Navionics Chip

G’day all,

I was considering picking up the Nav Chip for the Upper Miss., but it’s a big expence for 10 days usage. I feel like a bit of a tool asking, but I was wondering if anyone would be willing to rent theirs for 10 days in early June?

Later,
Charles

No takers yet, eh? Not surprising, really. The river is one large body of water that lends itself to visual navigation to get from one point to the next so its quite possible that there’s just not many people out there with this map.

If you do end up looking to buy one, check out GPS Maps / Navionics for good pricing on these maps.

Charles – which pool and what days and what Lowrance unit do you have? I think I will be out at Bay de Noc then so mine is available.

ted

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What kind of detail do these maps show of the Mississippi? Is a Lawrance unit with a Navionics chip the best way to go for a GPS mapping system on the mighty Mississippi??

I believe it is 5ft. contours. I don’t know if anybody else has one for the Mississippi River or not. The GPS is nice for trolling. If you catch a fish you can punch in an icon and then turn around and go back through the same spot. Most people will get more use of the chip on lakes but I do like it for the river too. I haven’t used mine much yet but will learn more about it this season. I just got it in Sept.
Thanks, Bill

Bill, does the Navionics map show wing dams?

I honestly don’t know. I have never used it up by the dam or down below by wabasha on pool 4 where there are wingdams. The only places I fished using it on the river after buying it was around the head of the lake area and the back channel. I’ll have to find out and let you know. Very good and interesting question. This is something I would also like to know.

Thanks, Bill

I have owned the navionics chip for almost four years, and as much as I love them for most lakes, the pool 4 chip will not be of much use for ya. It will not show you depth contours for the river because of rapidly changing conditions, or wing dams for that matter. The only use it would be to you is if you wanted to find the edge of the various flats on the lake. These chips are an awesome item to have on the larger lakes in the midwest though. I use them on the great lakes and they save a ton of time and miles of searching.

JJW

I might add though that I do not have the most recent chip that is out there. They have updated them recently so the newest chip may have added some markers and wingies.

My wanting that chip for pool 4 use is mostly to use while trolling for flat edges and it will be nice for marking spots on flats or on the channel edge where I pick up a fish and then can go back through there to hit the same spot again [plotter with some bottom detail on it]. It will work better for lakes though. Nate is out today and I asked him to check and see if any wingdams show up on it and I will be out with him part of Sat. so should know more by then. Thanks, Bill

I actually found the chip quite useful for pool 4 – more from a navigation standpoint. The back channel and all the cuts and small lakes on the upper end, the contours out on the lake to see which points are deeper, submerged, etc and then it was especially helpful down in the lower portion of the pool as I was in the backwaters looking for fish two years ago in the fall.

Reguardless of the changing levels on the pool the contours remain the same. Once you get used to having a background map in your GPS it is hard to go without one. I spend 50% of my time on the water each year on systems that are either new to me or I have only been there once or twice – this is the basis for my opinion. I can see how a regular to a body of water would be disappointed with the level of detail. Charles is from Canada and the chip will help him sort out the water quickly as he prepares for his tournament.

Now the 1′ countour ReelBottom maps are a whole different story – they are simply amazing!

That’s my $.02!

ted

Hey Ted, the realbottoms with the one foot contours sound great but does it look like too much detail [lines] so close together or doesn’t that bother you when looking at it? I can sure see some advantages on lakes but was wondering about all the lines being too much on a lake with sharp drops. Thanks, Bill

ps. I really do like the Navionics so far.

The upper pool 4 wingdams are not on there. It would be great if the wingdams were as there are alot of them in the southern part of pool 4.
Thanks, Bill

Bill – Maybe on a smaller screen graph – I run the chip on a Lowrance GlobalMap 4000 on the dask and another on a Lowrance X-19C on the bow – both good sized screens. Distinct advantages are identifying where there is a sharper break off one side of a hump, corner of a flat, etc. Where there is a food shelf on a break with a quicker drop into deep water, etc.

I can personally attest to the effectiveness of the chip on Mille Lacs and Gull and have used the paper maps on Leech and Minnetonka.

If you fish White Bear, Leech, Mille Lacs or Gull a fair amount and want to learn more or target specific structure fish this chip is a great tool. The paper maps for Minnetonka are also very informative, I only spent 3 days there last fall but they helped for a successful trip – I don’t know if there are plans for an electronic version of Minnetonka in the works.

Those are just a few ways I have used this chip to help me learn an area or whole lake quicker, I could go on…

ted

Hey Ted, I run a Globalmap 3200 on the back for running the kicker with a x65 next to it and just added a Globalmap 3200 to the console next to a Fishmark 320. I also really like the big screens. Nate introduced me to the GPS on his LMS 320 last year on Mille Lacs and after seeing where the flats and humps are and just following the route there I was sold. Sold enough to buy 2 3200s and two chips and 2 Fishmark 320s for console and front trolling motor. Was an expensive day on the water with him but it showed me what I wanted for upgrades and GPS units [wanted big screen as long as I was buying GPS]. The units are great and I really do like the features. I understand exactly what you are saying, they help alot for structure and river channels and edges on points too. You can see things ”outside” the locator transducer cone area on your globalmap that the locator doesn’t even come close to showing.
Thanks, Bill

I could not agree with you more Bill. I am running the Lowrance X-104C on my dash next to the Global Map 4000. The 104 features a full TFT 10.4″ color screen that is simply amazing. If you have not seen one of these units yet, check it out – hands down the best color graph I have ever run…

ted