# Best GPS for ENP? Iphone?



## touimet (Mar 11, 2014)

I have been trying to find the best GPS for navigating everglades national park for a while now. The best app I have found would be "Back Country Navigator" hands down. However I have the Iphone and sadly they do not offer it.

What are you guys running? Iphone users? 

What about regular GPS units such as garmin, what are you guys running and how has it been working?

I have a '14 IPB and want to explore a little more out there into areas I havent been and I would feel a lot more comfortable with a reliable GPS.

Any suggestions?


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## --AL-- (Nov 28, 2012)

You should get a "real" gps device for ENP, Garmin, Lowrance, whatever and use the iphone as backup. Personally, my Verizon I-phone does not work out there and my gf's at&t iphone works about 50% of the time. Squinting down at a phone you can barely see is also an awful way to navigate a place like Flamingo.

I take a Marine radio too, it's too easy to get stuck out there.


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## Jakeellington (Oct 21, 2009)

I am not experienced using the app in the Everglades area but if you want to use an ipad or iphone as a GPS in areas without cell coverage they make Blue Tooth enabled GPS antenna. I have this one made by Dual. 
http://www.amazon.com/Dual-Electronics-XGPS150-Discontinued-Manufacturer/dp/B004M3BICU

I bought this unit over a year ago so there may be better ones on the market?

Turn your phone on airplane mode to save battery and connect this to the phone via Bluetooth. 

As for the app I use the navionics app. It is suppose to be the same software used on any of the regular GPS units using Navionics.


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## larryg (Dec 11, 2013)

I wouldn't waste your time, nothin to see down there....


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## touimet (Mar 11, 2014)

Hahaha nothing to catch either huh? I've been fishing down there for years but I want to explore new spots. Thanks for all the advice, specific model of GPS y'all swear by?


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## --AL-- (Nov 28, 2012)

> I wouldn't waste your time, nothin to see down there....





> Hahaha nothing to catch either huh? I've been fishing down there for years but I want to explore new spots. Thanks for all the advice, specific model of GPS y'all swear by?


What he means is that most fish are way out in the Gulf. If actually want to catch something you should avoid ENP in general.


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## larryg (Dec 11, 2013)

Haha! In all seriousness, we use a handheld Garmin 78sc. 

Have run many times to the gulf side, via the interior, along with trips way up into the interior. it is pretty accurate, and has served us well.


Nothing fancy, but neither is my ride


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## touimet (Mar 11, 2014)

> Haha! In all seriousness, we use a handheld Garmin 78sc.
> 
> Have run many times to the gulf side, via the interior, along with trips way up into the interior. it is pretty accurate, and has served us well.
> 
> ...


I appreciate it, that one looks pretty good at a decent price..


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## --AL-- (Nov 28, 2012)

I'm using a Garmin 421s. Not too happy with the upload download process via the sd card and I'll admit I have never caught a fish inshore due to a fish finder finding a fish for me. I think having a depth finder is important however.

Get the cheapest thing that works. Don't get wooed by "features" you're just not gonna use.


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## coconutgroves (Sep 23, 2013)

I use Garmin and Raymarine with Navionics charts. Garmin is good, though some of the older units are a bit slow on the processing side and their mapping software can be a bit tedious.

Have a buddy that uses Navionics on his Ipad. Has a waterproof case. You can download the app and get updates online through your browser. Pretty slick. I am using the Dragonfly 7" widescreen on my v-hull - that is a sounder/gps though. You might want to take a look at the Navionics stuff, or just get an up to date Garmin. I have a 546 that does the trick for me in my skiff.

Actually, I have a 441 I am about to sell on Ebay. Shoot me a PM if interested. Comes in box with maps.


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## lemaymiami (Feb 9, 2007)

A few comments about gps and the backcountry... I used to teach a brief course in gps for fishing use at my local West Marine. One of the first things I'd point out is that, no matter how much you paid.... all of them had one common characteristic. No gps will give you the slightest warning before it quits (if that's going to happen -these days units are much more reliable -but anything used in saltwater.....). That means you're smart not to go up into areas you couldn't get out of if your machine quits on you. You'd also better have a current chart and a working compass...

Now for the fun stuff.... marine charts for the backcountry are seldom updated by current surveys and many features up inside are kind of temporary at best. I can think of at least a half dozen islands that have disappeared in the last twenty years in Whitewater Bay alone... You just learn to live with it and remember that storms can change things quite a bit on you.

An additional bit of info about chips for one machine or other can be found in this thread on another site....

http://forums.floridasportsman.com/showthread.php?153523-Navionics-sonar-scans-before-and-after


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## paint it black (Nov 3, 2007)

For the iPhone, download the Navionics app. It works great. I use mine as a back up to run around Flamingo, I have used it to navigate to and from tarpon bay, to Islamorada and back. It works great. I had a Garmin 441 on my skiff as my primary device, but now that I sold that skiff and am running this simple tiller skiff now, I've used the Navionics app for stuff like speed limit and tide tables. But compared to a GPS, it is the same exact charts as the Navionics Maps. You do not need to have signal for it to work either, as it works off the internal GPS on your iPhone. 

You have all the features as well, it tells you tides, marinas, fuel stations, restaurants you can access, set tracks, waypoints amongst other things. And for $10 you cannot beat it. 

I have the East Coast inland and nearshore version. You can buy the app with full charts for the full US for like $50. 


Give it a shot, you will not be disappointed!


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## sm20cf (Apr 26, 2013)

iPhone apps for navigating ENP. My the times they are a changing... 
Do it the right way, share a beer with the guys who have done it for 25 years, poke the bottom of river mouths with your pushpole and find the hard bottom=fish, understand the direction river water flows as it pertains to inside/outside river bends, get a compass etc. Don't short change yourself and there's no substitute for sweat equity!


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## sotilloa1078 (Mar 27, 2014)

Garmin Echomap 50 is a great unit with a quick refresh on your location so minimal lag while navigating the back country. My .02 

Tidesright


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## mikeregas (Mar 15, 2013)

Garmin GPSMap 441 is great and easy to use.


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## tailchaser16 (Sep 23, 2008)

which part of ENP are you asking about? Out of Flamingo or Chokoloskee? 
I get by on a discontinued Garmin 276C for Flamingo, for Chokoloskee, Maui Jims, a hat and years of knowledge gets me where I need to go. As Bob said, islands appear and other disappear and bars shift or grow over time.


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## paint it black (Nov 3, 2007)

I ran Flamingo for a year without a GPS to help learn the area. Including the back. I remember charting out the route into Hell's Bay my first time ever to Flamingo on a jon boat. We figured it out, and were rewarded with 21 snook that day. It can be rewarding figuring it out without a GPS. 

I have also made the run from Flamingo to Islamorada at night without a GPS, going from instinct. After running the route so many times, my GPS decided to stop working one day. Made the run back perfectly fine, although running through a couple of those small winding channels were fun to say the least. 

Download the Navionics app.... You'll be glad you did...........


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## touimet (Mar 11, 2014)

Cpt. Lemay, very true, some of my favorite islands to pole around are up and gone. All the advice is great guys and I appreciate the info on the navionics maps Paint it Black. I think I am going to pull the trigger on that bad boy.

Thanks again guys! I'm gunna check out the 441 for the future. For now, I live in the $10 range.


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## MariettaMike (Jun 14, 2012)

I've used the GPS Kit app on my iPhone for a couple years for hunting and fishing including areas without cell coverage and never got lost. Even used it to mark my trap sets and never lost a trap.

Cache the satellite image of the area you're going, get a Mophie juice pack to extend battery life, and bring a 12v adapter and charger if you'll be overnight or longer.

A big towel to get under so you can see the screen in bright sun is helpful.

Bring a map, compass, and some surveyors flagging tape if you have to go old school.

As Capt Bob has previously posted,AT&T is the only cellular network available at Flamingo. Good out to about 10 miles.

http://gpskit.garafa.com/GPS_Kit/Overview.html


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## swampfox (May 9, 2007)

I have thought of using my IPad. But then every now and then my Apple devices will shut down due to heat. And I get this only when I leave it in the sun for a few minutes on hot days. You know kinda like fishing all day with your iPad  on your console in full sun definitely not the best most reliable set ups for small skiff with no shade. On a CC with a Ttop it would be great. Plus iPads completely blow. When it comes to reading in the sun. It's hard to navigate with a towel over your head and IPad while you navigate


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## touimet (Mar 11, 2014)

Thanks guys, I have the Navionics App and the mophie juice pack, went out last weekend and it was super accurate however sometimes the GPS connection was super spotty (Verizon). 

I step out of my comfort zone little by little... as anyone should out there.


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## Tommysmicroskiff (Jan 19, 2012)

Garmin GPS 72 Current chart + Compass 

Has never let me down "out there"


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## JRP (Sep 24, 2012)

West Marine still has the 441s on sale for 299 that's one hell of a savings.I have been running the 440s for years no problem love it.I bought the last 541s in any Miami store two weeks ago on sale for 399 was told there are still some 541s units in there Calif warehouse .Ive still seen the 441s in the Pinecrest ,Perrine, and Key Largo stores still for 299 within the week.I like the casing and feel of these units over the newer models they all update with a 2gb sd card from your home computer.Garmin is the best you can always get a tec. on the phone .As far as the glades we used to tie off toilet paper on any tricky intersections remove coming out,look for current flow and remember any irregularities in the tree line or any different plant life .Personally I wish they would turn off all GPS signals and cut off every marker from Flamingo to Everglades city .Stay out there is nothing back there except Mosquito s ,deer fly, and horse fly's.


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## swampfox (May 9, 2007)

Do you have a CC? Do you want a permanent GPS/sounder/finder? Or a handheld? I just use my Garmin as primary. And my I5 for finding those little creeks and bays way way back. When your charts show you in the woods on dry land. That's when you look to your phone


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## touimet (Mar 11, 2014)

I would love a mounted GPS but until I figure out a grab bar mount I am thinking just Handheld.


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