be, and how realistically useful? I know, I know…I’m a technological dinosaur, and starting to get stubbornly proud of it(sorry JD!).
Thanks for any advice/feedback!

Reverend

lol, no sweat Rev. I have seen some lakes that are missing structure on the Nav app for iPhone. In particular, the two underwater islands are missing in the app map on Independence west of the Twin Cities. But all in all, it is more accurate than not. Spot on when I am out on Mille Lacs.

Also, the phone app has an offset for depth so if you drill a hole and see the map says 20 feet but you are measuring 16 feet, just set the offset for -4 feet. Pretty easy even for a non-tech noob like you! lol

Love it, sold my H2O once I started using the app. Also make sure that you use the SonarCharts within the app. There is a small circular light blue button in the bottom left corner that has 3 bars inside it, if you tap that you can switch between Navionics charts, Sonar charts and Govt. Charts. Sonar charts has much higher detail.

Love it too and the sonar charts update via linked community anglers so lakes are constantly updating and new uncharted lakes added. I get 1′ contours on lakes my ‘bird 798ci w/ chip doesn’t have. Ice fishing it has taken me right back to previous holes accurately.

PS. no question is dumb here… just some answers.

Check out the link below for the web app. This should give you a good idea of the maps quality.

http://webapp.navionics.com/?lang=en#@45.474397,-89.678184,3z

I use it every time I go fishing. Accuracy is not perfect but very useful as you can mark structure that you find on the lake. Also very useful for lake scouting. Another app that I use a lot is the WI pocket ranger. This allows you to check fish limits and species on different lakes on your smartphone. Good Luck out there!

Its pretty nice, cheap, and convenient. Accuracy, on the other hand, leaves something to be desired. Don’t get me wrong, it’ll get you close, but it isn’t anywhere near as detailed or accurate as my handheld gps or boat gps with chip. I’ve done A LOT of driving, drilling, and checking to confirm this.

If you don’t have any source of digital lake maps currently, the APP is worth every single penny. But every time I head out to fish walleyes or lakers on structure, you’ll still see me sporting my handheld.

I did a webinar on the App and all its features last week. If you find a company that all the lakes are 100% accurate let me know.

If you have any questions on the app feel free to drop me note.

My old phone the GPS started getting kludgy. The maps were accurate, but not for where I supposedly was standing!

KirtH wrote:

I did a webinar on the App and all its features last week. If you find a company that all the lakes are 100% accurate let me know.

If you have any questions on the app feel free to drop me note.

Why aren’t they 100% accurate?

Is this only for the Apple technology, what about the Droid technology?

Navionics is on Android?

eyecatchum wrote:

Its pretty nice, cheap, and convenient. Accuracy, on the other hand, leaves something to be desired.

If you don’t have any source of digital lake maps currently, the APP is worth every single penny. But every time I head out to fish walleyes or lakers on structure, you’ll still see me sporting my handheld.

This is the Best answer you have been given. I do like mine alot but I kind of chuckle when I hear people say that the app is the only thing they use now or that they sold thier Hand held gps because they bought the App for thier phone.What the app will do is get you close to structure and give you a rough “guesstimate” of the structure around you but your not going to get on a “spot on a spot” as they say

I have numerious GPS units and I find using the Navionics app a very handy tool with my phone….most folks with cell phones carry them all the time. So with the app you have lake detail at your finger tips!
I have been presently surprised as how accurate and easy it is to use.

Some of the app is spot on on petenwell and castle rock but some areas makes me wonder what the hell they were doing or thinking.

eyesonly wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Nathan Kaminski wrote:</div>
Its pretty nice, cheap, and convenient. Accuracy, on the other hand, leaves something to be desired.

If you don’t have any source of digital lake maps currently, the APP is worth every single penny. But every time I head out to fish walleyes or lakers on structure, you’ll still see me sporting my handheld.

This is the Best answer you have been given. I do like mine alot but I kind of chuckle when I hear people say that the app is the only thing they use now or that they sold thier Hand held gps because they bought the App for thier phone.What the app will do is get you close to structure and give you a rough “guesstimate” of the structure around you but your not going to get on a “spot on a spot” as they say

That’s pretty much what I was thinking-if it would get me close to a breakline or piece of structure, I can drill and find it. From there, a waypoint in the handheld would go there anyway. I was pretty much hoping to hear that the mapping app would be valuable and semi-accurate enough to help me got on/near a given piece of structure-especially one I know is there, but haven’t fished or tried to find. I love to explore new ice, but it can be daunting and exhausting trying to drill out an area looking for something you KNOW is down there somewhere-especially in a snowy/slushy scenario like we have here this year. Besides, I’m kinda lazy. I know at least for me, I can practically memorize a lake map, then arrive on the ice and suddenly it all looks like a blank white sheet. Handheld GPS has saved me a ton of times-I can triangulate, speculate and postulate…and still miss my mark by 100 yds without it.
Thanks for the input everyone, as always, you guys rock! Even you JD!

mplspug wrote:

Navionics is on Android?

By the way-I like your new avatar mplspug!

KirtH did the webinar get recorded to be watched later? If so would you be interested in providing a link to it?

I recently found the the app to be a little off. I checked against some my lake master and Lowrance and found some spots to be close and others no where near. It is convenient though. The spots I was checking were on Winnie.

eyesonly wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Nathan Kaminski wrote:</div>
Its pretty nice, cheap, and convenient. Accuracy, on the other hand, leaves something to be desired.

If you don’t have any source of digital lake maps currently, the APP is worth every single penny. But every time I head out to fish walleyes or lakers on structure, you’ll still see me sporting my handheld.

This is the Best answer you have been given. I do like mine alot but I kind of chuckle when I hear people say that the app is the only thing they use now or that they sold thier Hand held gps because they bought the App for thier phone.What the app will do is get you close to structure and give you a rough “guesstimate” of the structure around you but your not going to get on a “spot on a spot” as they say

No GPS mapping is spot on, I don’t care which one you are using, why would I carry a GPS when my phone works just as well. It gives me a very good idea of what is below me in the area. It will put me right back on a spot I mark as close as any dedicated GPS will, all of them are only as accurate as the maps from the manufacture. They all use the same satellites and GPS technologies, the only difference is the maps.

You can put in the same longitude and latitude on any of them and you will end up within the same 3 meters, that’s as accurate as civilian GPS technology is allowed.

The app is $10, why I would pay $300 for a GPS and another $100 or more for a chip, seems a waste of $400 for what I need it for. If I was a guide maybe I would opt for a handheld with chips.

My android has a gps, right?
Will the app show me where I am on my phone’s screen?

Denny O wrote:

My android has a gps, right?
Will the app show me where I am on my phone’s screen?

Yes it will, it also shows an overlay of your choice, it can show no overlay (blank area around the lake), Satellite (similar to google maps with a view of everything from above), Terrain (gives you a street map view and terrain markings)

Will it show in 1 ft contours of the lake and an x or something like that for my exact position?

Yep. Even allows you to store waypoints and annotate them. You can share them with the general public or just allow only you to see them. Sometimes I fish other waypoints other people have shared and found the fish! Huh, who knew!

JD Winston wrote:

Yep. Even allows you to store waypoints and annotate them. You can share them with the general public or just allow only you to see them. Sometimes I fish other waypoints other people have shared and found the fish! Huh, who knew!

Ok then I’m in!