By Lance C. Valentine

I just returned home from a 4 week, 2-tournament road trip and was downloading the information from my GPS when I noticed how many icons I had used. Until a few years ago, icons were simply used to mark spots where fish had been caught. Since then the use of icons has increased-and so has my fishing success and navigation ability. At this point, I wouldn’t even consider buying a GPS that did not have the ability to use icons.

Icons are simply "symbols" that can be placed on your GPS. They are represented by several different symbols depending on the maker of your GPS. Objects such as a fish, anchor, flag, gas tank etc. can all be used to mark spots where something has happened. For this reason, icons are often called "event markers". Waypoints are often limited to the same symbol; so all waypoints look the same on the screen. Icons make it easy to distinguish what happened at each spot.

Icons are simple to use-usually only 1 or 2 keystrokes-and changing the symbol is also quite easy. For that reason I prefer icons to waypoints in several situations. If you try these suggestions, I am sure that you will get more information and enjoyment from your GPS.

First, icons are invaluable when marking a channel. The second tournament was on the St. Mary’s River at the Soo, which has 3 main channels for navigation. The first day of prefishing was partially used to mark these channels. At several points 2 of these channels intersect and lead to different parts of the river system. By using a different icon for each channel, I could easily know where I was and where I was heading. Another tip when marking channels with icons. Put your icons close together-I used one about every 100 feet-and put them in the middle of the channel. By doing this you can navigate the channel at night or in fog without fear of leaving the channel or hitting any buoys.

Second, and most important to big water fishermen, is using icons to mark spots where you are catching fish. But here’s the tip. Use a different icon each day for marking your hot spots. At the Au Gres tournament, and earlier this year on Lake Erie, this method helped us stay on large schools of walleye that were roaming throughout the deep basins. By using a different icon each day, you will be able to track the movement of the walleye or salmon school.

Let’s suppose that you catch some fish on day 1. Using "fish" icons you mark the area. On day 2 you return and the fish have moved. After some looking you begin catching fish ¾ mile north of day 1. Mark these fish with another symbol, perhaps a "flag". The same thing happens on day 3. Using "X" icons, you mark the hot areas and notice they are about ¾ mile north of day 2. Now you have a pattern! That school is moving ¾ mile north each day. If you can’t return to these fish for a few days, simply move ¾ mile north from your last set of icons ("X") for each day you didn’t fish-chances are pretty good that the school will be there. If you had used all the same icons, or waypoints to mark these fish, would this tendency have been as obvious?

Another great application for icons is when scouting for a hunting trip. Use different icons to mark game trails, bedding areas, feeding areas and spots where you saw game sign or tracks. By using several different symbols, you can look at the big picture of what is happening in the area you plan to hunt and can set up your blind or stand accordingly. Also, when tracking a shot animal, using different icons for hair, blood or tracks can make the tracking process much easier and faster.

If your GPS unit does not offer icons, you can still take advantage of using different symbols, although the process takes a little more time. Most units that do not offer icons allow the user to save a waypoint and then change the symbol used to represent that particular waypoint. By entering a waypoint editing menu, you can change the symbol assigned to a waypoint and get the same advantages as using icons.

Over the past couple years I have used icons more and more. Waypoints still get added for boat ramps, harbor entrances, campsites, tree stands and whenever a fishing or hunting area ends up with 3 or more icons. It is much easier to navigate to waypoints, but for increasing your catch, harvesting more game and following navigation routes, start using those icons.

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