Good Minnetonka Maps

[ratdog]

Anyone know of any good maps of minnetonka maybe with gps coordinates. I have a walleye sniffer map of Mille Lacs that's really nice but don't remember seeing anything for lake Minnetonka. I'm looking for panfish spots on the south side of the lake. Thanks.

[Matt Johnson]

I have one of the Reel Bottom fishing maps for Lake Minnetonka and they are very nice.

There is also a nice assortment of waterproof Pro Maps available here on FM, one of which is Tonka... Pro Maps

Both are excellent options.

They also come in CD-rom versions for you computer and for transfering to a GPS...

[markkstanley]

Go to Gander and get the Reel Bottom maps for Tonka. Has everything you'll need. You can also get a Lakemaster map for your PC and pinpoint any spots GPS coordinates. I have one and I use it all the time. I print out areas I want to fish with GPS coordinates and away I go. I keep the maps in some waterproof binders.

[Schnauzer]

I second (third?) the Reel Bottom map suggestion. You won't find a better map for Tonka. Of course, the best thing you can do is get a GPS with map chip capability and add a Lakemaster chip, but if you are strictly looking for a paper map, the Reel Bottom map is the way to go.

[Guest]

I've tried a few different maps from different sources (Fishing Hot Spots, Lake Master, Minnesota DNR, Where to Catch'em and Reel Bottom). The one that has the most detail is from Reel Bottom. For Minnetonka, I use a Reel Bottom map and love it; unfortunately, it ran around $20.00.

[Tonka Boy]

The best map I know if is buried in my head. But, since I can't exactly give away my head I'd have to agree with the Lakemaster software. Very cool!!

[mtreno]

i will put in an order right now - one tonka boy head please.

[Ice9]

I use Lakemaster software and print out my own charts from it for the zone I like to fish. Last year I was on the ice and ran into a guy with exactly the same map printed from Lakemaster but I'd blown mine WAY up and printed it on 11x17 paper. Very detailed, highly specific. I tend to choose a spot and work it hard, so I don't want the whole folding map mess. Also,when the map blows out or gets slimed or whatever you just toss it and generate a new one. I also like the feature on Lakemaster that allows you to highlight a certain depth range--one guess as to what that range is... I print mine in greyscale too to save on color ink. Best feature of course is that you place your mouse and the gps coordinates are right there. On the other hand if your chart falls into enemy hands there's little doubt of where you're fishing.

I'm a believer.

ice

[BDR]

Another vote for lakemaster. There maps are nothing short of awesome. Even better is to have the chip loaded into a handheld GPS. Not only can you go directly to the stucture you choose but now you can go right to the desired depth.

[markkstanley]

The Tonka Boy head map - dual use! Map plus door stop in one handy package. Great deal guys! ICE thanks for the blow up idea. How did you get your program to highlight depth? I've tried to use that feature but no luck so far.

[esoxfisher]

The ReelBottom maps are great and I have one, but they don't provide any fish location tips. I have every map of Minnetonka that I have ever found plus an iFinder H20 GPS system with the MN LakeMaster chip in it. The map has one foot increments of Tonka and the GPS can usually get one within ten or twenty feet of the spot. It is fun to zoom in on the map while at home while watching the kids.

I have actually gotten some of my best fish location tips from a couple of old metro wide lake map books. Ron Shara did one, but I can't remember who did the other one. Its a orange book with most of the metro lakes in it including Minnetonka.

Good luck.

[Ice9]

I own the Reel Bottom map, and have found some slight deviation in contours (preset GPS locations are accurate, I've found). Also, I've found (this is weird I know) that the maps are too detailed. 1 foot contours make the most dynamic areas of the lake--the ones you want to fish--too busy and cluttered to show more than a general trend of movement, and the more busy the contours the less clear the actual depths. This is a little thing, but I've often been frustrated to evaluate a spot's actual depth. If I were Reel Bottom I'd reprint those maps with 3' contours in full black and screen down the intervening contours in grayscales or something like that, which would allow the user to check actual depths more easily (or by headlamp, or in wind, or while driving the boat and looking at the sounder.) The gps sets are good for the obvious locations in the lake but I haven't used those much. I find the better locations on Tonka are more weedline and less bottom contour related--that is, there may be a decisive contour that shows up on the 1 foot map, but it does not always translate to the weedline shapes, which are what deliver. So I find what I think of as prime locations then put the map away and focus on marking weedlines and remembering where I catch something.

Also, and maybe this is a matter of style, I like to look not at highly specific locations but at the general "flow" of shapes that the contours create. I think of Tonka walleyes as movers, hanging in certain areas and moving regularly up into feeding zones, noshing on very plentiful bait, then returning. (That's the only way I can explain my usual outing--a very brief bite window with two to five chances, then nada.) The Reel Bottom map is so cluttered with contour lines that I can't really get a sense of where they're going and where they came from, or at least for a theory of movement to test. Once I started using Lakemaster I had a much clearer idea of the possible routes and in that year or so I've consistently caught fish, but I've been catching fish where and when I hoped to and not so randomly or accidentally.

I also like my computer, so I do more homework.

To set a particular depth range (the software shows 3' contours) hit the "show single depth" icon sixth from the right. Click on any depth range and one choice is "show only this depth" and you get a map with that contour in blue only. I used to highlight the depth I was fishing, but lately I've been highlighting the 20'-25' contour (it's actually the 21'-24' strip.) This makes the features kind of jump out at you and changes the way they look, and I've found this also gets closest to the way the weedbeds behave.

I'm going out tomorrow morning...I want ice but I want to fish from the boat too!

ice

[markkstanley]

Thanks Ice got it figured it out. Lower right hand corner click on desired depth range. DOH! It would be really cool if you could select two depth ranges with two different shades. Say 16 to 21 and then 21 to 24. The one depth range disappears into the clutter when you zoom out. I agree with the 3ft contour being enough.

[Ice9]

Lakemaster is local--they would probably appreciate our feedback. I'll slip them an e-mail and see if they upgrade the software. Probably wouldn't be that tough to do. I'd also like the ability to make the waypoint dots much smaller--I like tight waypoints for keeping track of the details of the weedbeds, but when you zoom out they blob together. Who knows maybe they'll make us Beta Tester/Field Marshalls and give us a sticker. I'm sure you've got room on your truck for one more sticker.

ice

[Rick]

Lakemaster no longer sells reelbottom maps. They now sell ProMap Series maps and they are the most current and accurate available.

Please go to http://Minnesota-lake-maps.com to se the pro Series maps.

[tashit]

So the Reel Bottom maps are by LakeMaster? The Spur station in Spring Park has Reel Bottom maps and another LakeMaster map (I think it said "Pro" but I'm not sure). I'm in need of a new Minnetonka paper map and I'm going to pick up one of these tonight. Any suggestions on which one would be better (more accurate) or would it be a matter of personal preference? I have not looked at either of these very closely yet but I will do so before I buy one. Thanks!

[markkstanley]

Either will do but like Rick said the Pro is the latest version. You will see some differences if you look really close. I should buy that laminated one and glue it to the floor of my boat. Keep losing paper maps.

[Flood_The_Pond]

Tonka Map