Fishing Hot Spots Maps and Navionics Announce New GPS Fishing Maps
There hasn’t been a breakthrough product in fishing for a long time. Until now. Fishing Hot Spots‚ HotMaps‘ by Navionics will feature freshwater lake contour and structure information in both handheld and fixed mount GPS units. In making the announcement, Fishing Hot Spots, Inc. (FHS) and Navionics plan to have the product available this summer.
“The recent announcement of turning off the selective availability for GPS users is causing many people to look at these devices again, ” said Mike Michalak, FHS president. “Our announcement with Navionics should put potential buyers over the top because this kind of information isn’t found anywhere else.”
Navionics designs, manufactures and markets marine electronic chart systems for commercial, recreational and governmental use. The company has built the largest “seamless” marine electronic chart database in the world, consisting of over 20,000 nautical charts, available in hundreds of cartridges. This is their first venture into the U.S. freshwater fishing market.
FHS brings a database of more than 500 maps to the arrangement, providing detail that’s never been available before in marine electronics. “This really is a breakthrough,” according to Lisa Thimas, marketing/sales VP for Navionics. “Getting to freshwater anglers was a priority for us and everywhere we looked for data we ran into Fishing Hot Spots.” The company plans to have some of the nation’s premier waters ready for use this season. All existing Navionics compatible products will be able to use this new data including Garmin, Lowrance, Raytheon, Si-Tex, Northstar and Furuno.
“Anglers have combined using their electronics with a map for success both on and off the water,” Michalak said. “This kind of pre-planning is key to getting more fish in the boat. At home you can use the two to mark prime locations. Once on the water you won’t waste a lot of time looking for fish.”
For more information visit the Fishing Hot Spots booth at the ICAST/BassMasters Classic Outdoor Show at McCormick Place in Chicago, July 20-23.
By: Mike Michalak
