Anyone else mapping their favorite body of water?

[Wallijig]

About a month ago I subscribed to Insight Genesis and began recording my travels on water with my Lowrance HDS unit. Then down loading and making maps on Genesis website. I would not have believed it but now can not tell you how addicting it is. I can see contours, bottom composition, and vegetation like never before. Plus not to mention the views of my structure scan overlayed on the maps. It's the underwater world like you never have seen it before. Also after making SD card with contours and getting back out on water to see what I just made, accuracy is unmatched to any purchased mapping chip.

 

[Jim]

Post some links and pics. Very exciting stuff!

 

[juggernot]

I don't have a lot of knowledge about this new technology but I'm assuming you are slowly making a sonar map of the bottom and various structure in strips the width of the sonars beam, and in time you could have a very accurate map of the entire lake bottom?

 

[Wallijig]

Sorry was on my cell phone did not have photos available.
Yes I am driving around on lakes recording sonar log, using that information to make maps with Insight Genesis programing.

One of the lakes I mapped did not have any mapping available. it's one of my favorite walleye lakes as well for many others.
Anyone can do this with Lowrance Elite series or HDS units. You can make maps now free and view them online, with subscribtion you can generate that map and install it on SD card for on Lowrance units. The equipment I used was Lowrance HDS7 with LSS2 structure scan. One does not need structure scan, however if one has downscan helps in the identification of bottom composition.

Here's is a screen shot of one of the recording sessions I did. this one showing my trails where I drove around lake then you can see where I covered a bay area in multiple directions to get good contour and bottom composition readings. You can see red dot, which is showing me what my sonar showed in that particular spot view is to right of map. One can move it around on map to check specific areas..
(click on attachments below for larger and clear picture)

 

[Wallijig]

By clicking on tracks in header at top it removes my trails and view lake in with 3' contours.

By clicking contours one can select which contour I would like to see map in. Here's what comes up once click that.


Here's picture selecting the 1' setting:


Same picture zoomed in showing 1' contours:

 

[Wallijig]

This is bottom composition. Darker colors are harder bottoms, lighter colors would softer bottoms:


Here's vegetation: (we just had ice out not long ago and out new weed growth is just starting to develope)


Any of you with Elite or HDS unit can do this free and view it now. Just have to record and log and download recording into Genesis program.
Instead of going through to many details how to do this I will post link to instruction manual. Feel free to ask me any questions of have any.

https://insightgenesis.laketrax.com/docs/InsightGenesisuserGuideV1.pdf

 

[Wallijig]

When recording I did what is recommend, record around 1 hr segment then stop and restart recording. This is done so that if a file happens to get corrupted, one does not loose alot if information.
One does not have to map the whole lake you can just map your favorite fishing area on a lake..
One can just go around fish and log your sonar to make map. then compile those trips and slowly make a map.

Showing all trails made to this point combined :

 

[Wallijig]

Once you start mapping you will be very surprised on areas you commonly fish have some hidden hotspots. It could be that rock pile or submerged weed bed you never new was there. Then with structure scan one may even find more surprises like I did yesterday.
I found a old submerged combine:

 

[Captain Ahab]

That is really awesome

I will have to stop working completely now so I can map lakes

 

[Wallijig]

As you may see in top right of bing map one can upload or create waypoints and install them on maps, also can. Note pad one can add notes one screen.

The tabs on top of map, one can add or remove labels, tracks, waypoints, remove color for contour changes and adjust contours to level you would like to view it at.

This is what is shown if click tabs on top:
Data offset:


Merge trips:


Trends:


Mapgeneration: