# Navionics vs Reef Recon/TroutSupport



## tank02 (Sep 12, 2006)

Which is better and why?


----------



## Sgrem (Oct 5, 2005)

Its not an either or....its both. 
Navionics gives much greater detail of contour depths and satellite overview so you can see the land and channel details.
Reef Recon overlays on your existing map to show the reefs and shell and where to focus your fishing efforts.


----------



## tank02 (Sep 12, 2006)

As a newbie boater and fishing the different bay systems along the texas gulf coast, would it benefit me to buy the reef recon or navionics? Or both?


----------



## Sgrem (Oct 5, 2005)

Both.
Two very different tools and they compliment each other. And yes you need both. They are way cheap for what you get.


----------



## tank02 (Sep 12, 2006)

Sgrem said:


> Both.
> Two very different tools and they compliment each other. And yes you need both. They are way cheap for what you get.


Thanks for the input!


----------



## sniderr1974 (May 29, 2018)

Sgrem said:


> Both.
> Two very different tools and they compliment each other. And yes you need both. They are way cheap for what you get.


Absolutely agree, trout support helped me learn the bay and get me to places I never would have gone with just navionics. Shows cuts you would never know are there.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


----------



## 400Watts (Apr 23, 2021)

I have reef recon. But I need help reading it


----------



## c hook (Jul 6, 2016)

400Watts said:


> I have reef recon. But I need help reading it


have you reached out to Tobin, he'll gladly teach you how to read it.


----------



## 400Watts (Apr 23, 2021)

Does anyone have Tobins ph#


----------



## will-billy (Dec 23, 2018)

Please excuse this stupid question, I had a navionics card that went out of date but it still showed data, I sent that card in for a rebate and updated card.
It went out of date again and this time it said I was in Huntsville Tx when we hit the water at POC, can anyone explain whats going on other than my subscription expiring?


----------



## troutsupport (May 22, 2006)

I don't know for sure but maybe keep that Navionics card away from devices such as phones or strong magnets.. they are susceptible to being corrupted when near a strong magnetic or electromagnetic source. Other than that you'll likely just have to check in with Navionics on that one bud. And just because your subscription to them ends doesn't mean they would cause your card to display inaccurately. If you're GPS unit is showing you in Huntsville ... that's a GPS unit problem and you need to contact the manufacturer.


----------



## troutsupport (May 22, 2006)

400Watts said:


> Does anyone have Tobins ph#


PM sent.. 

Likely causes of not reading it right are not editing the layer's colors. Some anglers have installed a version that has default (drk red) colors for all the layers and there are instructions on how to edit the colors; it's not hard but has to be done. Simply select the layer in the tracks tab (ie Danger Shallow Red) .. once in an editting dialog window for that color select the most appropriate color for that layer (listed in the name ie Red), and then save or exit such as the case with the Garmins. Sometimes the connecting lines on the Garmin file (unfortunately we were not able to remove those, even had discussions with Garmin. It is what it is) but I'll for sure help anyone learn how to read it. Both Lowrance / Simrad version and Garmin / Humminbird versions have the same exact reef data and it's super accurate.. less than 3m accuracy of the reef edges and that's pretty tight for mapping something like an hidden underwater oyster reef edge. 

Oddly someone the other day said that Reef Recon is the same as Hot Spot waypoints. ... It's NOT. The difference is that Reef Recon shows the actual reef boundary ... HotSpot gives the waypoint and only the waypoint of the reef. It's the difference between knowing the size and shape of the golf green vs just having a pin flag and NOT knowing anything about the size of the green or shape of it or anything. Hot spots has a map that you can open in google maps but not on the unit. That's a BIG difference. No offense to Hot Spots.. I've always respected their work I just wanted to make what we all needed and finally had the technology to do; We now can see the actual reef boundary on the unit  and see where your boat is in relation to that boundary. Somedays the fish are right on the edge in the broken mix of mud and shell and not on the reef at all. Some of the older reefs only have good shell on the edge... so it's super important to know where that is. It's also super important to know the boundary of the shallow reefs so we don't hit them.


----------



## jwslaw (Jan 31, 2006)

sounds like you need a card to get the Navionics info into a Garmin unit? Never had a card just received the data over the internet and then downloaded the area we would fish before going out for a pretty cool set up where there was a transducer and a black box in the transom that sent the GPS and sonar signal to a wireless device, in my case a tablet. worked well.....for about $300 you had a GPS/Sonar split screen of the size that normally would cost thousands. Just have to make sure the wireless device had a GPS independent of any internet connection.

but sold that boat and have new one with Garmin in the dash....slowly, very slowly figuring out how to use the Garmin.


----------



## troutsupport (May 22, 2006)

jwslaw said:


> sounds like you need a card to get the Navionics info into a Garmin unit? Never had a card just received the data over the internet and then downloaded the area we would fish before going out for a pretty cool set up where there was a transducer and a black box in the transom that sent the GPS and sonar signal to a wireless device, in my case a tablet. worked well.....for about $300 you had a GPS/Sonar split screen of the size that normally would cost thousands. Just have to make sure the wireless device had a GPS independent of any internet connection.
> 
> but sold that boat and have new one with Garmin in the dash....slowly, very slowly figuring out how to use the Garmin.


with Garmin someone can hook it up to a computer.. some of the newer Garmins and any of the new models of Lowrance, Simrad, and some others can all be hooked up wirelessly. Some GPS units in all brands come preloaded with navionics maps on them... so do not. For Reef Recon if someone knows how to set up their unit to connect to wifi then they can save the file to the card that's in the slot and skip the computer step (except for the Humminbird units most of them will require using Humminbird PC to import waypoint and reef boundaries etc etc.). Your set up using the tablet is different... and sounds like you're using Navionics ap on the tablet, and yes your fishing area on Navionics is downloaded straight over the internet to the Navionics ap. Totally different than using a chartplotter. I think they're all trying to close the gap, between chartplotter and computer or tablet. 

How's your screen brightness on the tablet on a super bright sunny day?


----------



## jwslaw (Jan 31, 2006)

troutsupport said:


> with Garmin someone can hook it up to a computer.. some of the newer Garmins and any of the new models of Lowrance, Simrad, and some others can all be hooked up wirelessly. Some GPS units in all brands come preloaded with navionics maps on them... so do not. For Reef Recon if someone knows how to set up their unit to connect to wifi then they can save the file to the card that's in the slot and skip the computer step (except for the Humminbird units most of them will require using Humminbird PC to import waypoint and reef boundaries etc etc.). Your set up using the tablet is different... and sounds like you're using Navionics ap on the tablet, and yes your fishing area on Navionics is downloaded straight over the internet to the Navionics ap. Totally different than using a chartplotter. I think they're all trying to close the gap, between chartplotter and computer or tablet.
> 
> How's your screen brightness on the tablet on a super bright sunny day?


thank you for the info, it's all a bit complicated to me, but I am pretty sure this Garmin we have (newer version...came installed on a 2021 boat) has a slot for that SD card you mention. so i could download the Reef Recon onto a card and then just plug it into the Garmin? Not so sure myself or anyone I know is savy enough to get the Garmin connected to wifi

very interested in getting the Reef Recon onto the Garmin, possible prior to this weekend's adventures.

and yes, the tablet ran off the Navionics and worked quite well. it was a pretty cool system for under $500 total outlay, especially having a nice large screen like the unit that cost way more, but also, the tablet was admittedly difficult to see in the sun, but then again I cannot really read any of these devices without my old man glasses. 

for anyone interested, the tablet set up along with the transducer/sending unit (a Vexilar Sonar Phone they call it) is a really nice option for smaller boats where you may not necessarily have any place to mount a GPS/sonar unit. It is just very important that the tablet has a GPS that runs independent from the internet/wifi ....I used a Simbans Tango Tab, and it took a beating, plenty of water got on it, including saltwater, and three years later it still works fine. 

or on a larger boat, the tablet set up could be a good second option ....I think i heard you just have to be careful when mounting multiple transducers so they don't interfere with each other.


----------

