accurate lake maps-Whitefish

[anchor man]

I currently have the Hotspots map of the Whitefish chain, but these are not very accurate. I like the Reelbottom style maps but haven't seen one for Whitefish. Are there some good detailed maps out there??

Thanks

[musky999]

There is a lakemaster map for it, the same company that makes the reelbottom maps. It is in 3 foot increments. You can pick it up at Reeds, or Holiday in east Brainerd and Crosslake. It is a very good map.

[Sportland_Bait]

Hi Anchor Man, Pick up a copy of the Lakemaster Pro Series map of the Whitefish Chain. There is no better map on the market for the chain. Another good set of maps for our area lakes is the Sybil Smith Mille Lacs/Brainerd area Map Book. You would be happy with either one of these choices.

Jason Erlandson

[WaveWacker]

Yep, Go with the Lakemaster ProMap series. Incredibly accurate!!

[Mr. Nailz]

I have to agree with everyone else. I just picked up the new Lakemaster map and it's pretty good. It's not as good as the new LOW is, but not to bad.

[anchor man]

Thanks, I'll get a ProMap. I see online it comes to almost 19 bucks, are they cheaper at a Holiday station??

[Sportland_Bait]

I'm not sure what they have at Holiday but we have them marked for less than $15. If you are in the neighborhood stop by.

Jason Erlandson

[AWH]

Another option (if you have the money available) is to buy a GPS with mapping capability and then get the mapping software. I bought a Lowrance H2O a few months ago and bought the premium Navionics chip. I played around with it yesterday for the first time out on Gull. Wow! This chip has a lot of maps on it, about a half dozen with 1 foot contours (Gull being one of them) and a lot with 3 foot contours, including Whitefish.

In my opinion, these are more than worth the money. If you would break it down to a cost per map, it's way less than you're paying for a single paper map. And the beauty of these things is that it will show you exactly where you're located on the lake map. If you're looking at a hump on the map, you don't have to try to guess where it is in relation to your current position. It'll be showing you exactly.

When I was on Gull, I was finding structure that I never knew about and was able to find it without any effort. I've only used it for a few hours. But I can't say enough good things about it. I can't wait to get out and play around with it some more!

Aaron

[caseymcq]

Lowrance also has there own lake map chip out now. It is a LakeMaster version. It doesn't seem to have all the lakes the Navionics chips have for MN and it is only for MN (no Iowa or Dakotas). One big plus is that it is $100 cheaper than some of the Navionics cards. I bought one for my Lcx 15mt and I love it. If you had one of the I-finders AWH mentioned it has a ton of detail other than lakes (roads, some land ownership info, poi's).

[Roosterslayer05]

I have that hotspots map too, and its given me some good spots on whitefish. Thats like the only lake my hotspots map has actually put me on fish it says are there.

[anchor man]

Rooster,

I'll still use my HotSpots map for that same reason, but the ProMaps series that I ordered will be nice to get a more detailed picture of structure.

[H2O Milfoil]

Yes, the LakeMaster maps are excellent. You can buy the CD with 263 MN lakes (58 in high definition, either 1 foot or 3 foot contours) for about $129, Windows PC format. You can view, zoom, markup, and print paper maps from the software. I print mine on waterproof "adventure" paper you'll find in some of the sporting goods stores. You can also import GPS waypoints from your handhelds or export from your computer to a handheld. Way fun and way cool! Guess what I do all winter long? I also purchased a Lowrance GPS/sonar unit for the boat and I paid $99 for the LakeMaster chip for this unit. Awesome! I have the color unit, LMS-332c. The LakeMaster chip is the same as the CD version. You can literally zoom in on your lake, see your actual position and bearing, with the lake depth contours for precise navigation, and using the split-screen mode you also have the depth finder display on the same screen. You just steer your boat along the contour lines or structure. Like I said, awesome! A whole new way to fish, especially on new waters. Oh, you still need to know how to fish and how to interpret signals, but this is a great technology! And I'm waiting for this summer, when I fish at night, because the unit has a night mode with a special display. The LakeMaster chips are compatible with quite a few mapping/GPS/sonar units.

I like the Navionics, too, but at twice the price of LakeMaster I find it has a lot of lakes from WI, IA, and MI that I won't use. And some of its MN maps aren't actually GPS enhanced, just published from DNR maps and Fishing HotSpots maps. Better than nothing, but not like the high-def maps.

Maybe it goes without saying, but I'll say it anyway: with these powerful new tools, especially if you're a good fisherman, comes increased responsibility to catch/photo/release. Hey, 9# northerns are too big to eat and too small to mount, so let 'em grow! BTW, get an inexpensive digital camera for the boat (and a big ZipLoc bag to hold it) so you don't miss those photo ops! You can use the display mode back on the boat landing to "show off your catch" to the other guys.

And, no, I don't work for either Lowrance or LakeMaster!