My Boat Journey – GPS and Fish Finder equal Success
July 1, 2021
I have been immersed in learning my new boat and all its components and features. It has been taking a while, but it certainly has been fun. The main electronics on the boat align to my Garmin GPSMAP 8612xsv. This device is the hub for the entire boat supporting GPS navigation, fish finding sonar, compass and boat engine management functions. The main components of the Garmin that I use the most are GPS and the sonar functions. The alignment of GPS marks and charts with relief shading has been a huge contributor to my fishing success this season. I find that using the Active Captain application on my phone to read bottom contours and relief mapping data has been extremely helpful in me finding and catching more fish than I would be able to otherwise.
My Setup
I upgraded the boat standard unit to this one which has much more functionality and room to add functions such as radar. This unit comes with advanced bottom mapping data including relief shading which helps identify possible fishing spots. It connects to your phone via wifi to provide system updates and Active Captain functions which I mention below.
- Garmin GPSMAP 8612svx – https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/799061/pn/010-02092-50
- Transducer 1 – Garmin GM51 (down and side imaging) – I added this unit as a dealer installed option to get the additional sonar functionality to enhance capabilities for fishing.
- Transducer 2 – Garmin B60 (standard imaging)
Active Captain
The Garmin Active Captain functionality is my favorite function of the Garmin unit. You can connect your phone to the 8612 via WiFi for the following features:
User Data Phone Sync – With this feature you can sync waypoints and routes from your phone to the GPS unit. I use this a lot as I do research on fishing spots and locations from my phone when away from the boat. When I reconnect they automatically sync to the 8612.
Device Updates – Garmin often updates the software and firmware running the 8612. These updates resolve software bugs and add new functionality. With Active Captain on your phone you can check for updates and apply them easily without the need of a memory card or laptop.
Map Updates – As with the device updates, Garmin periodically updates their maps. These can be downloaded and updated to the unit right from the Active Captain phone application.
Active Captain Community – The Active Captain community is a user supported database of information important to the boating community. As of this writing, the Active Captain community has data for 148,443 Reviews, 18,079 Marinas, 4,733 Hazards and 13,058 Anchorages.
Smart Notifications – Are the ability to link your phone via Bluetooth to your GPS unit. This allows the GPS to provide notifications for email, text messages, etc. from your phone to the GPS. I tried this feature, but found this to be too chatty and turned it off, but for those with a more quiet phone it might make sense.
How to Customize
One of the excellent features of the 8612 is the ability to customize it for your needs. You can create data bars, integration with other devices, combo charts and alerting to match the features that you need.
Data bars supply the ability to provide data overlays for items such as speed, heading, fuel status and many others on top of the GPS screen. This can be placed on the top, side, or bottom of the screen as you see fit.
Combo charts can be customized to supply up to 6 different data screens as split views on the 8612. You can add items such as navigation, traditional sonar, side imaging sonar, among others all on one screen. Obviously as you add screens to your combination the sizing becomes harder to read, but I find that 2 or 3 combos to be the best for my 12 inch screen.
Alerts can be setup for various items such as shallow water, deep water, fish identified, anchor drag, navigation alerts. I use the anchor drag alert to help assure that I have properly set the anchor and am not drifting once it is set.
SUMMARY
Tight lines … Captain P.