Car gps for fishing??

[TJS]

Was just wondering if anyone has ever tried this lets say with a garmin nuvi?

[buckhunter21]

I have a Lowrance XOG and thats the reason I bought it was because it was a turn by turn gps and it took maps chips all in one unit. Only downfall is its not waterproof but just have to be more careful with it.

[Finlander]

I'll second the Xog! Put a mount on my snowmobile and it works great!

[jigginjim]

If I remember, you maybe able to put a lake chip in for the deeps.

[Woody61]

Do a search on the subject, been a few threads on the NUVI lately, you can pick up some good info. I just got a 205w a few weeks ago and works pretty good. They take lakemaster chips also.

[Ed Carlson]

I recommend the Garmin Nuvi line. Very user friendly, works with NDTRAX, MNTRAX, MTTRAX, and LakeMaster chips.

TIP: Install a 12 marine accessory receiver on your Vexilar, charge it or power it in the field and the relatively short battery life while unplugged from it's cradle is overcome.

Great units, great service, lots of free downloads off the Garmin site that will come in handy too.

Register your Garmin and things get easier to manage any issues you have and it also allows you to get free upgrades when available.

[TJS]

Thanks everyone. I did find out that my nuvi 200 will take the lakemaster chip, I might just try it and see how it works before I go out and buy another handheld unit.

[snax01]

I just got essentially the same setup a month ago. I have a Nuvi 205w. As long as you get the Garmin specific lakemaster chip, you are good to go. Here's the couple of key things I've noticed, both good and bad:

Good:

Garmin chip has hundreds of lakes that the equivilent lowrance lakemaster chip does not. Majority of the extra's are not HD maps, but it's better to have a ton of extra lakes with 5' contours than not having them at all.

Bad: (not that bad)

Zoom limit. The nuvi's, etc. have a max zoom of 80'/cm. Most situations this is good enough, but if you are on a lake that has a map with 1' contours, and you are targeting a specific depth on a steep, you can't zoom in near as far on a nuvi as you could on say a h2oC. It's still enough to work well, but I feel if I could zoom in one or two more times it might occassionaly be nice.

Not waterproof, so be sure to eithe keep it in a ziplock while using it on the lake or just don't drop it. They aren't made to be as rugged as traditional recreational handhelds.

No color depth contours. The contour maps do not display depth colors. So you get the contour lines, but deeper does not appear darker like many maps. I don't have another garmin handheld to test against, so I don't know if this is a device limitation or a map limitation.

Hope that helps, but I've been plenty happy so far and it saved me a couple hundred bucks compared to buying a seperate device.

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

A year ago, I'd have recommended the XOG. Now, I'm on my 4th one in the 2 years since they came out. The 3 that have been replaced had 3 different issues, and I've been told that a lot of these are being returned. Luckily, Gander has been willing to do exchanges on these, but the last time it took some persuading. My 4th one is now going bad (white lines all over the screen) and I won't be replacing this one with another XOG.

[mmclain6101]

The XOG is no longer being made, but I got the Nuvi 550 which is the newer better version, with a micro sd lakemaster chip and it works great! Nice crossover that is waterproof and quit durable. I got mine on amazon for $199 the micro sd chip was $110, but well worth it IMO.

[Grainbelter]

I just purchased a nuvi 205w ($99 on sale!!) and now have to decide whether to get the chip or the cd which I believe you can download to the unit but also have on the computer. Any suggestions?

[landscaper]

nuvi 265wt here

i will have to try the chip later this week

[TJS]

Hey landscaper I take you have another garmin gps is a a handheld or other? I am still looking for a handheld unit and need some help on brands. It would be mostly used during the hard water months.

[snax01]

I had to make the same decision on whether to get the chip or the CD. I ended up going with the chip since you can easily move it to a new GPS unit if your old one breaks or you want to upgrade. With the CD, once you transfer maps to your device, your license is locked to that device forever. I verified with Garmin, and you cannot use the software to transfer maps to a new device down the road if you need to replace it.

[Grainbelter]

Wow, thanks a bunch snax. I was deadset on waiting for the new cd but if it's gonna be locked to 1 unit no way. Guess it's a chip then. Thanks again.

[New2TheFly]

Thanks for the info guys. I was batting around the idea of a portable GPS but now I might have to get a NUVI and a lakemaster chip and kill two birds with one stone.

For the H2O owners, why not spend the same amount of money for a turn by turn gps that can also give you contour maps? I guess I'm curious what am I losing if I go the NUVI route vs a handheld gps that is primarily used for fishing?

[deadeye]

I have both a H20c and a nuvi 500 and if I were only to get one it would be the 500. I had the H2Oc long ago and love it for fishing but the nuvi is growing on me a lot.

Here's my take one the 500 so far, in addition to what was said.

The good:

Its waterproof so it does just fine if it rains or gets a little wet.

The Garmin Lakemaster software has more lakes and is more intuitive than anything that lowrance has put out. It works just fine on the nuvi.

You pretty much have a yellow pages on hand if you need to find something.

The screen is just as easy to see if not better.

It catches a signal just about anywhere and fast.

The refresh/load/processing rate is much faster than any hand held I have had in my hands.

The bad:

As said, it doesn't zoom in quite as far. Not a problem for me but its something to keep in mind.

It has a replaceable, rechargeable battery. Not really sure if thats good or bad yet but its not like just plopping a couple AA's into it. The battery life is around 8 hours (when Im ice fishing its only on until I find where I want to fish which is a hour max).

It doesnt seem as durable as a regular handheld. I haven't tested this theory myself but I cant see a touchscreen being as tough.

Thats my take on it.

[landscaper]

TJS

Yes i have an older H20 (not Colored) that i used fishing and i just got the NUVI 265wt for X-mas and just made a 250 mile trip to day so it was the first time i used it.