Lake Master

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DmwWhp

DmwWhp

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When setting the water level on your Lake Master chip, do you just adjust the feet below full lake capacity?
 
I had that same question a couple of weeks ago, really like the software, setting it by the current level vs full pool seems to work well for the people using it. You have to wonder when and at what level they surveyed that lake, or whether the software should include" software was referenced at this level" to improve accuracy.
 
I cant speak for the Lakemaster, but for the Navionics, the level is set from when they did their surveys. Which was around 3605 or thereabouts...
 
Yes, sir, that is the information that is critical to have with that software, the reference survey with the level at that time.
 
I adjusted the level and then checked it with the sonar once we got in areas I could compare the two, it was real close the best I could tell. Very comforting with all the whales being born in the lake recently!
 
I called and asked Humminbird this question, their response was "depths are based on full pool unless otherwise stated". I have found it to be accurate on LP. Always good to find a nice flat and verify with your sonar.
 
I set my my offset at -131ft.when I arrived on Saturday 4/27 and found in some areas of the north end it was not as reliable as the south end of the lake. In Hansen creek on the 29th I found it was showing the lake shallow by about 10 ft in the back. In the bottom of good hope just down river from the rest room it showed that we were fishing up on shore when we were still in 20 ft of water. But even with the inconsistent reading it was still a huge help in navigation of the upper lake that I had never been to before. I would say be careful anytime you're not in the main channel. It shows the obstacles but not necessarily the correct depth in every canyon. I have found it to be spot on at several of the lakes in Arizona however, and more accurate in the southern end of Powell as well.
 
Meatwagon said:
I set my my offset at -131ft.when I arrived on Saturday 4/27 and found in some areas of the north end it was not as reliable as the south end of the lake. In Hansen creek on the 29th I found it was showing the lake shallow by about 10 ft in the back. In the bottom of good hope just down river from the rest room it showed that we were fishing up on shore when we were still in 20 ft of water. But even with the inconsistent reading it was still a huge help in navigation of the upper lake that I had never been to before. I would say be careful anytime you're not in the main channel. It shows the obstacles but not necessarily the correct depth in every canyon. I have found it to be spot on at several of the lakes in Arizona however, and more accurate in the southern end of Powell as well.
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Good information, I mostly ran the SJ and either didn’t pay as good attention as you or I didn’t see those big of swings. I will watch it better next time I go North. When we were fishing I was just watching sonar from the back of the boat but we were never on “shore”. Where we went North it seemed close so I am glad you pointed that out. Thanks
 
Meatwagon said:
I set my my offset at -131ft.when I arrived on Saturday 4/27 and found in some areas of the north end it was not as reliable as the south end of the lake. In Hansen creek on the 29th I found it was showing the lake shallow by about 10 ft in the back. In the bottom of good hope just down river from the rest room it showed that we were fishing up on shore when we were still in 20 ft of water. But even with the inconsistent reading it was still a huge help in navigation of the upper lake that I had never been to before. I would say be careful anytime you're not in the main channel. It shows the obstacles but not necessarily the correct depth in every canyon. I have found it to be spot on at several of the lakes in Arizona however, and more accurate in the southern end of Powell as well.
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I found this the same on the southern end of the lake last week. Thank you for your input.
 
That lake chip was one of the best investments I have ever made. Priceless when traveling watching for the whales. That being said they are not all shown. I have at least 5 that I have marked as a waypoint that are in areas that I fish regularly. Some of these are out of the water now when it is showing 40 of water. One of these is right in the middle of 4 mile just about 120 yards past the river rock island. Knocked my skag off on it years ago. Will never forget where it is. It is not hard to mark them as waypoints, I don't even bother to name them. As far as there accuracy on depth, they do not compensate for silt build up due to sand bars and silt left by the run off each year. Up North around striper city, there are places it says the water should be 50 to 60 feet deeper than what it actually is now. I have also had many times that shows we are 50 feet on the bank when we are 20 feet off of the bank in 50 of water. This seems to be worse when half of the sky is blocked due to the walls. I think the GPS needs a broader view of the sky to give truly accurate readings. On that note if you have the anchor feature your trolling motor, due not trust it in a narrow high walled canyon. I have a habit of putting my boat on anchor when I have to retie and get out a tangle so I don't have to watch out for the boat while I am busy. On the last trip I had done this and was busy with a tangle when the trolling motor took off wide open straight at the wall. Lesson learned.
 
Flipper said:
That lake chip was one of the best investments I have ever made. Priceless when traveling watching for the whales. That being said they are not all shown. I have at least 5 that I have marked as a waypoint that are in areas that I fish regularly. Some of these are out of the water now when it is showing 40 of water. One of these is right in the middle of 4 mile just about 120 yards past the river rock island. Knocked my skag off on it years ago. Will never forget where it is. It is not hard to mark them as waypoints, I don't even bother to name them. As far as there accuracy on depth, they do not compensate for silt build up due to sand bars and silt left by the run off each year. Up North around striper city, there are places it says the water should be 50 to 60 feet deeper than what it actually is now. I have also had many times that shows we are 50 feet on the bank when we are 20 feet off of the bank in 50 of water. This seems to be worse when half of the sky is blocked due to the walls. I think the GPS needs a broader view of the sky to give truly accurate readings. On that note if you have the anchor feature your trolling motor, due not trust it in a narrow high walled canyon. I have a habit of putting my boat on anchor when I have to retie and get out a tangle so I don't have to watch out for the boat while I am busy. On the last trip I had done this and was busy with a tangle when the trolling motor took off wide open straight at the wall. Lesson learned.
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Flipper, I saw the big swings that you talked about the last time I was on the lake. It did seem like the more the unit was restricted from the sky the worse it was. There were two times I was fishing on shore like you had experienced and one was actually in the Rincon with open view of the sky so I can’t say that is the only problem. We camped in a side canyon with a rock sticking up about 18” right in the middle of the narrow canyon, it did not show that one either. I am so glad to have it I can’t even describe the calm compared to the tense trips I had every time I was on Powell 40 years ago. I am thankful to have the technology but very cautious about its short comings! By the way I caught a few fish while I was fishing on dry ground! I am glad you brought this to my attention, I was getting complacent with the lakemaster in the boat, now I am a little more cautious again.
 
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