Humminbird Lakemaster Card

I recently bought a Helix 7 when Cabela’s was running their sale this winter.

I was hoping to utilize my old Lakemaster card from my Elite 5, which works, but I can’t use the contour highlights which is something I was looking forward to.

So question is – is it worth trying to look for an older Humminbird Lakemaster card or should I buckle down and buy the newest version? I’ve looked around a bit, but never see any older versions for sale… I’m too cheap to buy new, but may not have much of a choice!

Well I was not even aware that a card from a lowrance unit would work in a humminbird unit. So I am going to say you will have to buckle down and buy a new card. Might be a chance that someone is changing over from humminbird to lowrance and wants to sell there cards. Good luck

Unless you fish all over the place, I’d suggest just getting the FishSmart app and buy the lakes you fish. You can put the ones you buy on a card and use them in your graph. So far, it seems like it is more accurate than the lake master card I have.

The maps one by one are $9.99 each. If you want more than a dozen lakes it’s better to just buy the card. One advantage of buying them through the Fishsmart app is that you can view the lake maps with contours on your phone. You cannot do that when you buy the card. I have the card and a few times I wished I could have easily opened up the map on my phone to compare notes with someone at work that has fished the same area.

I just looked at the app. The only problem I see is that I fish roughly 10 lakes in my area, another handful in other areas of the state. So looks like I may need to just buy the card.

FYI – the older card works in the Humminbird, but I don’t have any functionality with it. I can only see the maps.

Just curious what lakemaster chip and version you have. I wonder if you take a new chip and install it in a lowrance if it would work. I doubt it but if any knows chime in.

I know a guy that is looking for a lake map chip for a Elite 7 if you want to get rid of the one you have?

Try ebay. Sometimes you can get a card that is 1 version old at a discount.

sorry for the confusion – I just realized my lakemaster chip is in my old H2O and is only an SD card.

I currently have a 2012 Navionics Premium HotMaps chip in my Elite 5, which is why it is working in the Helix 7.

Reading online, looks like I can update the 2012 card. I wonder if I can still use the shading feature on the Helix 7 with it?

Just tried to update the Navionics card and see that I have to pay for a 1 year subscription at $100/yr.

Round and round I go. Now the question – what does everyone prefer for a card – Navionics or Lakemaster?

drewbop wrote:

sorry for the confusion – I just realized my lakemaster chip is in my old H2O and is only an SD card.

I currently have a 2012 Navionics Premium HotMaps chip in my Elite 5, which is why it is working in the Helix 7.

Reading online, looks like I can update the 2012 card. I wonder if I can still use the shading feature on the Helix 7 with it?

No. Contour shading/highlighting is only possible with a Lakemaster card. You can probably search the online classifieds and find an older Lakemaster card for a discounted price. And if you do that, make sure it’s the micro SD card so it’ll fit your Helix 7.

If you fish LOTW/Rainy at all, that is included with the most recent MN card, something to consider.