Garmin GPS

[swmndeerhunter]

I'm looking to get a GPS unit for both elk hunting and for ice fishing. I'm leaning towards the Garmin 64s, but I can't find anywhere it talks about it using or being compatible with lake maps. Anyone have experience with this model and perhaps using Navionics with it? I have the app on my phone but would like to use the GPS to mark waypoints too.

[bobbymalone]

That garmin unit will run garmin's lake maps. It won't run navionics.

For our area, the map set for that garmin 64s is the "upper midwest fishing guide"

In the past garmin has offered an "st" model that comes with built in topo maps. Might be helpful if you are elk hunting.

[BobT]

Upper Midwest Fishing Guide is very good. It is basically the upgraded version of LakeMaster and covers MN, ND, SD, IA, WI, IL, and MI.

You can find Garmin compatible land topos as well as many other Garmin compatible maps at GPSFileDepot. The Minnesota Topo is pretty detailed.

[swmndeerhunter]

Looks like the Upper Midwest Fishing Guide has way less lake in Minnesota that have the 1 foot increments. Just crazy they want $150 for it with such a limited amount of HD lakes. Looking like I might have to scratch the idea of getting my own to use for ice fishing as well and just borrow a buddies for my 1 week elk hunt.

[BobT]

I just checked and Upper Midwest Fishing Guide had been discontinued. Upper Midwest Fishing Guide provides navigational quality maps of just about any popular lake in Minnesota to my knowledge. Any popular lake I have used it on does. It last sold for $99.00 direct from Garmin. Are you sure you're not looking at Blue Chart or Lake Vu?

[MN Mike]

Bob is right, the Upper Midwest Fishing Guide was discontinued some time ago, it can still be had out there on the auction sites or occasionally amazon but it's getting harder to find, that chip never costed more than $119.00 that I ever saw ( and recently for about $80 ), I know the LakeVu is more expensive and not well suited for our area. If you can find the Upper Midwest Fishing Guide somewhere, I would snap it up, its a great chip and has a lot of road data on it.

Garmin released a Hunting chip last fall called the HuntView Maps, it brings a lot of data into one view, Birdseye imagery, Topo data, Road and land boundries, looks like a good product for the mountain hunter.

The Garmin GPSMap 64s is a great GPS, you won't be disappointed, get Garmins' free Basecamp software and you can do a lot of scouting ( fishing and hunting ) and waypoint management.

Mike

[swmndeerhunter]

You're right BobT, I was looking at their Lake Vu stuff. Not having much luck finding a Upper Midwest Fishing Guide chip, but wondering if for Minnesota if that chip is any different than the only Garmin Lakemaster Minnesota chip? I have one of them from probably 5-6 years ago and remember it didn't have any of the lakes around me in 1 foot increments either.

[aanderud]

upper midwest fishing guide is still available on fleabay. I got mine on fleabay brand new for like $40ish less than a year ago. It's a bit less common now that it's a year later but I still see at least a half dozen on there.

[MidCoast]

I run Lakemaster on my Garmin but I did buy the set up a few years ago.

[BobT]

You're right BobT, I was looking at their Lake Vu stuff. Not having much luck finding a Upper Midwest Fishing Guide chip, but wondering if for Minnesota if that chip is any different than the only Garmin Lakemaster Minnesota chip? I have one of them from probably 5-6 years ago and remember it didn't have any of the lakes around me in 1 foot increments either.

A lot better. Not only does my copy (last version of it before it was discontinued) have a lot more updated navigational quality coverage but they also added most if not all of the DNR contours for smaller lakes that my version of LakeMaster (v3) had, which of course are not navigational quality but better than nothing. Pair the Fishing Guide with BaseCamp and you've got a pretty nice match in my opinion.