Lake Maps

[TNFL]

What are the best options out there for lake maps? I'm looking for something for Wright county(clearwater area) metro area and east metro area. The Sportsmans books are ok but they are just the cheesy DNR maps, don't know how acurate those are???

I don't have a fancy GPS/sonar system either.

[Deitz Dittrich]

my real advice.. get a fancy GPS/Sonar system... seriously, they are the cats meow!

[TNFL]

How much $ does a good one run for?

[Deitz Dittrich]

It really depends on how much you want to spend. If you already have a depth finder on your boat that you like.. You may just want to get a hand held unit like a Lowrance H20 or something along those lines. Eagle makes a few affordable units that have both depthfinder and GPS, I myself own a Lowrance LMS 480.. not sure what they retail for now?... Once you have your unit, the map cards will help a ton. I have the Navionics chip and love it. I know others have the Lakemaster one and equally love it.

The chips and a good gps really help you get to the spot on a spot.

[EBass]

You looking for hand held or GPS/Sonar combo graph?

Cheapest way is the hand held GPS Lowarance H2O (Color is a $100 more, but way worth it) then the lakemaster chip. Approx $320-360 (with color and chip) could check on hsolist or craigs list.

There's a new H20C+ but I don't know what the plus means. There are 4 models. Cabela's says price range of 169-369, and that's not with the chip.

But these hand helds are the da chit for ice fishing!! some lakes have 1 foot contours - that = spot on the spot.

[bassNspear]

is there a HSOforum that has maps. I want a hard copy of some lakes, along with my GPS!! I know the DNR page has them, but im looking for something good!!

[g_anoka]

While at Cabela's this weekend I noticed they had cd/roms with northern and southern MN lakes. I was curious on their qualtily, and if I could have transferred any of the info to my H2O.

[Deitz Dittrich]

B-N-S DNR has the maps... they are just htat though... there is also topozone. Its doog as it takes the usgs maps so you have land topo and water, but not sure how accurate. Lakemaster or Navionics are the real deal. On water, real time!.. I can fish without them!

[bassNspear]

Ya i know, I have Lakemaster, and i love it. But some lakes, i just like to have a hard copy in my hand.

[Dan Brelje]

Quote:

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Lakemaster or Navionics are the real deal. On water, real time!.. I can fish without them!

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if he meant to say can't i can agree now that i've used it

Love the new Navionics..Chisago Lakes area is golden on this chip. Not a complaint to be had

[TurnUpTheFishing]

Lakemaster has a CD-rom available that lets you print out lake maps or sections of the lakes and point and click gps locations. I believe its about $100. Ganders should carry them.

Lakemaster also sells large copies of the high def lakes for about $15.

[bassNspear]

were can i get a map like you are talking. i dont want to buy that system to print it off. I just want a nice hard copy maps.

[TurnUpTheFishing]

Im pretty sure every Gander mountain sells hard copys of lakemaster high-def maps. Their is one other company making maps with one foot depth contours that I know of but their name escapes me right now. Maybe its reel bottom or something along those lines. Again try Gander.

[bassNspear]

OK,. thanks for your help

[Central Bassman]

TurnUpTheFishing... You are right Reel bottom is the other company that makes maps in one foot contours. I think getting the lakemaster cd-rom might be a good investment. I'm a really big believer in doing you homework (map studies) before you ever even hit the lake. It will help you so you know what the lake looks like before you even get there and also give you some starting points. You can element water by the seasonal patters and just go fishing.

[TNFL]

Does anyone have the Lakemaster CD-Rom? I notice they advertise detailed maps for 72 of the most popular lakes in Minnesota plus general coverage for another 657 Minnesota lakes. The thing is, I rarely fish these big waters, with the exception of Tonka and Clearwater once or twice a year. So my question is: what is the quality of the maps of the "general coverage" lakes?

[TurnUpTheFishing]

They are standard 5' depth contour lake maps. Probably the same as you get on the dnr HSOforum or other map books.

[Central Bassman]

Yes they are the same as the DNR or Sportsman books maps!!!!!

[pfluemis]

Quote:

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Does anyone have the Lakemaster CD-Rom? I notice they advertise detailed maps for 72 of the most popular lakes in Minnesota plus general coverage for another 657 Minnesota lakes. The thing is, I rarely fish these big waters, with the exception of Tonka and Clearwater once or twice a year. So my question is: what is the quality of the maps of the "general coverage" lakes?

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I have the CD. The non surveyed maps are just general shape maps, not even the DNR maps. No depth, no true accuracy. The only maps that have accuracy and depth detail is the "surveyed" lakes.

Sportsman/DNR maps are not the best either, even though they have depth markings. I know the Victoria one is not right, neither is the Geneva one. The Osakis one is useable, but not all that accurate either. I'm sure a lot of it has to do with water level when surveyed, but some of the features are just not quite right. I plan on using my sportsman book to mark spots I pick up, and mark on my GPS. I will then have both a hard copy, and an electronic map. I bought my GPS to take full advantage of all the usefullness it has to offer, but I don't plan on leaving my map books at home either. All it takes is a failed screen, or malfunction, and your up the preverbial creek without a paddle, or map in this case. Not good when your on a lake you don't know well.

[TurnUpTheFishing]

On your software there are lakes in 5' depth contours right? Those are the 'general coverage' maps the other 1' contour maps are the hi-def. lakes.

Lots of those dnr maps are from the 60s so you cant expect too much. Though they are great starter maps to look at before hitting a body of water they can give a good estimate at major underwater features such as, points, humps, flats and drops. Even if those 5' maps were spot on it would still pay to do alot of searching on your own. There is a lot of structure that can be hidden between those 5' contour marks.

[pfluemis]

Quote:

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On your software there are lakes in 5' depth contours right? Those are the 'general coverage' maps the other 1' contour maps are the hi-def. lakes.

Lots of those dnr maps are from the 60s so you cant expect too much. Though they are great starter maps to look at before hitting a body of water they can give a good estimate at major underwater features such as, points, humps, flats and drops. Even if those 5' maps were spot on it would still pay to do alot of searching on your own. There is a lot of structure that can be hidden between those 5' contour marks.

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From what I understand, 10 lakes are 1 foot, and 62 are 3 foot. The rest are just blue blobs the shape of the lake. I've tested the Osakis and Maple (Douglas county) maps and found them to be very good in the area's I covered. I just got all this stuff last Saturday, so I have little time on the water with it. The LakeMaster web site lists what lakes are what def.

[Wish-I-Were-Fishn]

I say get the H2O, or H2Oc plus a Lakemaster, or Navionics chip and then buy the plastic Lakemaps brand maps for your hard maps. They have some nice features. I like some of the Hot Spot maps, but NOT their map chips. I also have the Lakemaster CD for my PC.

BYW, Lakemaster chips for Lowrance is not the same as the Lakemaster CD. It is for their surveyed maps, but the chip has some more detail on some of the lakes. From what I understand, Lowrance buys the lake info from Lakemaster and then puts it on the chip along with some of there own tweeks. Their tweeks are called Lowrance enhanced maps. I notice the chip shows all the bouys on Kabetogama for example, while the CD maps do not.

The chip is made and distributed by Lowrance, not Lakemaster, even though Lakemaster sells it also.

Good luck - JD

[pfluemis]

Yeah, Garmin does the same thing. Mine has Garmin on it, and I had to go to the Garmin site to unlock it. I'm still glad I bought the Garmin though. Both have poor unsurveyed maps. Your still on the water when the map shows you on land and the other way around with either unit. It's the maps, not the unit. As far as I can tell, you still need a depth finder to get you right over the exact spot you want.