So one of my new things i started this winter was printing off and saving lake maps from my dnr website.

I Minnesota we can search any water and most of the time get a map. My favorite maps I have been also adding in weed beds (some from memory) Seen from Google maps.

I honestly think this will help me in a couple of ways.

1) I can mark hot spots and include say water temp, weather, and fish info.

2) I can have a plan before getting to a lake

3) this I guess goes with two, but I will know the lake. So I will know the points.

The hard part might be finding information such as lake composite, and rock piles.

Google earth has a new application that can provide all sorts of new information like bathymetry, sediment, and bottom vegetation and other...

 

It is my understanding this new imaging technology that can operate through google earth is not free. But once you have it, you can use it on any body of water in this country and possibly the world.

 

I am working on getting it myself and presently waiting to hear back from the mapping network.

 

Now if only they can add in a fish finder...

 

http://www.themappingnetwork.com/

 

Sediment imaging:

 

 

Bathymetry:

 

 

Vegtation:

 

That would be great! I wouldn't mind paying that and getting detail maps.

The nifty thing about this new imaging is that when you look for bathymetric maps they are usually produced by various government agencies, and usually they map major fixed bodies of water like lakes, but for some reason tend to avoid a lot of rivers due to how fast that data can change, but with this new technology it can provide maps for rivers and creeks too, and is constantly updating itself. With many bathymetric maps, they can be years old, but with this new technology when you access it, the data will be current- or should be anyways. And you can bet this will only improve over time and get even better with more satellites going into orbit to provide a lot of this data.

 

I just saw a news report here in Florida on the last satellite launch where they interviewed some Navy officer who explained that presently the satellite capabilities we have now are over-subscribed meaning there is more demand on those satellites than they presently have capability for, so this year in 2015 they are sending up an entire new fleet of satellites to increase capability by ten times with the first satellite launched just days ago.

 

This type of imaging capability is about to increase and expand!

I love it. Great example of how military evolves into civilian needs.