Mapping Navionics

Navionics is one of the world's leading marine cartography companies, now owned by Garmin, providing detailed nautical charts and fishing maps for chartplotters and mobile devices. Navionics charts are compatible with fish finders from Garmin, Lowrance, Humminbird, Raymarine, and other brands, making them one of the most universally accessible mapping options available to anglers.

The Navionics+ product provides comprehensive charts on a microSD card with features including detailed depth contours at 1-foot intervals on surveyed waters, SonarChart — community-sourced depth data from thousands of anglers — that fills gaps in official survey coverage, daily map updates accessible through the companion app, aerial photography overlay, and custom depth range shading to highlight specific depth zones.

SonarChart is Navionics' crowd-sourced mapping initiative. When users contribute their sonar logs, the system processes the data into community bathymetric maps that continually improve in detail and accuracy. This is particularly valuable on smaller lakes, private waters, and regions where official survey data is limited. The more anglers contribute, the better the community maps become.

Navionics also offers a popular mobile app for phones and tablets that provides chart viewing, trip planning, and route creation that can be synced to your fish finder. The app is widely used for scouting new waters, studying contour maps at home, and planning fishing trips before heading to the boat. While the mobile app is useful for preparation, the mapping chip in your fish finder provides the on-water experience with full GPS integration.