Lowrance Hot Spots Pro--what can I expect?

[jasone]

What can I expect from this card?  Will it look just like the paper hot spots maps?  Anyone have any screenshots?

I hate dropping $100 bucks on something I can't see until I get home.

Thanks

J

[IneedAnewScreenName9886691]

I have the Navionics Hot Maps Pro 2006.  On select lakes it has contours @ 1' which is nice.  I was quite disappointed that on the two lakes I have used them on the 1' contours did not stretch into all the coves mostly just the main lake   .  

I don't know much about the Lowrance product.  Hope this helps a little.  I know your postion, its hard to find out exactly what you are getting!  

[Long Mike]

I have the Lowrance Lakes chip and like it very much.  If you fish the more popular lakes, it is well worth the money.  The popular lakes have very high detail and show things like boat launches, submerged roads, trees and vegetation.  When I compared the map from the Lowrance to the paper Lake Fork map I purchased from BPS, I found the paper map contained slightly more detail.  On the other hand, the ability to zoom in with the Lowrance map greatly offsets the disadvantage of minor lack of detail.

Be advised that less popular (smaller) lakes will show bathymetric contour lines only - or - nothing at all.  I think it depends on whether or not the USGS has bathymetrics on a particular body of water.

One more thing.  If you are using a hand-held GPS unit with the Lakes chip, I would suggest that you also purchase MapCreate 6.0 for another $100.  It's worth the money if you are planning to fish a number of areas on a particular lake.  You can upload the Lake Maps to your computer, plan your route on the big screen and then download the waypoints to the handheld.  MapCreate is a "nice to have" option, but by no means a requirement.

The Lakes Chip is a "must have."  

[jasone]

Thanks for the info guys.  I guess I will try one out and if I don't like it hopefully I can return it.

Thanks again.

J

[acar555]

Both Navionics and Hot Spots (Lowrance) make good map cards that show similar levels of detail in most cases.  The Hot Spots Pro maps cover just over 3,200 lakes but the Navionics 2007 Hotmaps Premium cover almost 11,000.  So going with pure lake coverage you will find way more lakes with Navionics.  The Hot Spots pro only work on Lowrace and Eagle products.  They also give fishing spot information on some of the lakes, which depending on your fishing experience may or may not be beneficial.  If you decide to get either buy it thru Cabela's they have the best no hassle return policy in the business.

[bassassinator]

I too struggled weather or not to drop $100 for this item but am glad I did. You will be able to look up marked fishing areas which is rather handy if you are on a lake you have never been on. I think the detail is real nice. This is the first product of this kind I have ever had and there may be better  cards out there but I am impressed with Fishing Hot Spots.

As far as returning it though, it can be copied so it might be hard to return unless it just will not work.

[5bass]

$100 ?? I just bought a 2007 Lowrance Hot Spots Elite (East) online for just about $62 shipped. Place called ProVantage....check 'em out, the cards were going fast.

[Al Wolbach]

If you live near a BPS or Cabelas they will install all the different cards on a display unit so you can compare the different cards. Some marine dealers will do this also.........Al

[dampeoples]

I have the FHS Elite, and can help you with screen shots!

here the first three are from Falls Lake, NC, and I think the others are somewhere out in Tx, using the built-in map.

The Navionics chip has more maps, however, most of those maps you can get for free on the Lowrance site.