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Topic: Navionics vs c-map  (Read 1173 times)

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Vine2trail

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  • Location: NAPA
  • Date Registered: Sep 2020
  • Posts: 121
Does anyone have any real experience with either of these mapping products? I have a lowrance hook reveal and am looking for a mapping software product to help me quickly fund reefs while I'm out. Also open to other suggestions.


pmmpete

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  • Date Registered: Jun 2015
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To see what the Navionics maps look like, check out the Navionics Web App, which lets you look at Navionics maps of any lake or offshore area in the country without charge.  See https://webapp.navionics.com/?lang=en#boating@10&key=wqveFvjzjV. I find Navionics maps to be extremely useful when fishing in large lakes and the ocean.  Go to your area and check out lakes and ocean areas which you are familiar with, and compare the Navionics maps with maps of the same area prepared by other companies.  I find the underwater topographic maps of lakes to be easier to use than the depth number maps which cover offshore areas in the ocean.

While the Navionics maps give you a good idea of the general topography of lake and ocean bottoms, they don't show fine details of the underwater landscape.  For example, an area shown as a smooth slope going from 40 feet down to 250 feet may contain gullies, ridges, and pinnacles which aren't shown on the Navionics maps.  You can discover these areas and features by traversing the slope along a contour line shown on the map, and noting places where the depth suddenly increases or decreases.  These features often attract and hold fish, so you may want to mark them with a waypoint.


Mark L

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  • Date Registered: Oct 2017
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I do not have any experience with the C-Map, but the relief shading using the Navionic Platinum is great for working the reefs.
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jp52

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  • Date Registered: Aug 2017
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To see what the Navionics maps look like, check out the Navionics Web App, which lets you look at Navionics maps of any lake or offshore area in the country without charge.  See https://webapp.navionics.com/?lang=en#boating@10&key=wqveFvjzjV. I find Navionics maps to be extremely useful when fishing in large lakes and the ocean.  Go to your area and check out lakes and ocean areas which you are familiar with, and compare the Navionics maps with maps of the same area prepared by other companies.  I find the underwater topographic maps of lakes to be easier to use than the depth number maps which cover offshore areas in the ocean.

While the Navionics maps give you a good idea of the general topography of lake and ocean bottoms, they don't show fine details of the underwater landscape.  For example, an area shown as a smooth slope going from 40 feet down to 250 feet may contain gullies, ridges, and pinnacles which aren't shown on the Navionics maps.  You can discover these areas and features by traversing the slope along a contour line shown on the map, and noting places where the depth suddenly increases or decreases.  These features often attract and hold fish, so you may want to mark them with a waypoint.

The web app does not show relief shading, but the mobile version of the app does. Relief shading can be downloaded onto the card to display on your ff (as Mark L showed), if it is capable of displaying those. My ff is not so I just use the app on my phone on the water if I want to look at relief shading.


tedski

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  • Date Registered: Feb 2015
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First, make sure your Hook Reveal is maps capable.  If it's the GPS-Only version (e.g. Hook Reveal 5x), then you can't run any mapping product on it.  If it's one that came with either the C-MAP or US Lakes map (e.g. Hook Reveal 5), then you're good to go.

I went with the C-MAP product.  Specifically, the C-MAP Insight Pro card.  It's much cheaper to buy it on Amazon or through a 3rd party than it is to buy it from Lowrance or C-MAP directly.  Once you get it, you should update it.  You get at least one free update, but it requires a Windows computer.  If you don't have a Windows machine, you can email their support and they'll send you a brand new card and you send them back the old one.  Once your maps are up to date, toss that sucker in your unit and you'll have vector charts with contour lines and lots of other information about ports and things that powerboaters and cruisers would get more use out of than us.  You do get tide and current data for wherever you are, also.  Since you have the Hook Reveal, you can turn on the "Genesis Live" feature that will add the higher resolution contours directly as your transducer mapped them overlaid on the chart.  Chart data is lower resolution unless you have one of the super fancy systems that support the Navionics style bathymetry.  I don't think the Hook Reveal 5 does support those, though... correct me if I'm wrong, though!
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