# Are satellite overlays worth the hassle?



## MariettaMike (Jun 14, 2012)

jmrodandgun said:


> I've been running very high resolution custom built maps on my Lowrance for a while now and I'm starting to think it's a big waste of time and effort. I find myself reviewing printed maps rather than hovering over my GPS.
> 
> For those of you who have been running boats in shallow water for a long time, do you prefer a full Navionics suite rather than the satellite maps? I'm starting to think that the information provided in Navionics is far more useful than cramming a bunch of image data into a GPS card.


I prefer non-satellite images with waypoints for running on plane, but just spent over $1500 to have satellite images so I can see structure while on the pole or trolling motor.

"Depth perception" on satellite images is impossible, but you do learn what "colors" are rocks, grass, sand, etc...

Maybe that's why they have two card slots on most satellite image capable units.


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## Egrets Landing (Feb 11, 2016)

jmrodandgun said:


> I've been running very high resolution custom built maps on my Lowrance for a while now and I'm starting to think it's a big waste of time and effort. I find myself reviewing printed maps rather than hovering over my GPS.
> 
> For those of you who have been running boats in shallow water for a long time, do you prefer a full Navionics suite rather than the satellite maps? I'm starting to think that the information provided in Navionics is far more useful than cramming a bunch of image data into a GPS card.


Where do you run your rig and why do you find the imagery less useful than a map? And how could having imagery you can turn off if you like be a waste of your time and/or effort? Is there not a map with vector features you can see underneath the photos on your chip or that overlay the photos? I am not following that logic. Is the imagery you have on your map perhaps not so great for your area or not really appearing very hi res on your unit or perhaps looks all the same color of dull grey or blue or dark and dingy? 

To be most useful, it should be color, reasonably bright and reasonably representative of the actual typical water color, taken from a plane at lower water levels, and pretty clear with little to no pixilation at a zoom level of about 200'. I find most maps have vector features which are far less accurate than recent imagery because the imagery is what is actually there and the photos do not lie. You can't say that for so many drawn map features. It is particularly key when looking for flats and banks and the deepest runs around land masses. I would think that would be key in rapidly changing areas like Louisiana and I can attest when running in very challenging shallow areas around much of Florida, trying to do it just on a Navionics map is not possible and Garmin's maps are even worse. The web is full of complaints on gps map inaccuracies all over the SE with posts indicating user's boats on land masses when they are in the water and markers that are not shown in proper position and or are totally missing.


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## jmrodandgun (Sep 20, 2013)

The maps I've been using have a pretty high zoom range, enough to clearly see cars in parking lots at boat ramps. The big thing is, at least where I fish, is the satellite images are best when they are taken on a low tide or you run the risk of trying to cross cuts and ponds that appear on the map that otherwise wouldn't show up on the the Navionics maps. In a way Navionics is easier to follow while moving. It takes less time to process what you're seeing on the map. It's nice to be able to look ahead on a GPS with satellite imagery but when running on plane it's almost too cluttered. I've tried laying satellite imagery on top of the Navionics data which works well but again I find myself not really utilizing the imagery at that point. I almost prefer to do my scouting on a paper map and then drop a way point in Navionics. All the Navionics software I've used here in La has been pretty accurate and after running around enough I got a pretty good idea of when I can and can not cut across water that may be risky. 

Ideally I'd like to be able to switch back and forth. Navioncs for on plane navigation and satellite maps for everything else but unfortunately I haven't found a way to load navioncs onto my lowrance base map without using a separate card. 

I guess what I'm getting at is, is all that shoreline detail useful for actual navigation. I tend to lean towards no. The more simple the better while moving quickly.


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## Egrets Landing (Feb 11, 2016)

Not sure what chips you are running but it sounds to me like the imagery you have is not so good. In shallow water areas , I find good imagery is always far superior to any map but if the images are poor a map alone provides better information.


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## jmrodandgun (Sep 20, 2013)

They are taken right from google earth, so I'm not sure how they could be any better.


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## Egrets Landing (Feb 11, 2016)

They probably could be much better. But for lack of the detail on what specific chips you run, the size of the data set on the chip and the area it covers, it's hard to know for sure the reason your'e not finding what you were hoping for out of the images you have.


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## Vertigo (Jun 3, 2012)

There is absolutely positively no substitute for local knowledge, and for areas where I fish frequently, I have very little use for GPS in general. I'm fortunate that I live and fish in a very diverse and productive area, so I don't feel the need to travel much. I have dozens, if not dozens of dozens of spots that work for most combinations of season and tide and routes in my head that allow me to run with only reference to visual landmarks. My GPS gets most use as a speedometer for use in prop selection. OTOH, if I traveled a lot and fished in areas where I had little local knowledge, high resolution satellite overlays would be invaluable. So, the answer to the OP's original question, is that the importance of satellite overlays depends on where and how you fish.


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## jmrodandgun (Sep 20, 2013)

Vertigo said:


> if I traveled a lot and fished in areas where I had little local knowledge, high resolution satellite overlays would be invaluable.


You think so? Even for navigation? I'm leaning in the opposite direction. I really only use the sat maps in areas where I have a pretty good understanding of the landscape.

I like to scout with printed maps and/or google earth but if I'm running unfamiliar water I think prefer Navionics and sonar charts. One thing I do like is to crank up the contrast on the satellite maps so I can read them faster. I just feel less likely to try and cross something if it's not familiar or marked on a Navionics map. The featureless bottoms in a lot of our marsh can make navigating with satellite imagery tricky.


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## Egrets Landing (Feb 11, 2016)

jmrodandgun said:


> You think so? Even for navigation? I'm leaning in the opposite direction. I really only use the sat maps in areas where I have a pretty good understanding of the landscape.
> 
> I like to scout with printed maps and/or google earth but if I'm running unfamiliar water I think prefer Navionics and sonar charts. One thing I do like is to crank up the contrast on the satellite maps so I can read them faster. I just feel less likely to try and cross something if it's not familiar or marked on a Navionics map. The featureless bottoms in a lot of our marsh can make navigating with satellite imagery tricky.


When you are looking at poor imagery and processed at a low res output which is what Navionics does, it is no wonder you are uncomfortable running on their photos. But in so many dicey areas the base map is not much better. Try to run around 10,000 islands or the everglades or Homossassa on that and see how long it takes you to wreck or destroy your motor. If you have excellent imagery adjusted for contrast and brightness and enhanced with clear and highly accurate navigation information with highly accurate markers too, you can run around in most any place in the shallows safely if you pay attention. You won't find any of that on a Navionics chip.


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## jmrodandgun (Sep 20, 2013)

Alright


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