I am finally going to get myself a sonar/GPS combo fish finder this Christmas. It may be a while before I actually buy a map card but I wanted to get a jump start on the research. The big decision here is choosing Lakemaster or Navionics. I primarily fish Guntersville but also occasionally fish Wheeler and the stretch of river between them. I don't venture to too many other lakes, or at least not very often.

I know what kind of coverage Navionics has as I can view it on their web app. I can't sample the Lakemaster, just see that it has both lakes in HD mapping. I don't have a clue which one would be best for me. I like the extra features of Lakemaster and the coloring options it has but Navionics seems better at labeling things like road beds and submerged structure.

I will add that I do not nor plan to buy an autopilot so that Lakemaster feature won't apply to me. I plan on buying and using the card on a Humminbird Helix 5 or 7 for what that is worth. I also will probably buy and use the Autochart card/program to map a few small local lakes and creeks so that will be in Lakemaster format which may factor in as I wouldn't have to accustom myself both maps' styles and such.

Any advice?