River depth maps

[JJJ]

Are there any depth maps available for the Mississippi north of Little Falls? Any help is appreciated. I have checked the MN DNR website and waiting for a reply from the Army Corp of Engineers.

[EBass]

I'm taking a stab here, but I don't think a river map will show depth as the water level varies week to week/season to season. There might be, but I don't know how accurate it would be. I hope others will chime in here.

[Musky Mike]

At one point in time I did get some pretty good maps from Dan Gapen in becker. I'll see if I can dug them up for you.They were a series of maps that covered from Brainerd all the way down to Hastings. Anyway I'll give it a try!

[Mark Christianson]

Musky Mike

Are you sure they were depth maps?

I can't imagine anyone has depth maps for the river.

Like Ebass said, it changes season to season and day to day with water levels.

Then toss in the natural changing of the river due to actual physical changes in the river bottom due to currents and sediment/sand deposits.

For instance, where the Crow River dumps into the Miss, there is a newly formed flat/bar out from the boat launch that was not there a few years ago.

Bottom line, if anyone is looking for a map to use for navigation purposes, don't be to dependent on a map to seek out new spots. You may find yourself beached or worse yet end up with a big hole in your boat from the lone boulder that is not mapped out...

[Musky Mike]

Positive! But there was a diclaimer that the depths change continuously, therefore the maps are not for navigational purposes, but for fishing only. I found them very helpful to get an idea of the spots to avoid. You are right, the system changes all the time,heavy spring runoff can change the structure a great deal.

[Mark Christianson]

Man, if you find those, can you scan one? I am curious to see what they look like.

Although scanning probably violates copyrights.

Maybe if you accidently scan it, and accidently email it to me....

[river rat316]

I would take a set to! Ive always wanted to find something like that!

[Musky Mike]

I"ll see if I can find them. If I do maybe I"ll accidentally scan a set for the both of you. Accidentally, of course! (wink, wink)

[Poppin' Cats]

if accidents happen, and im sure they do from time to time, that kind of map is exactly what im looking for. if accidents dont happen a correct path to where i could find those maps would be greatly appreciated.

[skyking]

I know one of my buddies has a map of the river from St. Cloud to Little Falls, it may even go down to Elk River--can't remember for sure. I believe it was made by the Corps of Engineers. Sure is nice to know where the deeper holes are located for fall fishing.

[Musky Mike]

Guy's, I did find a map of the stretch from St. Paul to Hastings. It was put out by a company called Where to catch 'em maps. Can't find them on the net. Might be out of business. Still looking for the other maps. Ex wife may have tossed them out!

[Scarlet Mink]

Guys,

I've got a map with depths on it for a section of the River from the Rice bridge to the Sartell dam. I got it through the DNR. BUT it was issued in Sept. 1982 & revised in April 1983. It is NOT user friendly as it is 3' x 6' in size

on standard print paper. I got it from the MN Book Store on University Ave. in St. Paul. It has a document #B-0502 on it.

I also have a set of River maps (14 pages 7"x9") that cover a section from Little Falls down to Elk River, but there are no depths on it, just River channel and related shore features. This may be the same maps that someone else if referring to.

Hope this helps.

Mink

[BigMike]

Sorry I've been so silent lately fellas - I'm just in the initial stages of the bass shakes!

If anyone has a map of the river with depths it would be a premium find. If I remember correctly the DNR puts out a map of the river, but it is basically to show the basics of the river (islands, points, shorelines, accesses, etc...). I might want to add my name to the accidental emailing/scan.

[smallie_hawgin]

Guys,

With any of the maps you have they are all very relative. By this I mean that rivers and streams are not like lakes. They constantly change. Other than the very largest of deep areas (of which there were only 6 in 2003-2004), will remain in the same spot. The minor holes will change on a regular basis sometimes even on a yearly basis. If anyone tells you they have an accurate map of the river between Grand rapids and Coon Rapids, be aware it may be accurate for the year it was printed, but that's about it. Just a trained river rat putting his .02 in for the mix. Good luck.

[JJJ]

Just wondering if anyone has located a map. It sounds like none have turned up. The Army Corp of Engineers only has depths for the area by the highway 10 bridge where they made that channel. I was not needing a navigation map. Just one that showed the biggest holes. I think I'll have to find them with time on the water.

[krats]

I have some of the maps that "Scarlet Mink" talks about from the MN Book Store. They are from the 1980s', have depths and show the rocky areas.

I grew up north of Sartell on the west side of the river, across from the DNR landing, and I have the maps that go from the dam in Sartell all of the way to the Blanchard Dam. I have found that the maps have been pretty reliable in helping me navigate the river during the Lion's Club Smallmouth Tournment in this area. You can just adjust the depths on the map mentally depending on the years current conditions, the deeper channels have stayed pretty consistently in the same spots over the years from my experience.

I also have the maps from the Brainerd dam down to Pine Island, which is just north of Trunk Highway 115 at Camp Ripley. I have experienced the same type of navigating results in this area also. I believe that they have the maps between the 2 areas that I have.

Check out the book store, they will send you a catalog that has all of the river maps available listed in it, and they are not very expensive.

[swampbuck]

what is the MN book store?

Where can I find the maps?

[smallie_hawgin]

Swampbuck,

The link (I got authorization from Rick with FM) to the bookstore maps is here. Like I stated earlier though, they are old. http://www.comm.media.state.mn.us/bookstore/viewbook.asp?BookID=3159&stocknu

Good luck.

[Actions Fishing]

There are no accurate depth maps out there that I have found. "Where to catch" 'em maps are available for the Mississippi River. They are pretty accurate as to topography, and show the main channel routes, islands and miles. We usually mark our own routes and depths on them. You can get them at Actions Fishing in Anoka. Jack knows the depths of certain areas,and you might be able to get him to mark them for you.