I retired my 90's b\w graph and bought a lowrance 339-c color graph/gps I would like to buy a card (electronic charts (navionics hot maps or lowrance hot spots)

I live in Conway Arkansas. Both list lakes and rivers I love to fish but not all. At 150.00 each what is my best buy and can they be updated?

Just got a new gps this week put in the hotspots chip and love it there is a guy on ebay selling them for 82.oo

I'm using the Lowrance FHSE card for now until Navionics sells the new HD card freom their spring surveys in Arkansas. That one will have 1 foot contour intervals, and is supposed to be out come spring of 2007. Their survey was real time, actual soundings, unlike the card I have based on old paper maps from before lakes were flooded, and Corps river maps based on sonar soundings. I don't care how much that card will cost. It'll be worth it even though winter here was dry and lake pools down a lot, preventing them from getting into many coves or get complete main lake point coverage. I mostly need that for deep structure planning.

Jim

Just a suggestion. If you live near a Bass Pro Shop or Cabelas go by and compare. They will install the chips and let you compare them.

Some of the larger marine dealers may do the same.

If this isn't an option I would talk to other fishermen at boat ramps or tournament weight-ins.

Good luck.............Al

One item I forgot to mention. The more depth contours details a chip contains does offer great detail it also has so many lines you may have difficulty actually reading the map. This is personal preference.

You really need to look and decide....................Al

NAVIONICS ALL THE WAY!!!!!!!!!!!  When I walked into Outdoor Emporium, I talked to a good buddy Johnabout maps. He showed me the difference inbetween the lowrance maps and navionics maps on a display lowrance XC-11.

There are way more countour lines and definition on the navionics chips, he showed me a spot on my favorite lake and I went to this shallow hump where it is 6 feet deep and can see bottom.  

It showed up perfectly on the navionics chip, with the lowrance it showed it being 30 feet deep with no hump, where you can see bottom!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

NAVIONICS IS THE WAY TO GO!!!!

As Nick_Barr stated in his post, these maps can vary a great deal. Unless you fish the same lakes that he does your experience may be just the opposite. Meaning that Navionics may have a great chip for his lake or lakes but not the lakes you fish. You really need to look at a gps with different chips installed for the area lakes you will be fishing.

PS- I plan on buying Navionics as well, after comparing the options. One of the others had more contour lines but these lines prevented me from being able to read the map as well. Just to many lines for my requirements.

One foot contour lines wood be great on shallow lakes like Okeechobee where the average depth is 6-8' , but would flood the screen on deep lakes (100' or more) that I usually fish.

I don't mean to offend anyone, just trying to insure you are happy with your final selection, whatever you decide.............Good luck.............Al

Navionics maps cost $50-$75 more but unless the lake you fish is listed as "HD" in red it's no more detailed than a cheaper Lowrance map. Go to http://www.navionics.com/HMPremium_06.asp then pick a region in the upper right corner map, and go find your lake. If it isn't HD (High Definition) from a real-time sonar survey, They do have a trade-in program for when HD becomes available at http://www.navionics.com/TradeInProgram.asp  I'd keep the difference in my pocket rather than loan them the money at zero interest. If you can find HD the price is definitely worth it, but you might still need the Lowrance map to cover shallow water areas Navionics couldn't navigate in due to low pool. Lowrance maps cover lakes 100%, but all theirs is based on paper maps.

Jim