Which Lakemaster chip is best?

So I just finished mounting a Helix 7 on my Polaris snowmobile, and I’ll primarily be using it for GPS and mapping during the hard water season. This is my first Humminbird unit and I need to purchase some chips. I see multiple options for different Lakemaster chips – which ones are best, and why?

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Ok here is an answer from “Mr Obvious”.
“Well caller, which lake from which state are you going to be fishing in?
That would be the chip that I would buy”.

Now I’m sure that you are asking a question that you could clarify better, eh?

I’ll be fishing Wisconsin, Minnesota, LOTW/Rainy, and Devil’s for sure this year. I’ll be using the unit in the boat as well, and really just want to make sure I’m buying the right tool for both applications. Is spending the extra money on LakemasterPlus chips worth it (total of approximately $100 difference when buying 4 chips)?

I love my Lakemaster Smart strike chips. They really help give you a few ideas on where to start based on time of year/day. It has actually helped me quite a bit when trying new lakes. I have the Smartstrike MN, WI, and LOTW/Rainy chips.

I use the regular old Lakemaster chips that I’ve had for probably 7 or 8 years now. I like sitting up the night before and going over a map to figure out what area looks fishy. They all show the contours and depth. I just never saw the need for much more then that.

Brandon Sibert wrote:

I’ll be fishing Wisconsin, Minnesota, LOTW/Rainy, and Devil’s for sure this year. I’ll be using the unit in the boat as well, and really just want to make sure I’m buying the right tool for both applications. Is spending the extra money on LakemasterPlus chips worth it (total of approximately $100 difference when buying 4 chips)?

The Lakemaster Plus chips have aerial photography, and that’s the only difference from the regular chips. Personally, I don’t think it’s worth it but depending on your navigational and orientation skills, it may be of benefit. If the only lake in ND that you’re fishing is Devils Lake you could get by with utilizing the Chart Select and downloading the lake map of just Devils instead of buying the Dakotas chip, thus saving about $95 ($30 vs $125). Similarly you could do the same for the other states if there is just one or two lakes that you fish.

I have a plus for MN. It makes sense for me since I use it in my duck boat also (can see cuts in cattails when navigating backwaters in satellite mode). Other than that, it’s for sure not worth the extra cost. It’s slower to load when using satellite and can be a PITA.

If you plan on fishing LOTW, MN and WI I would consider getting Navionics Regions card as it would cover all of those areas.

If you were just fishing the area of one card I would recommend lakemaster as it allows for depth shading and such, but you will need 3 cards (MN, WI, LOTW/Rainey) to be able to meet all your needs

My cards are I-Link compatible. I buy the standard LakeMaster card. I have a couple of Plus cards but only because I was able to buy them cheaper at the time I was needing to make a purchase.

The two other types of cards, Smart Strike and Lake Master Autochart, I don’t ice fish your lakes enough to comment on. Do you fish the same lakes on soft water? If so that might change your choice of cards.