ten_scoach Posted January 14, 2015 Posted January 14, 2015 Bought hbird 998. Need map chip. Debating between lakemaster and navionics. Any insights to each for our area lakes would be great. I fish table rock, taneycomo and stockton mostly. Thanks Also interested in a used one if someone has one.
Sore Thumbs Posted January 14, 2015 Posted January 14, 2015 From what I've seen. I would say Lakemaster.
Blll Posted January 14, 2015 Posted January 14, 2015 Since you went with Humminbird, Lakemaster makes sense if you would ever want to go to the I-Pilot Link set up. Not positive if the 998 is still compatible but worth looking into. I used to work at Bass Pro for their Classic events and sold more Lakemaster chips than Navionics. That said, for certain waters there is a difference between chips. I'm on Beaver and the Lakemaster is great but back up North there were many lakes where the Navionics was much better. At Bass Pro, we always had working chips and would compare both with the customer. This time of year be sure you are getting the most current chip.
nomolites Posted January 14, 2015 Posted January 14, 2015 Since you went with Humminbird, Lakemaster makes sense if you would ever want to go to the I-Pilot Link set up. Not positive if the 998 is still compatible but worth looking into. I used to work at Bass Pro for their Classic events and sold more Lakemaster chips than Navionics. That said, for certain waters there is a difference between chips. I'm on Beaver and the Lakemaster is great but back up North there were many lakes where the Navionics was much better. At Bass Pro, we always had working chips and would compare both with the customer. This time of year be sure you are getting the most current chip. +1 I run the 998 and have used Navionics to date(with no complaint I would add) but with the new Ulterra in que I will be switching to Lakemaster. I never thought I would go this route but the boat control features make it too attractive for this walleye fisherman to pass up. Your 998 is compatible with all the IPilot link goodies-if that is a future upgrade possibility Lakemaster is the only option.
ten_scoach Posted January 14, 2015 Author Posted January 14, 2015 Thanks. I like link capability, depth highlight feature, and lake level adjustment feature of lakemaster. I am am curious about labelings like underwater road beds, sunken structures and such I have heard might be better on navi. Keep the feedback coming all. Thanks.
Bluff-Bassin Posted January 14, 2015 Posted January 14, 2015 I have both. When I bought the lakemaster 2 years ago, there were only like 3 lakes in Missouri that were "HD" lakes. If I remember right, clearwater, pomme, and truman? The HD maps on Lakemaster were more detailed than the navionics maps. However for the non HD lakes, the Navionics were far more detailed when it came to contours and offshore structure. For me personally my choice for bull shoals and table rock is definitely the navionics. As far as roadbeds and building foundations, truth be told, my favorite source is still the paper hot spot maps. I look for them on the paper map, and then pin point them with the gps and side imaging. What I did is bought one of each as I have two graphs on my boat. I just swap the two map chips between the two graphs depending on what lake i'm on. If i'm fishing pomme I'll put the lake master in the console graph, bull shoals, vis versa. Hope this helps. I know there have been long drawn out fights/arguments on the BBC Humminbird forum over this topic. Oh and another advantage of the Navionics chip, is you can download the Navionics PC app for free after purchase. It allows you to browse all of the maps from your desktop computer. Its really nice. Lakemaster also offers a similar computer program but you pay like 60 bucks for it.
Members Brennan Posted January 14, 2015 Members Posted January 14, 2015 I have two 998s and use Lakemaster. I really like it. I like the depth offset feature. I fish Truman a lot and it can vary in depth by 5 feet almost overnight. I also have the Navionics app on my iPhone and really like it as well.
Seth Posted January 14, 2015 Posted January 14, 2015 Does the new Lakemaster chip with the high def Tablerock maps go very far up the James? That's the only arm of Tablerock I ever fish and usually always above the 76 bridge.
Members Brandon Knight Posted January 15, 2015 Members Posted January 15, 2015 I have the brand new Lakemaster and I love the thing, well worth the money i spent. Pretty darn detailed and with all the features its the only way to go with humminbird units, especially in this area. I compared to a friends navionics and the lakemaster was better, hands down. Other parts of the country I couldn't tell ya though. Seth, if i'm not mistaken the chip shows all the way up till about McCord Bend? Maybe even blunk road. If i remember I'll look again this weekend to make sure.
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now