Iowa DNR maintains a catalog of habitat structures installed in Iowa lakes, as well as other important features. This data is available via downloadable GPX file.
How to download and use the fishing structure file for GPS units (Windows 10)
- Left click on the “Catalog of Habitat Structures” icon.
- Open File Explorer using the menu bar on the Windows Desktop. Make sure you see a file named “FishingStructures”.
- Open the software your GPS unit uses. For example, if you are using a Hummingbird depth finder, you need to open the Hummingbird PC software to open the “FishingStructures” file.
- Open the “FishingStructures” file from the download folder using the GPS software and save to an SD card.
- Insert the SD card into the GPS unit or upload the “FishingStructure” file as indicated in the instructional manual of the GPS unit.
Catalog of Habitat Structures - Download as GPX The saved file "FishingStructures.gpx" should be universally useable on most GPS units.