Navigation Information for Commercial Fishing on the Ohio River

To better assist commercial anglers fishing the Ohio River border with neighboring states, the Department has developed files that can be imported into a variety of Geographic Positioning System (GPS) navigation devices. These files may be used to better delineate the state boundary line between Kentucky and other states along the Ohio River.

Remember, the state of Ohio is closed to commercial angling and Kentucky commercial anglers must remain in Kentucky along the northern boundary with Ohio.

KDFWR is providing 3 different file formats, tab de-limited text, GPX, and KML. The files are in decimal degree format and the WGS84 datum. To download the file, right click on link below for the file you want to save to your computer. Select “Save Target As” (“Target” is the same as the GPS file). Save the file to your computer’s C: Drive or anywhere you can easily access it. Please remember this path as you will need it for transferring the file to your GPS unit.

At least one of these file types should be able to be imported to the majority of GPS navigation devices. Users should consult the manual for their unit to determine the best file type to use. In most cases it will require connecting a computer to the GPS device to transfer the data to it. There are many different units out there with many different software interfaces, so it would be difficult to create a general set of instructions.

The tab-delimited text file should be able to be imported into any gps device in the form of a track. The large number of points in the data (6,000-18,000) makes it difficult to import as a series of waypoints, so it is best to import it as a track. This file can be edited with any text editor (Wordpad, Word, etc.) to reduce the number of points.

The GPX format should work well for Garmin and Humminbird gps devices. In each case, you will need to have the PC interface cable and the software specific to the GPS device to upload the data. Some older GPS units may not ha​ve enough memory to hold the file, but most will. It is best to import the data as a track to save space.

The KMZ file can be opened directly in GoogleEarth. Once you have saved the file to your computer, just open GoogleEarth and use the FILE: OPEN command to open the file. It will automatically zoom to the extent of the line.

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