Lake depth maps

[wicklundrh]

I've been asked by several people so here is what I utilize when studying a new area I am going to when prefishing for tournaments.

First, if you google the following: Michigan DNR lake maps (put your state in where it says "Michigan"). You will more than likely find a listing to the DNR location in the state of your choice that lists a large majority of the hydrocology maps. This maps include contour lines, sizes, launch locations, etc... Ours also includes fish creel and net survey information, type of bottom, and if there is any state planted structure.
Ours is accessed like this.
Select the county in your state which lists the lakes within the county:


This is what one of the maps looks like:


A vast majority of map software from several GPS manufacturers are not accurate or correct. Not in the sense of depth but bottom contour. In my testing, they are no where close to reliable. Chips are also very unreliable.

Besides the state directory, I use the following for ALL Great lakes, connecting waters, and commercial shipping zones including Oceanic travel.
Chart Locator

Lastly, the best source I have found for a one stop shop is to purchase a book published by "Sportsman's Connection". They are not available for every state but they are growing every year. These are the finest maps available for small bodies of water including creel and net surveys, launch locations, types of bottom, depths, contours, sunken islands, troughs, and so on. They also have tips, tricks, and tactics from local bait shops as well as several key fishing hotspots. There are several books available for each state depending on which location you want to fish. For Michigan, I own them all.
https://scmaps.com/