Garmin or Lowrance for Inland Lake Navigation?

[CoralReefer]

I recently moved from Piercy Priest Lake to Old Hickory Lake in TN. Needless to say Old Hickory is MUCH different contour and with drastic depth changes. I have a basic Lowrance sounder but doesn't give enough info quick enough (I learned my lesson first time out skimming the bottom on a turn-around...no damage thank goodness). I've downloaded the Navionics App for Droid but after using isn't good for primary chart plotting/navigation.

I'm looking at two units:

Garmin 531s with Dual Beam Sounder

or

Lowrance HDS-5

Based on experience out there, which is better? I need optimal contour information and GPS function to navigate the channels of the lake. The Lowrance is a bit more expensive but I believe in paying a bit more for the superior product.

Thanks in advance for any feedback.

 

[Rxflyer]

Welcome to Old Hickory. Besides the HotMaps card in my Garmin plotter (I know, no help to you there..), I keep a fishing map of OHL on board (and at home to look at). They show the channel and secondaries, anyway, FWIW. Are you keeping the boat in a slip or trailering ? I'm at Creekwood Marina. OHL gets real shallow, real quick, and the channel's not exactly straightforward. As you already know.

You can get the maps at Academy Sports. Probably WalMart & KMart, too.

 

[CoralReefer]

I'm keeping boat in Dry Dock at the Boathouse in Mr. Juliet. I'll definitely invest in a good map to help out. Thanks for the response.