# Lake Livingston Navionics Card Upgrade?



## GaryI (Mar 18, 2015)

I purchased a Lowrance Elite 7 earlier this year and I have been very happy with it. The base map which comes with it seems OK, but I have been debating about whether to upgrade it with a Navionics+ card ($199). Have any of you made this upgrade and can comment on the difference in map quality specific to Lake Livingston? 

The card upgrades the unit for the whole United States, which is a good deal for the money. But it seems like a lot of money to me since I will really only use the card on one lake.


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## Meadowlark (Jul 19, 2008)

If you only use the card on LL its probably not worth the upgrade price. However, if you fish a lot of different locations, it is well worth the expenditure.


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## mycolcason (Jan 7, 2013)

Also being close to the end of the year they will be clearances out at basspro for the new year coming up so keep an eye out for that next month. You can also update that card for a year. 




Tight lines folks!!


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## housewolf (Nov 24, 2014)

I don't know what the Lowrance map looks like bit it's a significant upgrade over the Humminbird map.
You can view the Navionics map here
Most of the lake is pretty detailed but I am somewhat underwhelmed by the coverage up in the creeks.


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## Gofish2day (May 9, 2006)

I have the Navionics card for LL and have a Lowrance HDS8. I like to run with the map that came with the Lowrance unit. It seems to be more clear than the card but when I get there I like to switch to the N Card. The N card shows all the topo lines better and can see more detail. I don't want all the lines when I am running. I need to see the stump locations clearly.
Look Up Lake Livingston stumps and down load the info the nice 2 coolers put together. If on LL you need the stump locations.
Hope this helped.
oh! is the card worth the $$$ - I think so.


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## Gofish2day (May 9, 2006)

Hey, House Wolf

Very nice link to the Navionics site. My card is about 2yrs old and can see I need to update it.


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## housewolf (Nov 24, 2014)

Gofish2day said:


> Look Up Lake Livingston stumps and down load the info the nice 2 coolers put together. If on LL you need the stump locations.
> Hope this helped.
> oh! is the card worth the $$$ - I think so.


Absolutely. As a newcomer (at least in this millennium) it's been a tremendous help getting around safely. It did give me fits getting it to show up though, who'd a thunk the unit had to be up and running when you initially insert the card


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## GaryI (Mar 18, 2015)

An update on my map unit situation after further research and purchase. Hopefully this information will help any of you who are also struggling with the value of adding a map card to your unit. Be forewarned that once you open up the package for your map card, you no longer can return it for any reason. I only considered Navionics options although I know that there are other good options out there. I donâ€™t claim to be an expert in this area, so please provide any corrections. It is very hard to find clear information on this subject. This link was helpful â€" Navionics Dealer Kit

As I stated below, I have a Lowrance Elite-7 Chirp unit and I primarily fish Lake Livingston. I had been using the default Lowrance map for the last 6 months but I consistently saw errors in the map contours while fishing the lake. My upgrade options were as follows:
1. Upgrade to HotMaps Premium ($149). Premium has 4 different versions. For us, there is a version that covers the Southern U.S., including all of Texas. 
2. Upgrade to Navionics Plus ($199). Plus covers the whole United States.

Both of the above options allow one year of map updates.

Note that the following options were not suitable for me: 
- Navionics Platinum and Navionics Gold are for marine use only, not lakes. 
- Navionics HotMaps Platinum provides additional media information which is not accessible on my unit and therefore which is not worth the higher cost.

The Bass Pro Shops personnel tried to steer me to Premium (option 1 above) to save $50. The only difference between Premium and Plus (option 2 above) is that Plus includes something called SonarChart. SonarChart is a feature where the base Navionics Nautical Chart is further refined on a daily basis by sonar log data recorded and submitted to Navionics by fisherman. My Lowrance unit does not have the capability to submit the recorded data, so Bass Pro Shops said I should save $50 and buy Premium instead of Plus. However, and this is a BIG however, my unit DOES have the ability to use the SonarChart feature. In other words, I canâ€™t submit logs to Navionics, but I can download the updated SonarChart map. The updated map is a huge improvement in my opinion, especially in more isolated areas which do not have much detail on the Nautical Chart. See my example below of the Kickapoo Creek area. The left image is the Nautical Chart, and the right image is the SonarChart improvement which you get by purchasing Plus.

So, I purchased the Navionics Plus map upgrade for $199, and despite my reservations of its value to someone like myself who only fishes one lake, it is the best money I have spent since buying the i-Pilot for my trolling motor. The map is a huge improvement in detail and accuracy over my default Lowrance map. The map has 1 ft contour lines which is perfect for this lake. I now have contours in areas which I never had before, like creeks and coves. I utilize all 3 map layers provided in Plus â€" Nautical Chart, SonarChart, and Community Edits. I find the improved depth detail helpful in 3 areas â€" improved trolling along accurate contour lines; finding humps, channels, and other structure on the lake bed; and finding specifically targeted depths. Speaking of targeted depths, I was shocked to find that adding the map chip not only gave me an improved map, but it also opened up options on my unit that I never had before. For example, I can color all shallow water (<4 ft) red to visually help me avoid those areas. Most importantly, I can color a specific depth range white (against the blue map), so for example I can easily see a 8-10 ft range for trolling or jigging. This has been very helpful for me. Also, the map automatically shows submerged timber areas in a greenish tint, which I have found to be useful and fairly accurate.

Bottom line is that I have been very happy with my Navonics Plus upgrade. Let me know if you have any questions or clarifications.


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## housewolf (Nov 24, 2014)

GaryI said:


> The Bass Pro Shops personnel tried to steer me to Premium (option 1 above) to save $50. The only difference between Premium and Plus (option 2 above) is that Plus includes something called SonarChart. SonarChart is a feature where the base Navionics Nautical Chart is further refined on a daily basis by sonar log data recorded and submitted to Navionics by fisherman.


Thanks Gary for breaking this down to the point a simple minded fellow like myself can understand it. My experience was the same, unfortunately; I took the advice of the BPS personnel and bought the Premium card. Worse yet, I didn't register or update it within the allotted two months. I suppose that's why "I am somewhat underwhelmed by the coverage up in the creeks". Now it appears my choices are to roll the dice and _purchase _updates ($100) or take the safe ($200) bet and start over with Plus.


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