Reading a lake map?!?!

[Rymann]

Can someone PLEASE give me some pointers on finding structure on a lake map? My wife bought me the Garmin upper Midwest map and I'd like to learn the in's and out's of keying in on some structure. I hear terms such as saddles, inside turns and such. Examples would be fantastic! Thanks a ton!

[Scott M]

Rymann, contours refer to the relief lines drawn on your garmin map. These are like elevation lines on a topographic map, but in reverse. i.e. each additional line refers to an additional 1, 5, or 10 feet, depending on the scale used.

I'd recommend doing a search for different structural terms and learning what they are. I'm certain I've typed these out at some point but unfortunately the search directory for this site is limited to 3 years. At any rate, there is a good thread to start with that breaks down strucuture:

Matt Johnson's Weekly Metro Structure Breakdown

You'll want to have a good idea in your head of what is a

*neckdown

*saddle

*finger

*point

*hump

*sharp break

*slow break

*hole

*inside turn

*sunken island

*flats

etc.

Some are self explanatory but others may be new to some. Good luck. Post more questions as you have them, other terms, etc.

[Rymann]

I've got the contour lines part down, but just having a hard time identifying the types of structure you've listed. Thanks for the pointers though!

[Rymann]

Bump!

[Fishin4fun_MN]

I know what you are asking, but without you and a contour map in front of me, it is hard to explain. I use Navionics and was just trying to get an image to mark up for you but their web app doesn't let me do that like my mobile app does.

You could always look at that to get an idea of what you are looking at.

It is a free download. I wouldn't go by the contours as I have found them to be wrong or misleading on the web app but you can still see some structure, points, vegetation, ect. I would check put several lakes as they all have different things going on with contours and such. Even lake makeup is different...One may have a channel running through it another may have several small humps or submerged islands.

[scott b]

Go to Cabellas or Gander and look in the book section. I have lots of books about fishing. You will find all you need.

Fishing videos are a great learning tool also.

[Rymann]

I've got navionics on my phone. I understand the how to read a lake map, it's certain terms are what I am asking about. Like, what's a saddle? How do I identify a saddle? How to I identify staging areas on the lake map? These types of questions are what I am curious about. Say I find a piece of structure where the depth changes rapidly, do you want to set up on the tight structure, or do you want to set up on the edges or ends of it where it widens out? Thanks for all the help!

[Fishin4fun_MN]

In response to this question...you want to fish the whole drop off. The fish could be shallow, they could be deep, they could even be in between. As far as a saddle...I don't know how to ID it either. In regards to some of the other things they are easier to ID. For example inside corners, holes, humps, and underwater islands, they are self explanatory. A hole is a small pocket say 16ft in 14fow, just opposite that is a hump or bump. This could be a foot or more. and an underwater island is going to be a good sized spot in the water lets say 10fow that maybe is only 1ft on top, kinda like a big hump, but flat on top. They are usually good sized. Rock piles and under water vegetation is usually marked on your map.

[cylinder]

Here's a good description of a saddle:

A saddle is a dip or low point between two areas of higher ground. A saddle is not necessarily the lower ground between two hilltops; it may be simply a dip or break along a level ridge crest. If you are in a saddle, there is high ground in two opposite directions and lower ground in the other two directions. A saddle is normally represented as an hourglass.

The description is for land navigation but it holds for underwater too.

http://www.steelbeasts.com/sbwiki/images...dle_diagram.jpg

[Rymann]

Thanks a ton guys! I've been doing some serious studying, and think I'm going to try a few tactics this Friday! What would you guys focus on this time of year?

[masoct3]

***Quick Question***

Sorry for highjacking thread, but thought I could get this in. When I am looking at a map, specifically my Navionics app (but could be a topo map as well), I am wondering how I can determine the slope of the drop of the water?

So there are large circles all over the map. Some are very very close and some are plenty open. Is there something to tell me if it is a fast drop off and how would I know this?

Thank you!

[Fishin4fun_MN]

Pannies and 'eyes

[minnbowhunter]

***Quick Question***

Sorry for highjacking thread, but thought I could get this in. When I am looking at a map, specifically my Navionics app (but could be a topo map as well), I am wondering how I can determine the slope of the drop of the water?

So there are large circles all over the map. Some are very very close and some are plenty open. Is there something to tell me if it is a fast drop off and how would I know this?

Topo. map or lake map are both the same in this regard, the closer the lines are the steeper or faster the drop off. Some maps are more detailed than others. Some lines may determine 5 ft change, others may be different. the lines should have a number along them.

Thank you!

[Fishin4fun_MN]

***Quick Question***

Sorry for highjacking thread, but thought I could get this in. When I am looking at a map, specifically my Navionics app (but could be a topo map as well), I am wondering how I can determine the slope of the drop of the water?

So there are large circles all over the map. Some are very very close and some are plenty open. Is there something to tell me if it is a fast drop off and how would I know this?

Thank you!

The closer the lines the more the slope. For example...if it says 20 then 21,22,23,24,25, and so on there is a slope where as it they are farther apart then there is a gradual slope 20...21......22.........23.