Every year, it seems as if fishing is getting tougher and tougher (or maybe it's just me!! ). While I don't use electronics on board, I did use apps for weather, wind, navigation, etc

 

I know many areas of structure locally...but certainly I don't know them all. So I'd like to improve my chances with some quality bathymetric charts, preferably app based. In the past, I've used the Navionics app but it seems like the price goes up every year. It's well over $100 for the year now. But the bathymetric charts were good and could be relief shaded.

 

Are there any other choices you've used? I see C-map has an app and the subscription is significantly less than Navionics.

Omnia's app has maps.

Bathtymetric is outdated sounding method to map lake bottoms. Today’s 1’ sonar maps are far more accurate, however no map can keep up with bottom contour changes in man made reservoirs due to both man made changes and physical erosion. 
Tom

2 hours ago, txchaser said:

Omnia's app has maps.

They aren't very good..and no relief shading that I can see.

1 hour ago, WRB-2.0 said:

Bathtymetric is outdated sounding method to map lake bottoms. Today’s 1’ sonar maps are far more accurate, however no map can keep up with bottom contour changes in man made reservoirs due to both man made changes and physical erosion. 
Tom

And what apps are those in? 

3 hours ago, RRocket said:

And what apps are those in? 

All of them.

 

Bathymetry (/bəˈθɪmətri/; from Ancient Greek βαθύς(bathús) 'deep' and μέτρον (métron) 'measure') is the study of underwater depth of ocean floors (seabed topography), river floors, or lake floors. In other words, bathymetry is the underwater equivalent to hypsometry or topography.

 

Bathtymetric Maps are underwater contour maps.  The source of the data that is used to make the map does not change the fact that it's a bathymetric map.

12 minutes ago, Tennessee Boy said:

 

 

Bathymetry (/bəˈθɪmətri/; from Ancient Greek βαθύς(bathús) 'deep' and μέτρον (métron) 'measure') is the study of underwater depth of ocean floors (seabed topography), river floors, or lake floors. In other words, bathymetry is the underwater equivalent to hypsometry or topography.

 

Bathtymetric Maps are underwater contour maps.  The source of the data that is used to make the map does not change the fact that it's a bathymetric map.

I'm aware of that.

 

 

Looking for an app with relief shading, selectable depth colors, etc, and "all of them" don't have it.

7 minutes ago, RRocket said:

The sonar maps are in all apps? 

 

Definitely not....

I agree.  What I'm saying is that they are all bathymetric maps.   The term bathymetric does mean that a certain type of data was used to make it.  It's simply an underwater contour map.   

 

I'm disagreeing with the statement "Bathtymetric is outdated sounding method to map lake bottoms."

2 minutes ago, Tennessee Boy said:

I agree.  What I'm saying is that they are all bathymetric maps.   The term bathymetric does mean that a certain type of data was used to make it.  It's simply a contour map.   

 

I'm disagreeing with the statement "Bathtymetric is outdated sounding method to map lake bottoms."

I amended my reply for what I'm looking for, specifically.

 

I'm looking for a high quality app..regardless of how the contour were mapped.

 

 

26 minutes ago, RRocket said:

I amended my reply for what I'm looking for, specifically.

 

I'm looking for a high quality app..regardless of how the contour were mapped.

 

 

Most of the apps that require a subscription have a free trial period.  I would encourage you take advantage of this to view the lakes you fish.  I use the Humminbird One-Boat-Network app on my phone and iPad most of the time.  With a subscription you can view LakeMaster maps (the same maps I have on my fish finder).  It has all of the features you are looking for to make the map look the way you want it.  The quality of the data used to make LakeMaster maps varies by lake but is generally good for the lakes I fish.  I sometimes confirm the Lakemaster data with Navonics for certain lakes especially when I see something that doesn't look right.  

2 hours ago, RRocket said:

I amended my reply for what I'm looking for, specifically.

 

I'm looking for a high quality app..regardless of how the contour were mapped.

 

 

 

There are some issues to consider...

 

1)Bathymetry mapping created using satellites is not accurate and should not be used for navigation.

 

2)Some bathymetry data providers provide a combined data integration resulting maps based in part from satellite, laser, hands on sonar mapping etc. government maps, etc. and brings in various sources to generate maps. Again, all unverified it is still relevant data. So navigate with caution.

 

Point is, a high quality app may not have sophisticated integrated mapping sources. It could all be from satellite. In which case it would NOT be useable to navigate with. If you do, then you take the risk.

 

I personally do not use any satellite generated bathymetry data. I use government map sources made by hands-on sonar depth mapping. I get the free bathymetry maps from various sources and use them on an ipad type device or cellphone if needed. Here is one source example:

 

https://lakewatch.ifas.ufl.edu/for-volunteers/bathymetric-maps/

 

Storm water & drainage depts with county governments often have the maps as well. They can be found at all levels of government- city, county, state, and federal.

 

I often locate the BMAP reports for the bodies of water I want to fish and take a look at them from the biologists perspective which often includes bathymetry maps and other useful mapping like vegetation, water quality, etc. None of the apps provide vegetation maps that I know of.

 

https://floridadep.gov/dear/water-quality-restoration/content/basin-management-action-plans-bmaps

 

So you might find a great app, but what is source of mapping data? If it is satellite which a number of them are, I have not found those to be accurate enough.

 

For example in my area is a large lake called Lake Maitland. When I compared navionics satellite mapping to local government mapping there are huge differences and discrepancies. On the hands-on sonar created map, I can see deep holes and ridges that are not even shown on any satellite maps. So I decided years ago to stop using any satellite generated mapping because it simply cannot read bottom contour through the water. May be close, but not close enough yet.

 

And I think this is what is tied in to most apps. Better mapping comes from integrated combined sources which I think navionics may do now. Not sure of others. You would have to check each one to see how they source their bathymetry data and use it.

 

I got apps for weather, radar, solunar calendar, barometric pressure, compass, storms, wind, lightning, etc. but as yet no app for the mapping I prefer. They just don't make it yet. So I go outside the box for the mapping I gotta have:

 

https://pinellas.wateratlas.usf.edu/library/learn-more/learnmore.aspx?toolsection=lm_bathymetric

 

 

36 minutes ago, Tennessee Boy said:

Most of the apps that require a subscription have a free trial period.  I would encourage you take advantage of this to view the lakes you fish.  I use the Humminbird One-Boat-Network app on my phone and iPad most of the time.  With a subscription you can view LakeMaster maps (the same maps I have on my fish finder).  It has all of the features you are looking for to make the map look the way you want it.  The quality of the data used to make LakeMaster maps varies by lake but is generally good for the lakes I fish.  I sometimes confirm the Lakemaster data with Navonics for certain lakes especially when I see something that doesn't look right.  

Yes, I've previously used Navionics on a tablet mounted on the boat and the bottom mapping is very good as is the dock-to-dock navigation. It's my sole piece of electronics on the boat. But the pricing has got a bit excessive here. So I was looking for alternatives. 

 

There are many navigation apps, so that part of the equation is easy. But bottom mapping for finding structure and other data for fishing is an important consideration...and that's been the harder part.

 

I'm currently testing C-Map and it's pretty good...and the pricing is better.

 

Was just wondering if there were any others I need to consider.

If I could only use one app per lake I would choose Navionics for some of the lakes I fish and Lakemaster for others.  For some lakes it doesn't really matter which app you choose because they are all using the same data.  For me it's more about the data than how it's displayed but the quality of the app does matter.  I pay for Lakemaster and Navionics.  I've tried C-MAP,  they seem to have quality generic contour maps but nothing to get excited about.   If you're just looking for major structure that's on every map then C-MAP is a good option from what I can tell. 

 

I'm sure every region is different in terms of the quality of data that's available.  I have no experience fishing in Canuckistan so I can't help you there

 

Oh, I don't use the bottom mapping for navigation purposes. Just for fishing purposes. 

 

And the Omnia app has vegetation as does another one..though the name escapes me now.

Here are 3 screenshots taken from my iPad of the same spot which hopefully shows the difference in mapping data.  The lines and depth numbers are clearly visible on all three but are less so after I compressed the images.   LakeMaster has the most depth detail and shows some small humps that the other do not.  This extra detail is not always accurate.  Navionics shows additional detail in the sonar shading but not in the contour lines.  C-Map has some vegetation symbols along the shore.  The vegetation is there but the map is not that accurate.  Each map provides some data that the others do not which might help you catch more fish.

 

Navionics 

 

C-MAP

 

LakeMaster

 

 

 

7 minutes ago, Tennessee Boy said:

Here are 3 screenshots taken from my iPad of the same spot which hopefully shows the difference in mapping data.  The lines and depth numbers are clearly visible on all three but are less so after I compressed the images.   LakeMaster has the most depth detail and shows some small humps that the other do not.  This extra detail is not always accurate.  Navionics shows additional detail in the sonar shading but not in the contour lines.  C-Map has some vegetation symbols along the shore.  The vegetation is there but the map is not that accurate.

 

I use CMap and Navionics and have noticed that some lakes are better on one than the other. We have a popular 3 lake-chain (1000ish acre lakes) and one is best on Navionics, one is best on CMap, and the third has half covered by each platform (the other half of the lake is blank depending which app). 

 

9 hours ago, RRocket said:

They aren't very good..and no relief shading that I can see.

 

Omnia uses Navionics and CMap Social for their charts. Aside from not being able to manipulate shading, they're no different than using them on their respective platforms?

Garmin bought Navionics, Lowrance offers C-Map with Real for shaded contours. Lowrance, Garmin, Humming Bird all have detailed depth in 1’ increments. The good sonar units can make maps with current lake levels etc. 

Knowing the pool elevation you can change the maps automatically.

Tom

4 hours ago, JHoss said:

 

 

Omnia uses Navionics and CMap Social for their charts. Aside from not being able to manipulate shading, they're no different than using them on their respective platforms?

Omnia vs C-Map, same area

 

Here is the location if anyone wants to check on their software.

 

Lat 41.968770 Lon -82.935059

 

5 hours ago, Tennessee Boy said:

Each map provides some data that the others do not which might help you catch more fish.

With Omnia Pro I get several maps to choose from - these are all the same 'frame'

 

Navionics HD Contour - shows the humps

C-Map Social Vegetation

 

C-Map Bottom Hardness

 

Water Clarity

 

So basically I just gotta select which display and not have to change apps.

On 7/8/2025 at 2:14 AM, RRocket said:

They aren't very good..and no relief shading that I can see.

Appears you need pro for the navionics and c-map layers. 

There's constantly deals for the app like "buy the app and get $50 credit" so it's been an easy yes for me to keep pro. 

 

 

On 7/8/2025 at 4:22 PM, RRocket said:

Here is the location if anyone wants to check on their software.

 

Lat 41.968770 Lon -82.935059

I have a much larger images on the iPad.  I cropped them so I can post with more detail.

 

Navionics Pro

 

LakeMaster

Yep, Navionics has much, much better detail.

 

I have the Premium for C-map and it isn't nearly as good.