Humminbird Mapping

[flatgo]

I am trying to figure out what the best mapping is for a humminbird is in montana.  Navionics VS Lakemaster.  The humminbird base maps are garbage and I am curious if lakemaster non detailed maps have more detail then the basemaps.  I know lakemaster is better in the midwest, but montana does not have as high quality of mapping.  Navionics has a chartplotter online that you at least have a preview.  Just curious if anyone has had any experience with either one. 

[slamber]

I have Navionics and Lakemaster chips and use both for MT. I prefer to use the Lakemaster chips since I have Humminbird units but it's nice to have both since sometimes the lake won't be on the Lakemaster chip but is on the Navionics chip. Detail/accuracy depends on the lake but in general they're about the same. Lakemaster has features that Navionics doesn't when using them on a humminbird. The Navionics web app is nice to be able to check lake availability and do desktop planning. You can check the lake list for the Lakemaster chip to see if the lakes you're interested in are available. Lakemaster has a ton of MT lakes available, so most likely the lakes you fish will be on there.

https://johnsonoutdoors.widen.net/content/ebcsfk4vgi/pdf/ll-lm-west1-600011-4.pdf

[pmmpete]

Which lake maps are best for you may depend on which system has the best maps for the lakes where you fish the most.  You can check out the Navionics maps all over the country and off-shore on the Navionics web app at https://webapp.navionics.com/?lang=en#boating@6&key=yctzGh%7DfhT.  There is a list of the lake maps available on the Lakemaster system at https://johnsonoutdoors.widen.net/content/skjtiin3ph/pdf/chart-list-western-states-v1.pdf. However, before you review the list of lake maps available in Montana, check out the legend in the upper right corner of the first page of the list.  Non-bold denotes standard definition surveys, bold denotes HD lakes, bold italic denotes HD LakeMaster surveyed lakes, and * denotes new or remapped lakes. In Montana, there are only 11 lakes which have HD maps. All the rest are standard definition surveys, which on the lakes where I fish are basically worthless. From pictures I have seen of high definition LakeMaster maps, they appear to have comparable detail to the Navionics maps, so if you do most of your fishing on a lake which is covered by a high definition LakeMaster map, you may be OK on that lake.  But if your favorite lakes aren't covered by one of the 11 HD Lakemaster maps, you'd be better off with the Navionics maps.  I do a lot of fishing on Flathead Lake, and Lakemaster only has a standard definition survey of that lake, which is junk. I went fishing on Flathead Lake with a friend who had just bought the LakeMaster maps, and discovered that the standard definition maps of that lake are less than worthless.  They look like a child was given a crayon and told to draw a couple of lines parallel to the lakeshore.  For example, at the northwest corner of Finley Point, the LakeMaster map doesn’t show the line of mounds up to 150 feet high which extends to the northwest from the point (from 200 feet up to 50 feet, and extending for about 3/4 of a mile, so they aren't a trivial underwater feature).  LakeMaster's contour lines just follow the shoreline of the point. When I saw the LakeMaster map, I thought that the fishfinder had failed to connect to the map card, and I was seeing the base map which came with the fish finder, but it turns out that that’s what LakeMaster’s “Standard Definition Survey” of Flathead Lake looks like. 
 

[flatgo]

pmmpete, for flathead lake is navionics better than lakemaster?  the only high def lake I fish is canyon ferry, Lakemaster has all the lakes i fish, but they are there low level mapping, and i am wondering if it is the same as navionics, or just humminbird basemap quality.

[pmmpete]

pmmpete, for flathead lake is navionics better than lakemaster?  the only high def lake I fish is canyon ferry, Lakemaster has all the lakes i fish, but they are there low level mapping, and i am wondering if it is the same as navionics, or just humminbird basemap quality.

Yes, for Flathead Lake the Navionics map is absolutely better than the LakeMaster map.  You can see the Navionics map of Flathead on the Navionics Web App at https://webapp.navionics.com/?lang=en#boating@6&key=yctzGh%7DfhT.

[flatgo]

Thanks I have messed around with Navionics web app.  the hard part is Lakemaster does not have a web app so comparing is hard.  your help is exactly what i needed.

thanks!

[Jim F]

As mentioned by others, I use Lakemaster and Navionics maps.
Both have advantages. Navionics sucks for some lakes but for the most part it is better all around
and is MUCH better for Flathead, Our lakes here dont change very much, I bought the Navionics chip used from ebone for 50 bucks
or you can download their app for ~12 bucks or so a year.
Its going to depend on where you fish. I'm in Kalispell, I found I needed both to cover the lakes I fish

[wyogator]

I use both, but prefer Lakemaster.  I think for the high def lakes, Lakemaster probably has Navionics beat.  I think for other lakes, it doesn’t matter.  My problem with the Navionics chip (not the phone app) is that they give you a free year of updates and “enhanced features” like colored fishing depth settings, which come standard on Lakemaster.  Then, you have to renew the subscription for $100 a year.  If you don’t renew, you lose the updates and features.  With Lakemaster, you just buy the chip.  You lose nothing after a year.  You don’t get updates, but don’t really need them.  Our lakes don’t really change.  If I were living on the coast where shorelines and sandbars constantly change, I would totally do the $100 yearly subscription for the updates.  But what really irks me, is that after a year with Navionics, you lose those features like the colored fishing depth.  That is crucial for me to be able to highlight a certain depth range.  These features stay on Lakemaster for as long as you own the chip.