GPS - Ice Fishing Only -Which One?

[Mracekvb23]

I'm looking to purchase a good value GPS unit for saving my ice fishing spots...

Are there GPS units that you can put a chip in to see contour lines and other data like sand bars, etc?

Any input would be appreciated!

[hamms-scooter]

I saw one at the portable mod at thorne bros. An elite 4 on a mount attached to the vex pack Dan uses. It was light weight and ran on the same battery. both on 1 unit kinda like what hummingbird is doing with their units. Bargain cave buy for around 200. I have lowrance h20c and hds5. I also use app on my phone. For on the ice I use my phone most it seems. Fast and easy.

[Lund79]

I use a Gramin 62S with Upper Midwest Fishing Guide chip for this purpose as well.

[MN Mike]

Garmin has the Etrex Series of handhelds that are reasonably priced, the 20 or 30 will accept the lake map chip.

Garmin makes the Upper Midwest Fishing Guide lake card that covers 7 states and many lakes in 1 foot contours, there's also road and public access information on these cards along with other information.

Reeds in Walker usually puts together a nice package of a Garmin handheld and a lake chip at a great price, right now they have the GPSMap 78 with the Upper Midwest Fishing Guide for $279.00, that GPS floats in water if you drop it.

The Garmin lake chip by itself usually runs about $100.

Beyond the lake chip, there's a lot of free maps available to download and install on a Garmin handheld.

Mike

[low277]

I just picked up a Garmin 62s for under 200 bucks, a few places are having a sale on these.

[Jdjulik]

If you have a smart phone download Navionics. It does most everything I need for fishing and cost is under $10. One less device to carry with you as well.

[JeffB]

Love my humminbird ice 385ci. It takes the same chip as my humminbird on my boat and acts as an extra flasher all built into one nice little package. Cost is just under $400.

[Lusid]

I run the garmin etrex 30 - it runs around 300~ if my memory is correct but the etrex 20 is equally as good. Small screen but it's accurate!

[ZachD]

I run the garmin etrex 30 - it runs around 300~ if my memory is correct but the etrex 20 is equally as good. Small screen but it's accurate!

I have the 20 and it has never let me down for hunting or fishing..

[JeffB]

Love my humminbird ice 385ci. It takes the same chip as my humminbird on my boat and acts as an extra flasher all built into one nice little package. Cost is just under $400.

[Fred3]

In regards to the Garmin GPS chip.How would u rate the new map to old lake master? Is it fairly clear to read? Good definition and accuracy? I suppose they sell a seperate lake of the woods map? I really like Reeds, I used to swing in when I was working the eelpout festival in walker. It was a good time.

[Hawg]

Navionics phone app. For $15 you can get Canada on it too. It does everything a big one does and is very easy to carry.

[Iceboy]

Do you have a smart phone? The Navionics app works great for $5, and you can download maps for offline use if you don't have service out on the lake. I seldom use my GPS when I can use my phone instead. They look like the same maps as the Lakemaster and Garmin Upper Midwest lake maps to me (I have all of them).

I just got a Nexus 7 and loaded the Navionics app up - looks great and is still cheaper than an eTrex. Along with it being a fully-functional, kick silly-me tablet! Driving around a lake looking at a beautiful 7" display of contours is pretty amazing...

[Portlis]

This is a topic that interests me greatly, since I've been wanting something similar.

But all of you clearly know more about this sort of thing than I do. Would anyone be so kind to explain exactly how something like this works? I'm talking really basic stuff, stuff you probably expect everyone would know and only stupid newbies like me don't. Pretend you're explaining it to your grandma or something lol.

I've never owned a GPS unit at all and never used that navionics app (heck, I don't even have a smart phone).

[Blackhawkxp]

I own a Dakota series with the Garmin Upper Midwest chip. I use this for fishing only but i believe there are road maps available as well. This model doesn't have the greatest display but you can track your routes when trolling crank baits on the depth contours. It also helps when ice fishing as you don't have to drill a million holes to try to find the depth you want to fish. I think the map chip is around $100 which i thought was overpriced until you see some of the HD quality (1 foot depth lines) lake maps that are on there. You can also link to your computer to mark way points you may want to try. My unit is water proof but does not float like some models. I am happy with the Dakota for what i paid but there are better units available for higher price tags. Like everything it depends on your budget and what you need from the unit. I would not pay retail for this unit but last year around this time they had a significant discount on them. Not sure if that will be the case this year.

[Lusid]

RE Navionics + Cellphones.

I've started to notice my phone not working in certain temperatures. So I'm leery of using just the phone when I'm on the ice. And with the GPS, I'm accurate within 9 feet.. plus I use it for hiking / camping trips out in the boundary waters/duluth.. so it's a multi-purpose tool.

[Fred3]

Yeah, I have a Dakota20 with the old lakemaster and a smart phone. And I found out I am getting a Nexxus 7 for Christmas. (Wink,Wink) I was checking for my brother who is getting one cause his H20 is on the way out . Thanks for the heads up on the Navionics download. That would be handy when I am checking out lakes in the Hwy2 corridor or on low.

[leech~~]

I'm sure the phone app's are cool and all. But I sure don't get phone service ever where I go fishing around this state and just would not be without a real GPS with a map.

[Mracekvb23]

Thanks for all of the input guys! I think for $10, I'll start with the Navionics app since I have an iPhone and see if I like it... I can always go up from there! I assume you can store hot ice spots on there as well?

Lastly, how accurate are these GPS units? Meaning, how close to the original spot will you get the next time you come back to that hotspot? Each device differs probably?

[Fred3]

Portlis,

I would have to agree with Blackhawkxp. I pickedup a dakota 20 because they had a good deal on the bundle. I would rather have the Garmin Oregon series with the larger screen but was out of my price range. But I have had my dakota 20 for a couple years now and have gotten past some of its down falls which was mainly the small 2.8" wide screen. Highlights of it were ease of use and fairly good detail and readability for its size. Would recommend you keep it on the inside pocket of your coat because in very cold temps it will get a little slow on the touch screen but not to bad. Unit is also very rugged which is nice because I have dropped it down the steps once or twice . last I checked Cabelas had the Dakota bundle for around 175.00 or 180.00 which is reasonable.

[ice_medic]

I have both a hand held gps and my phone they are about the same for accuracy. Granted my gps is an older h2o but my phone with the navionics app is about the same. The navionics app is nice too because all I have to do is download the maps and when I am in an area with no service which happens a lot the phone works as a standalone gps. Once the maps are downloaded you don't need service anymore unless you use a background on them.

[Iceboy]

It is true that phones don't like the cold, so I need to keep it in my pocket. And I do own a dedicated GPS for the BWCA and other areas where I won't have access to a charge since battery life is always an issue (along with waterproofness). But for driving/walking around a frozen lake for a day you can't beat the Navionics app on a smartphone or tablet. It's that good for a fraction of the cost of a GPS, and way easier to read to boot.

[Reverence]

I bought the Garmin 450t handheld GPS ($200) and the Garmin Lake Vision North Central ($100). The Garmin chip is awesome, shows very detailed contours of every lake including the bigger lakes in MN. Just make sure you get a landyard.

[BigDogRob]

I would say if you can get a GPS with chip for $300 then you are doing well. That would be with a touch screen. I have the Navionics app for my phone also and have found that it drains my phone pretty quickly! Summer or winter. Winter is worse with the cold! I have both, so I bring both with. Just in case...lol I have noticed that some of the big lakes are a little better at showing contours with the handheld, but I think that is just due to the chip not the unit. I also used my handheld in the boat this summer and found that it isn't as nice as using a mounted unit in a boat, but saves me from dumping $500 to get what I want. Either way I have found that having all kinds of equipment hasn't made me catch bigger fish or more often. They don't tell you what they are biting on that specific day...that would make you a millionaire!

[DarthBaiter]

Sorry, I'm a bit ignorant to this topic as well. If you used a nexus 7 and a downloaded app wouldn't you need wifi out on the lake or how would the gps work along with the map app?