Navionic App

[BisoNation]

has anyone bought the $9.99 Navionic App on your phone?

I heard its awesome and pretty much competes with your $199 garmin or whatever gps you use.

i was just curious

[loadmaster]

Yes and yes

[BisoNation]

cool, im in!

[Deet]

It's funny how people turn their nose up at a ten dollar app, when you wouldn't think twice about buying a 100 dollar handheld GPS with a lake chip (and you'll never find one for that price).

Anyway, the app is good. Probably overall, my lakemaster chip in my Garmin has better lake maps, but the Garmin screen is much smaller than my iPhone, the Navionics app has ALMOST all the same maps and details as lakemaster (and even has maps for some lakes that Lakemaster lacks), and it's only TEN BUCKS to add it to a device you already have...

It's a no brainer.

And actually, if you fish any of the larger ontario lakes at all, or think you might, pay an extra $5 to get the US & Canada version.

Last fall I used just my cell phone, plugged into a charger, to navigate Sabaskong Bay, LOTW. It worked fine. I do that all summer long fishing in MN too. Just leave my phone on the dash, and it's like having a (albeit small) separate screen for your lake map.

[Chill62]

I downloaded the trial version and I couldn't zoom in like I was hoping. The spots I tried to find the map didn't match what I was seeing and finding. It was awesome turning my phone on driving to where I wanted to fish but the accuracy wasn't there. Maybe the full version is different but I also didn't want to save my spots and them being uploaded to every person who has the app to see where my pins are at.

[jhinky]

now you use your phone as a fish finder graph too. With a extra part your buy from Navco.

Got it in my email from them.

[loadmaster]

How do other people see your pins? If that was the case, maps would be full

[Chill62]

There is a setting that shares your spots. If none of yours are being shared then the setting is probably turned off. I was seeing some from a few years old but some were within the week and when I went out there and got near them you could see holes in the area.

[Flaco651]

I downloaded the trial version and I couldn't zoom in like I was hoping. The spots I tried to find the map didn't match what I was seeing and finding. It was awesome turning my phone on driving to where I wanted to fish but the accuracy wasn't there. Maybe the full version is different but I also didn't want to save my spots and them being uploaded to every person who has the app to see where my pins are at.

It really depends on the body of water. Some just have a basic DNR map, which gives you a general idea and may not be as accurate. There are however a lot of lakes that are in High Def and they are usually pretty good. I've got community share turned off and have pins and tracks saved all over the place. Well worth the 10 bucks.

[Chill62]

When you zoom in how close can you get on your phone? I was like 170 feet was closest I could zoom in to. I tried it on Melissa and Sallie in DL area thought that would have been big enough waters. Melissa I tried finding a sunken island and wasn't even close.

[loadmaster]

Not sure if the free version has all the bells and whistles. If you go to the bottom of the screen, you have an option on what map you want to use,Govt Charts,Navionics,Sonar Charts. If you do not see them you have to get the downlaod. For ten bucks you can not go wrong. On small lakes that are not well fished I get good contour lines.

[Uncle Rico]

There is a lot more to it than whether or not the map for a particular lake shows "1 foot contours" or not.....many of these lakes with "1 foot contours" are nothing more than the DNR map from the 60's (or whenever) with intermediate contours scaled onto the map.

if you are familiar with how contours are created, its not real hard to pick out which lakes are scaled and which lakes have been actually surveyed....

My point is that just because the map shows up as 1' contours on your phone doesn't mean its any more accurate than the old hand drawn DNR maps. As a matter of fact, that's exactly what it is in many cases.

That being said...for $10 I have a hard time seeing how it could not be worth the money.

[RiverDewey]

Are the contour maps the same as what is on the web app version?

[C10]

I've had this app for a while now, since around 2012 I think. What bugs me is they stopped supporting the version I purchased (it no longer works) and rolled out a "new" version that it is basically the same app I already paid for. So essentially I had to pay another $10 for an app I already own, and I wonder how long it will be until they roll out another "new" version and charge me another $10. Don't get me wrong, $10 for this app is a bargain but if it's only going to work for a period of time I think they should state that up front.

[SkunkedAgain]

I've had it for the same amount of time, maybe a little longer. I'm still using the same Navionics app and only had to pay for it the first time. I love it. I now have a fancy graph on my boat but still use my phone when I'm in someone else's boat, want to look up a lake, or for ice fishing. It won't put me exactly on a spot, but I'm not looking for that. I'm looking to get in the right area and then hunt for the right spot the old fashioned way.

Great app for the money

[papadarv]

Got this app couple months ago, at $9.95 annual cost seemed like a good buy. I have it on my 7" android with GPS - super contour zoom detail with tracking. Went on Coon found the map similar to my 2010 LakeMaster chip, much like the DNR paper. Next day clicked The lake update and Coon updated the contours better than my V2 Contour Elite LakeMaster, which will cost $150 to update to V5. She-who-must-be-obeyed, now 46 years, gave me the Vexilar SonarPhone for Father's Day. This combo is amazing. I now do my own contour maps. (See my Vexilar + Navonics post on "open water"). Ottertail looks to be same as LakeMaster, yet to try it out, but I now have Walker contour detail not available on my contour elite. Nice Crappie and Gills in Walker.