BWCA Depth maps of lakes in Quetico? Boundary Waters Quetico Forum
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deancal20
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02/11/2023 08:28PM  
I have McKenzie map of Kawnipi but not able to find any map of the lake's depth. Does such a thing exist?
 
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02/12/2023 08:18AM  
I doubt it - it's not on the Ontario MNR FishON-Line site...though I do not know if they ever list that sort of thing.

But I bet there's partial GPS/fishfinder data from a few folks who have visited with that equipment.
cburton103
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02/12/2023 07:56PM  
This question gets asked every year or two, and I’ve never seen any contour maps come out of it. I’m not sure if I wished they existed or not. There’s something special and hidden about a lot of Quetico, which is part of the fun. Don’t get me wrong, I’d study the contour maps and utilize them for fishing if they existed. But I also like that they don’t exist at the same time.
OutdoorEnthusiast79
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02/13/2023 08:27AM  
Get yourself a fishfinder with mapping capabilities. I use a Helix 5 with autochart. Put in the work and start mapping away. It will record right to the unit and you will have it forever.
02/13/2023 06:24PM  
Like all of you I like looking at maps showing the depth.

But the more I think about it, at least in Quetico, it is nice not having them. It adds mysticism or unknowingness to the area and gives it much more of a wilderness feeling. Over the years of camping and fishing, exploring the unknown was a big part of the trip.

Yes, I to search this site for where to go, but just going and finding out is very rewarding.

The accuracy of many Mn DNR lake maps especially, especially those made before 1970, are amazingly good because all those made before 1970 are amazingly good for before then equipment was very primitive, and locators were just coming on the scene even for them.
02/13/2023 10:07PM  
The world seems to get smaller as technology advances and more and more unknowns become known. I understand the sentiment, but I don't believe that technology is spoiling the wilderness experience or causing overuse of it's resources.

There does exist some lake depth mapping for Quetico, but it is spotty at best.

Purists look away now.

gpsnauticalcharts has perhaps the best coverage I have found with some of the bigger lakes mapped. I have not paid for their app, but simply viewed the data online. I think it is useful resource for pre-trip planning if your area/lake is mapped.

Navionics + also has some lake depth data that has been provided as "community edits" or uploaded data from users. I do see one deep hole mapped in Kawnipi, however useful that is.

As mentioned you can create your own lake depth maps if you have a Modern GPS fish finder. Lowrance, Humminbird and Garmin all have units that can accomplish this. I prefer Lowrance as they do not require a protected SD card for recording your depth/GPS readings, any 32GB or smaller card will do. I use a Lowrance Hook 4 Unit. Realistically one will not map an entire lake this way in one trip, but perhaps over time, area by area, the data voids can be filled in to provide a comprehensive map. Lowrance also has a "Social Map", similar to Navionics "Community Edits", on their CMAP website, free login required. I did not see any uploads for Quetico. I uploaded my data recordings from my June Cirrus Lake trip last week. It looks like they are still processing the data and will hopefully update the map later this month.

There are also some really old scanned maps of some of the lakes. These maps are not very detailed, but will give you an idea of the deep vs shallow areas. You will need to download a large zip file which contains many lakes over a large area. Maps package 10 covers most of Quetico.
historic-bathymetry-maps
02/14/2023 04:24AM  
Quetico... lots of unknowns. Lake depths are a known unknown.
02/14/2023 08:59AM  
Little Jean Lake over 250' deep!

Most of Cirrus is a beast too.

Thanks Arnesr. Very interesting.

deancal20
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02/16/2023 03:45PM  
Thanks arnesr. It was fun looking and playing with it. Great info for sure! I plan to use my fishfinder to map out some spots. I hope we can make it to Kawnipi. I am pushing 70 and my friend is right behind me. If we don't, it will still be our best trip yet.
campnfish
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02/17/2023 12:35PM  
Argo: "Little Jean Lake over 250' deep!


Most of Cirrus is a beast too.


Thanks Arnesr. Very interesting.


"


Which map # was Little Jean, did you see Jean or kawnipi in there as well, i did not.

Nevermind, i see you were looking at nauticalcharts, i was not.
02/17/2023 12:44PM  
campnfish: "
Argo: "Little Jean Lake over 250' deep!

Most of Cirrus is a beast too.

Thanks Arnesr. Very interesting. "

Which map # was Little Jean, did you see Jean or kawnipi in there as well, i did not."

Go to the first site he referenced. All the lakes are listed down the right column in alpha order. Not many Quetico lakes - Jean, Cirrus, Bentpine, Poobah and several more.
campnfish
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02/17/2023 01:18PM  
I also found someone put links to all the Bathymetric Maps.


fishing outpost
02/23/2023 08:27AM  
I just wanted to follow up as the sonar logs I uploaded to CMAP are now available on their Social Map. I wanted to point out that even though the information presented on the gpsnauticalchart website is interesting, there is large scale interpolation present and no doubt many errors in their data.

Here is the area of upper Cirrus lake that I recorded data for last June. I think you might need to register for a free account to see this online yourself.







My son and I spent a bit of time one day trying to locate this sunken point/reef that appears to come up to around 6 feet, surrounded by deep water. It seemed like a likely spot to find fish especially since it is exposed to the prevailing Westerly wind at a narrowing pinch point in the lake.









We zig zagged over the area several times, to no avail. The data is wrong! This feature does not exist in real life. Here is a screen shot from my Hook 4 showing the updated accurate map from CMAP. It is a bit busy with all of the depth numbers as it shows 1 foot contours, but you can see the layout of the lake bottom.











Finally here is a CMAP website screenshot of the area. It is a bit cleaner looking, but less detailed. Note that the contour depths are displayed in Meters. I have my login preferences set to feet, but it still displays in Meters, go figure.

 
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