what to look for on a contour map

[Burnham]

i recieved my issue of minnesota sportman today and it talks about identifying touch points and contact points on maps for panfish. does anyone have any suggestions on what to look for on a contour map? i want to learn to understand how to locate fish by looking at a contour map. i know that there will be different things to look for between different species, so just specify what species you are talking about and how you use maps to locate that species. any advice is welcome.

[Kyle Sandberg]

When I look at a map I first look for several different things. What kind of lake is it? Is it a shallow, dark water lake, a deep, clear water lake, or a combination lake? Once I identify that I start looking at locations that would be good for the time of the year. During mid-winter, like now, I would be concentrating on off shore sturcture and the deep water that surrounds it. That is a good starting area for most species of fish. When I'm looking for a crappie or sunny spot during the winter, I like to identify how deep the weedline is and try targeting flats that are about the same depth as the weedline. As the winter progresses, I like to target mid lake basins in search of some crappies. Some sunfish will remain shallow but some will also head out to deeper water until the ice starts to melt when they move back in for the spawn. When it comes to early and late ice for walleyes, I like to target saddle areas close to spawning habitat. These are the areas that connect two pieces of structure. I also like to look for deep water surrounding feeding areas like weed beds or weed islands.

K Dawg

[Burnham]

thanks for the reply kdawg

[Deitz Dittrich]

Burn- Maps can tell you a lot, however, knowing something about the lake before hand will help a lot too... as in, how clear is the water, what are the weed lines in, what type of weeds, what is the major bottom content..

For finding gills and such this time of the year.. we really have 2 major areas that the fish are holding. There are still some fish holding on weed edges, if you can find green weeds that is. There are quite a few lakes now that donthave much for green weeds left, if you can find green weeds adjacent to deeper water, you may be on to something. The green weeds next to the steepest drop. The second school of fish this time of the year are in deep basins... now not all deep basins are created equal. THe smaller the better as it will concentrate the fish. Also a basin that has a feeding shelf near by(a flat of adaquate depth.)

A map is a great tool, if you know fish movements and migrations, and have a slight understanding of the lake. You can eliminate a lot of water and concentrate on the areas that should hold fish.

[Scott M]

Had a similar question earlier in the week:

Breaking down a lake

[Burnham]

thanks guys..well im only in my 2nd year ice fishing and i still dont know a lot, this may be a dumb question. how do you usually determine where green weeds are, do you just go where they usually are in summer?i know that you can sorta see them on a vex, but how do you tell the difference between a soft bottom and weeds? haha sorry bout all the questions

[Deitz Dittrich]

Bottom is just that bottom... Weeds will show up on most if not all flasher units. They will show up as a broken bottom, some may even mistake it for fish on thier flasher.

[eyebjim]

You could make swiss cheese and vex the holes until you think you see weeds and then drop a hook to bottom and pull it up to see if they are green or mushy brown. It may take a bit of jiggin for the weeds to bite.

[polarsusd81]

One thing I learned at Thorne Bros a few weeks ago at the electronics seminar, is to turn the power (not the gain) up a notch or two on your flasher until you get a second echo. Generally, only the bottom will show as second echo and not the weeds, it can also be handy in determining the bottom content, a thick second echo was soft bottom where as a narrow second echo equates to harder bottom such as sand or rocks. If you set our flasher on the kitchen counter and have the puck at the counter level or just below, you should read bottom at about 6 and 12 feet I think. The waves move slower through the air than they do water hence the deeper readings.

[fishgutz77]

Kdawg nailed it when he said to look for saddles close to spawning areas. sometimes these areas show up on maps and they look like what I call butterfly areas, they connect humps and bars and once you find them there generally are fish there,or moving through. this time of year I don't work any water under 18ft most of my fish come 24-30 fow. today I worked a deep mid lake bar on whitefish and got northerns,perch,whitefish and walleyes all out of the same hole at 29ft all on the same jig. It took me years to finally learn that big bars and big deep flats are where the keepers hang out. good luck

[Burnham]

i see what you guys are sayin..thanks

[rockman]

Looking at a coutour map, a flat will have the lines of depth with some space between them.Lines of depth close together, or closer together show a drop off.Flats are like the dining room table to the fish.Some folks call flats-'food shelves'. Like fishgutz posted, a saddle really is nothing more than a flat between two pieces of structure.Another example of a small flat is a clean lip area, just outside the weedline,or the wall of the weedline.A shallow to mid depth flat, with green weeds on it, is where you will find the fish. Cover and food being the key attractors on a weedy flat,it almost doesn't get any better for the fish.

[David Kasten]

It all depends on whose map you are looking at, for instance i fish a lake and the depth contour line is pretty acurate except it doesnt mention a 19 foot ditch in the lake, where i catch most my fish. You gotta know the lake your fishing, if you dont talk to as many people as you can.