Hummingbird smartstrike vs basic card?

[AllenW]

Time to upgrade my Hummingbird cards, I have been buying just the basic card for MN, but have given some thought to the Smartstrike card for Mn.

It's been out for long enough so there should be some opinions on how it works and is it worth the extra $75.

Anybody?
TIA

Al

[hnd]

I have a buddy who has it and he's like, its kind of nice to have other ideas if you flat out need it. especially if you are fishing unfamiliar waters. but he said the best use of it is after you've caught a few fish, you input info about where you caught them and it will pinpoint areas that may also hold fish.

[AllenW]

Originally Posted by hnd

I have a buddy who has it and he's like, its kind of nice to have other ideas if you flat out need it. especially if you are fishing unfamiliar waters. but he said the best use of it is after you've caught a few fish, you input info about where you caught them and it will pinpoint areas that may also hold fish.

Thanks.

Trying to justify the cost, but so far can't.

Al

[Highplains Fisher]

I have both the regular and smartstrike cards and agree with what was already said. If you only fish water you know well I don't think the smartstrike is worth the extra money. If you fish new water occasionally/regularly it's worth it. The main benefit is that it will highlight areas that you didn't think of or overlooked and when you do find a pattern that works you can use the card to find more areas that match that pattern. Its just another tool in the boat to cut down on searching and maximize catching. Other than that capability it's just a normal lake map card.

[Wall-i-Lama]

I prefer a base card. I found that the smartstrike provides generic recommendations that are not very useful.

I upgraded one of my cards to smartstrike to try it and will not be upgrading the rest.

I've learned that you never know where walleye will be found. It changes daily (even during the middle of the day) and breaks a lot of the general rules that I learned over the years.

After using it, I can see where it will send a lot of people down an awful lot of rabbit holes.

Good luck with your choice!