I've seen a lot of good reviews on the Navionics maps. I guess it depends on what your looking for. I'm Moreno interested in channel depths and submerged objects. I read a stat the other day that said 68% of boat insurance claims are from hitting submerged objects. Satellite imagery is nice as long as it overlays marked objects and channel depths. And unfortunately that's not 100% accurate. There was a very experienced charter capt who hit a submerged wellhead a few days ago and killed a 36yo customer. He was running at night though. Not sure how fast. Anyway, my point is that no program has everything marked, but the more the better.

0 ...

Report Post

Posted by 007mag

Death Valley, Sec. 408

Member since Dec 2011

3873 posts

Posted on 7/25/17 at 4:24 pm to Dawg_Fan

I have HDS units with two card slots, if I get lucky and push the right buttons I can view my Navionics Card and my Standard mapping card simultaneously in split screen. If the Ti has this capability I say get one. My biggest priority is the cards. Once I find the ones I want I get a machine that'll run them.

1 ...

Report Post

Posted by bamarep

Member since Nov 2013

51806 posts

Posted on 7/25/17 at 5:21 pm to 007mag

Thanks to all you fellas taking the time to learn us rookies on this stuff.

I've been on the water and in the woods all my life and can legitimately say I've never been lost in either. However, that big blue vastness out there is a different deal.

Thanks again for all the pointers.

1 ...

Report Post

Posted by Buster180

Member since Jun 2017

1455 posts

Posted on 7/25/17 at 10:34 pm to bamarep

My Navionics has been excellent. I have only been seriously saltwater fishing for 2 years, but I have found the depth readings and submerged areas to be great. I could not imagine using my Humminbird without them.

0 ...

Report Post

Posted by jbro12

Baton Rouge

Member since May 2015

563 posts

Posted on 7/26/17 at 8:30 am to Dawg_Fan

quote:

I've looked at the Garmin 54 quite a bit. Two friends have them and say they're very user friendly. The problem I have with Garmin is that they don't allow 3rd party cards. I don't like the idea of only being able to use their maps when I may prefer another version

The 54 is preloaded with offshore maps. The 53 is loaded with thousands of inland lakes. I mainly fish freshwater so I bought the 53 and the Garmin Louisiana Bayou card which covers everything south of I-10 in more detail. It is very user friendly. Being able to overlay the maps with satellite images is what made my decision on the Garmin.

The best thing to do is go to Bass Pro or Academy etc and compare them in person. And make sure the one you choose can fit. I have a humminbird depth finder also and couldn't fit a 7" model without taking it off the console.

Page 1 2