this map set up is great

Very user-friendly. Packed with useful functions. Simplifies and speeds up pre-trip planning. And FREE! Knowledge is worth more that a shopping bag full of baits, and this site will build your knowledge and make you a more productive angler.

My routine for fishing unfamiliar lakes used to involve purchasing and studying lake maps, printing satellite photos, and reviewing online fishing reports. Then I would use the maps to identify likely-looking areas and structures, which I'd later test on the water.

The interactive maps on this site far surpass anything I've ever seen. If you're familiar with Google maps, navigation is a breeze. Being able to view the same section of map in may layers (topo map, lake contours, satellite photo, relief image, etc.) helps me better visualize the areas I want to check out. For familiar lakes, it helps me better understand why I found (or didn't find) fish in the places I went. I spent a few hours this past weekend studying Dale Hollow and learned more about the Wolf River section of the lake that I know will improve my catches.

But the coolest thing about this is the ability to record my catches and refer to those notes (and those of other anglers) in context. I'm looking at fish record icons on points, humps, bridge pilings and can check the notes to learn more about seasonal tactics and tackle that produced in the past.

One other thing.... I take screen shots of sections that I want to refer to later on the water. Sometimes I pass along a screen shot as an email attachment to another angler, which has proven to be an easy way to explain to a fishing buddy where they ought to try.

I wish a few more of the lakes in my region were complete with contours, but it's getting there. Lake by lake, region by region, data is being added every week.

This is the kind of tool that appeals to analytical anglers. If that's you, then start using and contributing data points on this site. It will pay off for you.