Follow contour question

If you have a hummingbird paired with MinnKota ILink and want to use the follow the contour feature… does it follow the auto chart mapping or the built-in or map chip?

I believe it works with the Lakemaster maps. You also have be zoomed in close enough to select the contour line you want…

That kind of sucks. I assumed you picked the depth that you wanted and it corrected based on actual sonar readings.

SuperDave1959 wrote:

it corrected based on actual sonar readings.

Not true, the software only knows to turn right or left based on the combination of gps and contours on an existing map. It doesn’t know on a live actual reading where the desired direction is.

That said, I thought it could use contours from an existing map created by autochart but I haven’t tried. I fish a lot of steep break lines and went back to manual. There was enough variation in accuracy between the maps and gps that I quit using the feature.

Have always thought this would only be truly useful if using autochart or quickdraw so that you’re sure the contour actually corresponds to the depth reading.

How about when you are trolling on land because the lake was mapped at low water period? I’ve never been on a lake where the contour readings were accurate.

SuperDave1959 wrote:

How about when you are trolling on land because the lake was mapped at low water period? I’ve never been on a lake where the contour readings were accurate.

A zero lines card, autochart, and a bunch of your time spent mapping. Thankfully if you’re a troller you can at least keep your lines wet while mapping. I don’t see any other way to get full value out of “follow the contour.”

I use follow-the-contour with Lakemaster mapchips a lot. For example, we ran it almost all day every day last summer pulling spinners on Devils Lake. Very nice to have the boat running itself so I could fish two rods.
A few hiccups can occur when the contour is very irregular and the motor misses a sharp turn so tries to backtrack. In those cases I change the contours from 1′ to 3′ which smooths them out quite a bit and makes it easier to follow. Another difficulty is if there’s a lot of side wind that pushes you off the contour, resulting again in the motor trying to backtrack to the spot it lost the line before continuing. In those cases it’s better to turn follow-the-contour off and instead use the autopilot on the “legacy” setting.

Yes, it will follow-the-contour for maps created using AutoChart. However, you’ve got to put in quite a bit of work recording to get enough data for this to be effective. You have to record multiple passes to get differing depths so it knows where to lay down the contour – a single pass along a shore won’t cut it as the AutoChart map will only know a single depth. I’m constantly recording when I’m fishing, so over time my best areas get mapped with a lot of detail and the contours are good for this now.

SuperDave1959 wrote:

How about when you are trolling on land because the lake was mapped at low water period? I’ve never been on a lake where the contour readings were accurate.

They anticipated this because many large reservoirs experience big depth variation through the year. Just adjust your depth setting on the unit (for example -30 feet when at low pool), and your contour lines will adjust appropriately. Any area that is now at 0 feet or less will now show as dry land so you can avoid driving your boat up there.
And most of the agencies that manage those reservoirs also publish the current pool level in real time. So, just look up what depth it was at when the map was recorded, look up the current pool level, and voila!

I use it often, most of the time I use the shoreline as the contour (ie. zero point contour) with an offset of say 100 ft so I don’t run into docks. My depths may vary, but usually not more than 2 to 4 ft.

I agree with what Mr. Winther said. Also, enlarge it to the max setting when you “choose” the contour. I also started out on relatively straight contours to get the hang of it and understand how it works. Pick a spot on the lake where this is the case and watch as it works and see what it does when it encounters turns. It does like to go back and “correct” if it hits a sharp angle and it looks like it’s lost if you are not aware of this. Wind also plays a part but no too bad. More great advice was going to 3′ contours and Autopilot. With some experimentation and practice you will really like it. I spent a couple hours on the lake one day just messing around with it til I got comfortable. I use the Lakemaster Chips as well.
Like anything else, it’s only as good as the user. Watch a Youtube video, go play with it a couple times and it will be a piece of cake.

I like the contour follow a lot also and use it a fair amount. I have a 80lb Terova on my Pro V with Link from the first year it was introduced and a 55lb Terrova with Bluetooth on my smaller river boat. It is by no means perfect but sure beats what we use to have and makes fishing much easier sometimes. I don’t have auto-chart units so I am just following my Lakemaster contours and I know it is not 100% accurate but it does what I need it to do. Some days on if I am just pulling a rig I can go long stretches of time without touching the remote and just focus on catching fish. Another great application is for night trolling, just lets you worry about 1 less thing to need to do in the dark.

Some times I use the contour offset feature to smooth out a depth line.

You can adjust the water level off set if it’s a wet or dry year. One really annoying thing. If the break line is really jagged. It will follow it, or try. So it can be a lot of shifting around in a small area. I usually make a course, you can lay down a series of quick way points and it’ll follow them like a contour.

Ok guys, bumping this thread. Ran into this issue with the 1’ contours and turning around so to speak. How do I change them from 1’ to 3’. Cannot seem to find it anywhere on the unit.

Thanks!

Loomis13 wrote:

Ok guys, bumping this thread. Ran into this issue with the 1’ contours and turning around so to speak. How do I change them from 1’ to 3’. Cannot seem to find it anywhere on the unit.

Thanks!

Why do you want to change from 1′ to 3′ contours? I use it trolling whenever I can and I’ve never wished contours were further apart.

1′ makes the TM change course far to often, bumping out the contour gives it often a softer curve to follow

Thanks Mr. Beads. I’ve never experienced that problem.

SuperDave1959 wrote:

How about when you are trolling on land because the lake was mapped at low water period? I’ve never been on a lake where the contour readings were accurate.

You use the lake depth offset setting

Karry Kyllo wrote:

Thanks Mr. Beads. I’ve never experienced that problem.

Yeah, depends on how fast the depth changes and tight turns. Damn near hit a dock on vermillion when we first used it lol. Had to pay attention after that one.