C-Map Charts

Better Freshwater Fishing with Electronic Charts

Thursday, October 22, 2009 by Ron Ballanti

Most serious ocean fishermen wouldn’t dream of heading offshore without their high-tech marine electronics, especially their electronic chart plotter and digital cartography. Why?   Because they count on their marine chartplotter and electronic charts for a wealth of information that helps them find and catch more fish.

In growing numbers, freshwater anglers are also “tuning in and turning on,” spurred by increasing availability of smaller sized, affordable electronic chart plotters and fishing charts for popular freshwater lakes and rivers. For about the cost of a high-performance stainless prop, freshwater anglers can install a GPS/chart plotter and add satellite boating navigation and detailed waterway maps to their arsenal of weapons.

Today’s best marine GPS receivers can pinpoint your position to within three meters anywhere in the world, allowing you to navigate with accuracy and – most importantly – return to “fishy” areas.   And with the proliferation of inexpensive, hand-held GPS units that can fit in a tackle box, many fishermen are “steering by the numbers” to do just this.

Using an electronic chart plotter, however, adds a whole new dimension.    Electronic chart plotters add marine map technology capable of showing your boat’s position and movement over a digitized map of the lake or river’s bottom. Depending on the level of detail, this digital cartography can include submerged creek channels, drop-offs, points, brush piles, sunken islands and other structure items that are critical to fishermen.

With a little imagination, it’s easy to see how a real-time representation like this can help the freshwater anglers.   By really knowing the layout of the lake and where your boat is positioned in relation to key structure, you can spend more time fishing where the fish are. And by correlating what you see on the electronic chart plotter with information from your depth-sounder, you won’t have to wonder what’s under your boat. In fishing, knowledge is confidence. And confident anglers catch more fish.

Of course, an electronic chart plotter can only provide as much detail as is contained on the digital cartography it is running.   Companies like C-MAP have come a long way in the development of extremely detailed electronic charts for the nation’s most popular freshwater fishing areas.   The company’s MAX Lakes catalog of specialized freshwater fishing charts was developed with one purpose in mind — to help freshwater anglers catch more fish. Today, C-Map MAX Lakes fishing charts are available covering thousands of popular lakes and waterways in every U.S. state.

There are many ways savvy fishermen use this electronic chart data to their advantage. For example, walleye anglers can use their electronic chart plotters to focus and fine-tune their trolling presentations. Successful walleye trolling is based on precise boat positioning, boat speed and bait presentation, and a plotter gives you an extra high-tech tool.   If the fish are hanging along an edge or suspended over an underwater riverbed, you can position your boat precisely, track your progress on the map and make adjustments for wind and current.

Say you’re a bass fishermen, and you’re working a steep drop off a submerged point with a pig-and-jig or live bait. Same idea – you can monitor your boat’s progress in relation to the shoreline and the bottom, and make small adjustments as necessary.   And with the accuracy of today’s marine electronic GPS, you can keep working productive water by marking where you hookup and returning to this area through subsequent drifts.

These are just a few of the ways an electronic chart plotter and specialized fishing charts can make a wizard out of any freshwater fisherman.   Whether the name of your game is largemouth, walleye, trout, crappie or stripers, C-Map charts will help you catch more fish.    Visit your boat dealer or electronics store and get turned on to the world of electronic charts.

Electronic charts keep you on the right side of the line – and the law.

Thursday, October 22, 2009 by Ron Ballanti

Electronic charts keep you on the right side of the line – and the law.

Anybody who fishes ocean waters off California is aware of the state’s Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) and what this law means to recreational anglers. In a very complex process, various groups have been working on ways to achieve the conservation goals of the act, which was passed to protect the state’s marine resources. What this will mean to the layman is a growing network of no-fishing and/or restricted fishing zones up and down California’s 840-mile coast.

Southern Californians are familiar with this already; Marine Protected Areas have been in place around the Anacapa, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa and San Miguel Islands for several years. Closures are on the way for the rest of the state, as well as an even greater network of no-fishing zones for Southern California islands and coastline areas. Battle lines are being drawn right now, with a variety of competing marine maps vying for the approval of the state Fish and Game Commission.

However these marine maps end up coming out, it will be the fisherman’s responsibility to know and obey the law. There aren’t any floating warning signs telling you where you can or can’t fish, and printed charts with GPS boundaries of closed areas aren’t much use either.

Without a doubt, an electronic chart plotter with updated digital cartography is the best way for anglers to remain inside the law — and outside closed areas. A marine chartplotter will allow boaters to graphically see their GPS position relative to specific closed areas (most electronic GPS units allow users to customize the electronic chart display to mark general boundaries on the marine map.

Since the first closures were put in place around the Channel Islands several years ago, C-Map charts by Jeppesen Marine have had existing no-fishing zones clearly marked in red. This means that boaters can fish with confidence that they won’t accidentally cross into areas that could cost them a hefty fine. By using the electronic chart plotter’s proximity alarm feature, they can be alerted if they get too close, even if they are off the bridge and busy fishing in the cockpit.

Another advantage C-Map charts offer is the confidence to fish in close proximity to these closed areas, while remaining legally outside. These areas were selected because they are productive fish habitat — and anglers without this electronic edge are often too concerned to take their boats anywhere near them. I’ve experienced this first hand, catching quality bottom fish in an area adjacent to (but safely outside) the Carrington Reef closure area at Santa Rosa Island while other boats chose to steer clear of the whole area.

Closures like these will begin expanding up and down the state in 2010. Additional Marine Protected Areas totaling as much as 400 square miles are in the works for the Southern California region alone, depending on which marine map gets approved. Other coastal states, as well as the federal government, are also looking at similar networks of protected areas and fishing closures to manage marine resources. Don’t think this trend only applies to the Golden State.

Like it or not, more closed and restricted areas are in our future. Having a marine electronic GPS and quality electronic cartography will become increasingly important as the wide-open ocean becomes less open to anglers. This is why I’m glad that Jeppesen Marine updates its navigational charts and fishing charts at least twice each year. As a law-abiding boater and fisherman, I want to be sure I’m navigating with the most accurate electronic chart data available.

Catch Your Drift.

Wednesday, September 9, 2009 by Ron Ballanti

Tips for More Effective Drift Fishing

It doesn’t matter if you’re in freshwater or salt, East Coast or West, drift fishing can be one of the most effective ways to get hooked up with your quarry. It’s certainly one of the easiest ways. After all, fishing from a moving boat allows you to cover plenty of ground in your effort to find fish and present your baits/lures.

Don’t get the idea, however, that all that’s required is to randomly pick an area, drop your lines and wait for a bite. Just like any other style of fishing, there are subtle tricks and techniques that separate top “drifters” from everybody else.

Remember that your boat is an extension of your rod, reel and terminal tackle, and plays a key role in your presentation. This is true whether you’re drifting over soft bottom for halibut or fluke, or working a piece of structure for bass. It’s important to analyze how your boat drifts. Even under similar wind/current conditions, vessels can behave differently based on factors like length, beam, draft, windage and weight distribution.

Ideally, every vessel would drift sideways to the wind, providing a slow speed and plenty of room to spread out lines. In reality, many boats drift bow first, stern first or anywhere in between. Using your GPS will provide an accurate drift speed over ground based on given conditions.

What can be done to change the drift characteristics of your vessel? To slow down, cut down on your vessel’s windage by putting down Bimini tops or removing canvas enclosures on your flybridge. You may also be able to change your drift angle by turning the outboard motor, outdrive or rudder.

If more adjustment is needed, a sea anchor can be deployed to both slow your vessel and alter its drift angle. Sea anchors work like underwater parachutes, catching water to create beneficial drag. How it effects your boat depends largely on placement. Tie it off to the bow and the boat will ride bow into the wind/swell. Tying off to the windward stern quarter will help the boat drift in a more sideways fashion, more desirable for fishing. If you tend to drift stern to the wind, placing a sea anchor off the bow quarter will help you remain more sideways.

Once you have a feeling for how your vessel behaves, you’ll be better at setting up each drift. There are two key factors that cause your boat to drift — wind and current. You have to take into account the speed/direction of both. A piece of ribbon or light fabric tied to your VHF antenna acts like a tiny wind sock, helping you predict the effect wind movement will have. If current isn’t visible on the surface, try dropping a shiny nickel over the side to gauge which direction it flutters.

Precise drift positioning is very important when drifting over a wreck, rockpile or reef. If you don’t start far enough upwind/current of the spot, you’re likely to drift past before your lines enter the strike zone. After you make a pass or two, check the track lines on your boat’s GPS/chart plotter and see how they relate to the bottom contour/structure you’re fishing. Having this graphical representation allows you to fine tune your drift over an area, making minor adjustments that can result in major payoffs.

Mako My Day — Experiencing Southern California's Trophy Shark Fishery.

Wednesday, September 9, 2009 by Ron Ballanti

For several years now, Capt. Steve Quinlan has been successfully targeting trophy mako sharks in Southern California waters aboard his 29-foot Pro Line Super Sport Strike Zone. A shark tournament veteran, Quinlan has caught seven makos over 700 pounds and three over 800 pounds, including an 1,175-pounder that stands as the largest fish ever caught on rod and reel in California waters. Quinlan recently retired from the tournament scene to focus on running catch-and-release trophy shark charters (www.trophyfishcharters.com).

I’ve written about Quinlan’s unique sight-fishing shark techniques previously in the pages of Pacific Coast Sportfishing and Salt Water Sportsman magazines, but until recently never had the chance to experience the excitement first hand. I took that chance on August 28, when I set out with the goal of getting some good action photos while getting my 15-year-old son Greg his first trophy mako shark.

My earlier articles detailed just how important navigation electronics are to Quinlan (he’s sponsored by Jeppesen Marine and Simrad). On our trip, we ran about 20 miles out of Marina Del Rey Harbor to an offshore high spot known as the 270. Using his Simrad CX44 chart plotter and bathymetric C-MAP Fishing Contour Charts, we ran to an area several miles upwind of the 270. We “power chummed” (idling forward while dragging a chum bucket) back towards the 270 for a couple of miles, then set up to precisely drift back over the high spot. When we added a stream of fresh chum using Quinlan’s homemade “chum churn,” we soon had a nice slick behind the boat that eventually reached 8 miles in length.

Over the next several hours, nothing but two large blue sharks came into the slick. This is why Quinlan never puts a line in the water until he sees the fish he wants. You don’t want to be goofing around with a blue shark when a fired up mako charges the boat. Finally, around 3:30 in the afternoon, a fat male mako came to the back of the boat, aggressively attacking a nearby blue shark. My son baited up the mako with a light stand-up outfit, and the game was on.

Quinlan had often told me that sharks have individual personalities, and that sometimes a particular mako will seem to be demon possessed. Long story short, this was one of those sharks. It put us through the ringer for more than two hours, refusing to come to the surface where we could handle it. Still, by using the stout rod and stand-up harness, my son did a great job wearing the fish down. The fish gave his all during the fight and because of its exhausted condition, we decided to take it (mako is an excellent eating fish on par with swordfish). While not a giant by Southern California standards, my son’s first mako was a very respectable fish of 200+ pounds.

I was able to get some great photography “in the can” for a future magazine article and my son put an exclamation point on a great summer. I know there are much bigger makos prowling the coastline of Southern California. I’m looking forward to hitting the water again soon with Captain Quinlan in search of a monster, and reporting back to you with the results.

Fishing For $5000

Friday, September 4, 2009 by Ron Ballanti

Here’s an event for avid striper fishermen. Top anglers from across the country will be heading to Mashpee, MA September 19, 2009 to compete in this high-profile fishing competition - the Jeppesen Marine Cape Cod Striper Showdown. This American Striper Association (ASA) sanctioned event awards $5000 to the first place winner ($2500 if not a member of ASA) and the top 5 winners are assured of a cash prize.

This competition is sponsored by Jeppesen Marine, a market-leading provider of navigation solutions, including C-MAP electronic navigational charts, C-Marina charts, bathymetric Fishing Contour Charts and marine GPS navigational software. For more details about the Marine Cape Cod Striper Showdown, visit ASA's website at www.fishasa.co

Jeppesen Marine Provides Electronic Navigation Support for "Around the Americas" Voyage.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009 by Richard Allen

Jeppesen Marine is providing advanced navigational software and C-MAP MAX Pro cartography for the Around the Americas 24,217-nautical mile, yearlong journey.

By providing advanced navigational software and C-MAP MAX Pro cartography to the 13-month Around the Americas expedition, Jeppesen Marine is doing more than helping a small crew of adventurous sailors safely circumnavigate the Americas aboard a 64-foot sailboat. Jeppesen Marine is helping raise awareness of critical ocean health issues and educating thousands in the scientific community and general populace as the Ocean Watch visits 31 ports in 11 countries on its 24,217-nautical mile, yearlong journey.

In actuality, the Around the Americas project — a joint venture of Seattle’s Pacific Science Center, the University of Washington’s Applied Physics Lab and Sailors for the Sea — has the potential to reach millions more people worldwide through the media and online. In addition to face-to-face meetings and discussions with educators, scientists and the media at each of the scheduled port stops, voyage organizers will provide direct access to voyage updates through web-based field reports and create bi-lingual educational materials available free to classrooms, after school programs and homes. The scope and nature of this ambitious educational voyage is certain to attract widespread media exposure everywhere the Ocean Watch travels, as well as around the world. A film and book about the expedition are also planned.

The Around the Americas expedition is scheduled to depart Seattle, Washington during June 2009, and return to Seattle sometime in July 2010. The planned route will take the Ocean Watch through the Northwest Passage, down the United States East Coast, around Cape Horn and up the United States West Coast. Her crew will consist of Mark Shrader, project director and captain; David Logan, first mate; Herb McCormick, watch captain and marine journalist and David Thoreson, watch captain, cameraman and photographer. During certain legs of the journey, they will be joined onboard by various scientists, educators and other VIP guests.

“We’re honored to play a role in this important expedition and proud that our electronic charts will be used to help guide the crew of the Ocean Watch,” said Michelle Buckalew, senior marketing manager, Jeppesen Marine. “On this ambitious voyage for environmental education, these sailors will navigate remote waters rarely encountered by boaters. The group’s selection of Jeppesen Marine as electronic chart provider to support this challenging journey is testimony to the accuracy, detail and feature-rich performance of our marine cartography,” added Buckalew.

The crew will be navigating using Jeppesen Marine Nobeltec Admiral MAX Pro navigation software operating C-MAP MAX Pro cartography. This is Jeppesen Marine’s most advanced electronic chart platform for recreational marine use, with a host of specific features beneficial to the crew of the Ocean Watch. These include the ability to overlay real-time and 10-day weather forecasts onto the charts, Virtual World 3D display for detailed three-dimensional presentations of land and sea contours, and 2D and 3D satellite photo overlays. This system also provides instant online access to Notice to Mariner chart changes on a weekly basis — providing the Around the Americas sailors with the most accurate and up-to-date electronic navigation charts available.

For more information on the Around the Americas expedition, and to follow the journey as it unfolds online, visit www.pacsci.org/aroundtheamericas.

Give your Onboard Electronics a Pre-Season "Tune-Up" With C-Map PC Planner

Monday, June 22, 2009 by Ron Ballanti

You’ll Be Amazed at All You Can Do With Your PC and a MAX or NT+ Compatible Chart Plotter

Many conscientious boaters prepare for the summer boating season by giving their vessel a thorough “once over.” As they should, they carefully check their boat’s batteries, wiring and connections, monitor critical fluid levels, examine through-hull fittings and replace dirty fuel filters, to name just a few. The reasoning behind this is sound; nobody wants to start the first day of the long-awaited boating season with problems — or worse yet, a breakdown.

Boaters can achieve this same peace of mind with their marine electronics as well, provided they have a GPS/chart plotter that’s compatible with C-MAP electronic charts. Using Jeppesen Marine’s C-MAP PC Planner software and a home computer, boaters can make sure that their electronics are “tuned up” and ready to optimize boating enjoyment this summer.

Developed as a computer voyage planning tool for sailors, power cruisers and saltwater anglers, PC-Planner opens the door to accomplishing much more. Of course, it’s great way to spend time planning the navigational aspects of future vacations cruising tropical shores or trolling fish-rich waters. You can load and view your C-MAP charts on your PC and create and edit marks and routes, just as you would on your chart plotter. You can view embedded aerial photos of inlets and harbors you plan to visit, check out marina facilities and layouts and even check tide and current predictions for safer and more efficient cruising. But this just scratches the surface.

Here are some other “nuts and bolts” ways PC-Planner can help streamline your fishing and cruising time beginning with the season’s very first trip:

Fishermen, Does This Sound Familiar? You see a fish sign on the sounder, so you hit mark on the chart plotter. A little while later, you see some more signs and hit mark again. This goes on, day after day, trip after trip. Before you know it, your chart plotter display looks like one giant black spot when you zoom out. Using PC Planner during the off season makes it easy to eliminate the clutter of old and un-needed user marks, while editing and saving those that are important.

Go To BassRip, Not WPT0034. It’s always better to save a user mark with a name that explains what it is and what it means. Most boaters, however, never get time to go back and edit these generic marks with names that actually make sense and will help them later. With PC Planner, you can make use of your downtime by going through your best fishing spots, naming them and organizing them. This is also applies for anchorages, great dive spots - anywhere you want to identify for the future.

Log Important Data. Most chart plotters can be interfaced with your echo sounder’s depth output and temperature sensor, so every mark you save can also include water depth and temperature, as well as the time of day. This is great way to create a log of each fishing hot spot, along with important depth/temp information to help you establish a pattern for the bite. Saving this data for future reference and study using PC Planner can help make next fishing season more productive.

Clean Your Screen. PC-Planner is the ideal way to clean up screen clutter of all kinds. At your computer, in your home or office, you can also clear out old track marks and routes, further de-cluttering your chart plotter display and opening up needed memory. When the next boating season comes, you’ll enjoy the benefits, which also include an organized waypoint list that makes it easy to find what you want. Once you make the changes you want, you can use the optional memory card to easily transfer data between your computer and compatible chart plotter.

You’ll do it When it’s Easy. Even though you can perform most of these “tune up” functions on your chart plotter, they’re often neglected. Why? Because it’s time consuming and let’s face it, when you’re on your boat you usually have better things to do. PC-Planner makes it easy. Rather than “navigating” through keypads and on-screen alphanumeric menus to name and edit waypoints, you can use your computer’s keyboard. It’s as easy as typing a letter.

Print Out a User Point/Route Log. Once you’ve finished editing your way points, another great feature of PC Planner is that you can print out hard copies of these user points for safe keeping. Or if you want, you can “loan” them to a really good fishing buddy!

Print Out a “Chartlet.” On the subject of printing, another great utility of PC Planner is being able to print out a chart screen with your user points and routes overlaid on top of the chart. This is a great way to keep your own hard copy of your activities from past seasons’ trips or your favorite fishing spots. If you have a little experience with basic graphics programs, you can even paste favorite photos (like big fish) alongside these same user points on the hard copy.

Back Up Plan. With your computer, PC-Planner and a memory card, you can perform another very important—and often neglected—tune up service for your marine electronics. After editing and naming important waypoints — favorite fishing areas, dive spots, anchorages, etc. — you can quickly and easily back them up and store them safely. This is a also a great way to create and update a permanent digital log of your best fishing and diving spots. Backing up your user points and routes is also useful prior to updating your chart plotter’s software. Most manufacturers provide updates on a routine basis, not only to fix “bugs” but also to add new features. Contact your chart plotter manufacturer for further information. If there is a software update, you can use PC Planner to accomplish this task during the off-season.

Have Fun. Instead of being a chore, tuning-up your electronics and planning future trips with PC Planner is fun. And everybody knows that prior planning makes for a smoother trip on the water, whether fishing, cruising or sailing. Organizing your fishing spots, using your C-MAP charts to check out potential new ones, mapping out your big summer cruising vacation— all this is a great way to get ready for the year’s biggest boating adventures.

At only $149 (or $179 with memory card), PC-Planner makes a great gift and an important accessory for any avid boater. Call Jeppesen Marine’s Cape Cod, Massachusetts office at 800.424.2627 or visit www.jeppesen.com/lightmarine to learn more about PC requirements and chart plotter compatibility.

C-Map Charts Created by Fishing Club

Wednesday, May 13, 2009 by Ron Ballanti

The Coastside Fishing Club Chart is another in the series of C-Map charts created from expert sources outside of official HO channels. In this case, the officers of the 10,000-strong fishing club volunteered to provide local knowledge of area fishing grounds in order to promote the recreational fishing experiences for members and non-members alike.

The Coastside Fishing Club Chart is a unique combination of navigation data, bathymetric data and local knowledge of the top fishing minds in Northern California.

A perfect example of making the most from fishing contour charts is the collaboration between Jeppesen Marine and the Coastside Fishing Club of California in creating a custom electronic chart for the Northern California recreational fishing community. Any interested angler may purchase this unique chart in keeping with the Coastside mission to enhance the recreational fishing experience of all who fish that area's waters.

This specialty chart combines coastal navigation data with detail offshore ocean-floor contour data. It features approximately 100 charted areas that the Coastside leadership with its vast local knowledge and experience has identified as the region's most productive grounds.

Chart Coverage Area
The coastal range is from Coos Bay, Oregon, to Point Conception, California — approximately 600 miles of coastline. It includes San Francisco Bay, San Pablo Bay, the Delta and the Sacramento River to a point just south of Colusa, California.

The average limits of east-west offshore area coverage is approximately 300 miles overall. Bathymetric data (detail bottom contours) are maintained from the shoreline to an average offshore area distance of 100 miles.

General Specifications
The Coastside Fishing Card (CFC) is available in both MAX and NT+ charting lines: MAX for electronic chart plotters that are MAX compliant/MAX upgradeable and NT+ for electronic chart plotters that pre-date MAX. It is available on all standard MAX and NT+ chart plotter card formats.

Exclusive MAX Features
The combination of a MAX class chart with a MAX-compatible electronic chart plotter means a suite of additional features beyond the special characteristics of the CFC chart.

They include:

Dynamic surface currents
Flashing NavAids
Reference images
Photographs
Perspective view
Shore-based value-added data and more

Chart Updates
New releases of the CFC fishing card will produce updated charts that include new identified areas and expanded information for existing designated areas. They will also include additional bathymetric data (if available), all new aids-to-navigation that occur in the chart coverage area since the previously released version and all state-mandated Marine Protection Areas (MPA) at the time of the new release.

Custom Specifications
The Coastside Fishing Card features five categories of custom information:

Recommended fishing and crabbing areas
Fishing guidelines for each area
Habitat and regulation information
Marine Protection Areas
Use of popular local names and references
Local navigational guides

CFC Area Designations
The approximately 100 charted CFC areas include recommended fishing, crabbing and cautionary areas such as bottom trawling zones. Each selected area is identified by a fish symbol. Each area is entirely outlines by a border consisting of inverted T symbols. Multiple areas are identified for tuna, salmon, striped bass, rockfish, halibut, sand dabs and crabbing.

California MPAs
State Marine Protection Areas as of March 2009 for the 12 counties within the CFC chart coverage areas are identified by boundary markings.

Supporting Area Information
Each area name and type of catch is identified on the chart. The chart also lists additional information such as special CFC fishing guidelines. MAX charts also contain images of the species plus history and regulations whenever possible.

Local References
Local names commonly associated with each of the designated fishing areas and other points of reference are maintained in the charts and displayed on the chart plotter.

Special Navigation Guides
The chart contains several CFC navigational guidelines for areas that the CFC has identified as difficult or potentially hazardous to navigate and are not shown on standard charts. One example is the Pillar Point Reef area.

The 2009 CFC chart retails for $199 regardless of product class. Contact your local dealer.

Jeppesen Marine (1-800-424-2627) alos offers several cost-saving exchange programs for qualified C-Map customers.

Upgrade an NT+ CFC chart to the 2008 MAX class chart for qualified electronic chart plotters
Update older NT+ versions to the new 2008 NT+ version chart
Exchange an existing NT+ or MAX chart for the special CFC chart

Fishing Contour Charts

Wednesday, May 13, 2009 by Ron Ballanti

Wouldn't it be nice to know where the fish are likely to be beforehand, so you can spend less time searching and more time catching? Jeppesen Marine's Fishing Contour Charts put more data at the fingertips of recreational and commercial saltwater fishermen to help them target the drop-offs, ledges, canyons, sea mounts, shoals and ledges where fish congregate.

Developed from NOS surveys, Fishing Contour Charts deliver the bathymetric information you need to find more fish, whether near shore or offshore. Canyons, sea mounts, ridges and other subsurface bottom structures create upwellings, concentrating bait and the resulting game fish.

Focus your efforts around these shaded contours and you'll fish more efficiently and with greater success.

Key Features:

Contour lines show up vividly on color electronic chart plotter displays
Displays locations and popular names for top fishing spots
Shows precisely where your boat is in relation to prime structures
Provides large coverage areas from Maine to Alaska

Popular names given by professional skippers over the years appear right on the charts, making it even easier to fish like a pro, even if you aren't one.

Order a Fishing Contour Chart for $129.

The same Fishing Contour Chart sells for only $99 when purchased with any navigation chart.

Call Jeppesen Marine today at 1-800-424-2627.

Catch a Break, Find the Fish - Part 2

Tuesday, May 5, 2009 by Ron Ballanti

Experienced offshore anglers know the importance of finding temperature breaks (lines dividing cooler and warmer water) when seeking out pelagic gamefish like tuna, marlin, yellowtail and dorado.

For reasons covered in Part 1, these constantly shifting, moving breaks are natural concentration points for baitfish and the saltwater gamefish that feed on them. On the water, smart boaters keep their eyes open for tell-tail signs that give away these prime fishing areas. Smarter yet is using available technology at home and on the water to pinpoint these temperature breaks and to fish them more effectively and efficiently once found.

Top-performing offshore anglers begin each fishing trip by doing their homework. They log onto subscription services like Southern California's www.TempBreak.com to review the latest available satellite sea surface temperature (SST) data. This website lets you view color-coded temperature maps overlaid onto coastline marine maps on your home or office computer so you can identify key areas to target. When you scroll the cursor across the screen at this fisherman's website, you can see how far a break is from your home port and also identify the latitude/longitude numbers for any point on the map. When you find a temperature break located around any of the offshore seamounts, canyons and ledges found on C-Map charts (especially the detailed bathymetric C-Map fishing contour charts), this is an area worth investigating. Temperature breaks gather fish. Sea floor fluctuations and contours gather fish. The two combined are like a neon sign saying, "Fish here!"

You can transfer this latitude/longitude information easily to your GPS marine chart plotter so you can leave the dock or launch ramp with both a plan for success and a visual guide during the day. Knowing where you're headed before you set out will put you ahead of the competition as well as save you time, fuel and money.

With the recent technology that simplifies integrating Sirius® satellite weather data (including current SST data) with select C-Map-compatible electronic chart plotters from various manufacturers, anglers have an even more powerful tool at their disposal. By overlaying real-time SST maps right onto your electronic chart plotter, you'll be able to stay on top of changing conditions as well as the fish.

That's good news for you and your crew — but bad news for Mr. Tuna.

A Welcome Complement to Your C-Map Charts

Thursday, April 30, 2009 by Richard Allen

In 2006 life-long sailor and recreational pilot James Bildner released A Visual Cruising Guide to the Maine Coast. This original boating navigation guide provided full-color, low-altitude aerial photographs of Maine's rugged shoreline. Anyone who has ever traversed that mind-boggling route knows that its beauty holds a myriad of thorny passages and hidden approaches. Bildner's 272-page guide included text descriptions of the Maine coast along with piloting instructions, labeled approach lines and chart segments from high-resolution navigational charts.

Now Jim is doing it again — this time extending his visual guide to encompass Cape Cod to New York City, including Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, Block Island and Long Island Sound. For A Visual Cruising Guide to the Southern New England Coast, Bildner has gathered a network of local experts up and down southern New England to review and contribute to the piloting instructions offered.

Featured are aerial photos matched with the related navigational chart segments and text descriptions to guide sailors through channels and harbor approaches. The photos and navigational charts clearly label hazards, safe channels and key navigation aids. In addition, Bildner indicates the location from which the photos are shot and, on some charts, provides an overlay to show how the safest entry route actually looks from the water.

Bildner's newest contribution will be a welcome addition to any crew. Yes, you still need your electronic C-Map charts for cruise planning and to navigate safely on the water. Think of A Visual Cruising Guide to the Southern New England Coast as a welcome complement to your C-Maps and traditional cruising guides. I'm also thinking this will make a dandy companion for a relaxing off-season evening sail by the fire.

Watch for Jim Bildner's navigational guide to be released in November 2009.

New Electronic Cartography Features Enhance Navigation Safety

Thursday, April 30, 2009 by Ron Ballanti

"Safety first" is the wise boater's mantra. So boating navigation experts at Jeppesen Marine constantly explore ways to improve safety and to enhance navigator confidence for all cruisers, sailors and fishermen. To that end, a new wave of electronic navigation systems has broken onto the scene this boating season, offering boaters innovative new capabilities and unlocking the latest powerful features and enhancements found in Jeppesen Marine C-Map MAX 09 electronic cartography.

Several innovative features that are made available through the new marine electronic systems include Jeppesen Marine's "smooth zoom" and "turbo zoom" technology. Smooth Zoom eliminates visible jumping of the electronic chart display, providing you with uniform, seamless switching of the chart scale when zooming in or out. Turbo Zoom delivers extra-fast telescoping when the electronic chart plotter's zoom key is held down. Add to these enhancements a convenient feature that instantly prepares new chart objects — land contour, depth areas, names, NavAids, buoys, beacons, rivers, roads, etc. — in the background of the electronic chart. This gives you instantaneous display and "invisible" redrawing when panning or zooming.

Jeppesen Marine also has added a new Route Check feature. This addition quickly checks your planned route for a wide range of obstacles and dangerous objects along the way. Route Check offers a user-selectable minimum depth for the vessel, and each leg of the route is rated green, yellow or red to alert boaters to potential navigational hazards they might encounter. Shallow water, rocks, obstructions, wrecks, intertidal zones, dredge areas and shoreline obstacles are among the dangers noted by Route Check.

In addition to these new features, Jeppesen Marine is adding more than 2,000 new aerial photographs of harbors and inlets nationwide to its upcoming spring 2009 release of C-Map MAX electronic charts.

For more information about Jeppesen Marine or to view compatible electronic chart plotters, visit www.Jeppesen.com/lightmarine

Sport Fishing in Alaska

Wednesday, April 29, 2009 by Ron Ballanti

Whether you want to do a little marine fishing in open waters or wade into streams for your catch, Alaska offers a great angling experience for every level of fisherman. This state is home to some of the best game fish — salmon, giant halibut, cutthroat trout and other species.

In southeast Alaska — the panhandle — sport fishing is a way of life. Prince of Wales Island off the mainland coast, Ketchikan to the east, Petersburg, Sitka and Juneau all offer challenging angling opportunities. There are numerous streams and lakes for trout. Marine fishing includes the highly prized king salmon as well as coho, pink and sockeye. The waters in southeast Alaska also boast halibut, lingcod, Pacific cod and herring.

Southcentral Alaska — Anchorage, the Kenai Penninsula, Prince William Sound and Northern Cook Inlet — are awash with northern pike, Pacific halibut, silver salmon, Dolly Varden, rainbow trout and several species of white fish.

In addition to the marine fishing opportunities of the southeast and southcentral areas, Alaska's interior glacial rivers and lakes comprise a range of waters — from challenging rapids to placid pools. Here the angler will find burbot (the only freshwater species of cod found in North America), Dolly Varden, Arctic char, grayling, lake and brook trout as well as king, chum and coho salmon.

So for a satisfying encounter with some worthy aquatic opponents, consider updating your C-Map charts and heading north to Alaska. Regional information on marine fishing and fishing opportunities throughout Alaska is available from the Sport Fish Division at www.sf.adfg.state.ak.us/statewide/sfpubs.cfm

Electronic Chart Updating - Part 1

Wednesday, April 22, 2009 by Richard Allen

Electronic Chart Updating – Part 1
What Is It?

What Is a Chart Update?
Updates to navigational charts comprise a wide range of situations. The update may involve something as common as a buoy or light change. It may be the result of a contour change or shoreline shift brought about by weather. It could be something as complicated as changes to channels, commercial shipping lanes or restricted areas. Updates also include new planning and value-added data such as marina facilities and port services.

Essentially, an update is necessary whenever there is any change in your boating area that could have a negative impact on navigation. It may be a single change to a chart or it could require replacing the entire chart. Charts that cover areas known to change constantly require a substantial number of chart corrections while charts that cover relatively stable areas may need fewer updates.

Considering the variety of situations that call for a chart update, the result is hundreds — if not thousands — of changes that occur from one year to the next.

For boating safety, it is imperative that your navigational charts reflect these changes as soon as possible. Much of this information is available to the public for free on line. These three publications provide updated information weekly for mariners using paper charts: the USCG Local Notice to Mariners (LNM), the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency’s Notice to Mariners (NM) and – for the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway – the Canadian Coast Guard’ Notice to Mariners.

However, when faced with the daunting task of correcting paper charts or even updating electronic charts with an accurate interpretation of all these changes, most savvy boaters opt to delegate this task to the pros at Jeppesen Marine.

How Does an Electronic Chart Get Updated?
Jeppesen Marine uses numerous sources of information to compile its electronic chart data. However, each source must meet strict criteria to qualify as a legitimate resource. As a result, there are only a handful of private sources used to fill those gaps where governmental agencies lack the manpower, financing and local experts to provide accurate data. These private sources include the well-respected Coastside Fishing Club in the San Francisco Bay area, the Explorer Chart publishers in the Bahamas and localized coverage such as the Bizer charts for Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire.

Weekly updates, corrections and changes related to the Americas are funneled to Jeppesen Marine’s center in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The Quality Control Department reviews the information, tags it on their master charting system and forwards the data to their chart-production and maintenance centers throughout the world. The master libraries then are returned to Cape Cod where they are compared to the original “hard copies” and scrutinized for accuracy.

Jeppesen Marine makes the changes available twice a year. These spring and fall updates are timed specifically to help boaters get ready for the beginning of key boating seasons in the north and south.

What Is a Bathy Chart?

Monday, April 20, 2009 by Richard Allen

Bathy chart is the shortened name (nickname if you will) for a bathymetric chart. The word bathymetric comes from the Greek bathys meaning "deep" and metrikos meaning "to measure." Bathymetry is the science of measuring the depths of oceans, seas and other large bodies of water. Hence, a bathymetric chart shows the typography beneath the water's surface. Such charts are intended to provide an accurate visual portrayal of underwater terrain.

Unlike a traditional nautical chart with its abstract lines and numbers, modern 3-D bathy charts give a much clearer visual representation of the geological features found underwater. They include details such as depth contours, local canyons and obstructions of various kinds. Bathy charts are essential tools in marine geology and underwater engineering. Sea-floor topography data also helps marine biologists analyze marine animal movement and distribution.

For the casual sailor, the main purpose of a bathy chart is for use in fishing. As such, bathymetric charts are available for a variety of regions such as the Gulf of Mexico, Florida and the mid-Atlantic coast as well as inland lakes.

Expert Tips for Off-Shore Fishing wih C-MapNT Electronic Charts

Monday, April 13, 2009 by Ron Ballanti

In many ways, marine fishing is a lot like hunting. It doesn’t matter whether you’re after billfish, tuna, dolphin or shark; the ground rules are the same. There’s a vast array of open water out there and only a small fraction of it is likely to have the prey you want.

Before you have a chance to catch your prey, however, you have to find it. And once you manage to pinpoint a "life zone," you need to optimize your plan of attack to present your baits or lures while the feed is still on.

Fortunately, today’s anglers have an arsenal of advanced electronics at their disposal to help level the playing field. Expert offshore anglers use state-of-the-art electronic charting systems with high-detail C-MAPNT vector-based electronic charts to find and catch more fish.

Here are some tips from the experts on fishing with C-MAP electronic charts. Perhaps you can adapt some of these to your style of marine fishing and put them to use the next time you head offshore.

Fine-Tune Your Drift Patterns

Live Bait Means More Fish

Miss Britt

Focus on Structure

Track Your Success

Hit the Thermoclines

Be a Better Weed Whacker

Mark Life Zones

Coordinate with Friends

Try putting some or all of these tips to good use the next time you go offshore fishing. You will certainly uncover new strategies of your own as you discover the power of fishing with C-MAP electronic charts.

C-MAP electronic charts by Jeppesen Marine are the choice of 17 North American based chart plotter manufacturers and more than 50 worldwide manufacturers. C-MAP’s award-winning, vector-based NT cartography is the system preferred worldwide by professional anglers and knowledgeable boaters. For more information on how Jeppesen’s C-MAP can help you catch more fish, contact Jeppesen Marine toll free at 1-800-424-2627. Or visit C-MAP by Jeppesen online at www.jeppesen.com/marine/on-the-water.jsp

Broadband radar technology delivers improved short-range target resolution, enhanced radar overlay for systems compatible with Jeppesen Marine C-MAP charts

Friday, March 20, 2009 by Ron Ballanti

Added Functionality and Performance for 2009 Northstar and Simrad Navigation Systems

ENGLEWOOD, COLO., February 12, 2009 — The 2009 Miami Boat Show premiere of revolutionary Broadband Radar technology by Navico — manufacturer of electronics under the Northstar and Simrad brands that are compatible with Jeppesen Marine C-Map MAX and MAX Pro charts — will take navigation using radar/chart overlay to new levels of detail, resolution and accuracy. As a result, boaters navigating with compatible Northstar and Simrad multi-function systems will be able to cruise, sail and fish with greater confidence.

A significant departure from traditional “pulse” radars that use powerful magnetrons, Navico Broadband Radar is based on solid-state technology similar to that used in military and commercial radar applications. Broadband Radar delivers superior target resolution and separation where it matters most — in tight quarters and crowded waterways. This system is able to clearly differentiate between docks, channel markers, pilings, jetties, piers and other features as close as only a few meters from the boat (minimum range scale for Broadband Radar is 1/32 nm).

In addition, Broadband Radar is inherently easier to understand and operate than traditional systems. Since there is no magnetron to warm up, Broadband Radar comes on instantly and is ready to assist navigators the moment darkness, bad weather or fog descends. Sea clutter rejection is five times better, and the system automatically and instantly tunes the radar for optimum performance whenever the range scale is changed. Because it is simpler to operate and presents an easily interpreted display, Broadband Radar technology helps “demystify” radar for the average boater. It is logical, then, that boaters will be quick to turn to this technology — together with their detailed C-Map MAX electronics charts from Jeppesen Marine — for confidence in challenging situations.

Navico Broadband Radar (using a compact 18” radome with 24 nm range) will interface with several popular Northstar and Simrad brand

navigation systems. These include both the C-Map MAX-compatible Northstar M121 (12.1” display) and M84 (8.4” display), as well as similarly sized Simrad NavStation NX40 and NX45 instruments. The highly detailed and up-to-date  C-Map MAX electronic charts that power these systems are the perfect complement to the clear and distinct radar images Broadband technology provides. Now even small features such as docks, day markers, rocks, pilings and narrow inlets will be more easily detected and verified combining chart and radar returns, at lower range scales than possible before.

Broadband Radar will also be compatible with Northstar and Simrad systems operating Jeppesen Marine’s advanced C-Map MAX Pro cartography. The processor based Northstar 8000i and Simrad GB40 Glass Bridge system — both providing information via one or more 10”, 12” or 15” displays — are professional grade navigators made even more powerful with the addition of Broadband Radar. C-Map MAX Pro, Jeppesen Marine’s most advanced cartography for the recreational boating market, delivers the ability to combine Broadband’s inherently superior radar displays with state-of-the-art charting features like Virtual Earth 3D displays of land and sea contour, 2D and 3D satellite photo overlays, and more.

“We’re very excited about this new radar technology and how it can make our electronic charts even more powerful when used with these Northstar and Simrad systems,” said Michelle Buckalew, senior marketing manager for Jeppesen Marine. “Together, we’re moving toward providing a level of accuracy and detail that will boost the confidence of boaters and help them navigate safely and confidently in challenging real-world conditions.”

To learn more about Navico Broadband Radar technology and these compatible navigation systems, visit www.northstarnav.com or www.simrad-yachting.com For more information on C-Map MAX and MAX Pro cartography solutions visit Jeppesen Marine

Jeppesen Marine is a market-leading provider of vessel operations services and digital navigation solutions, based on worldwide vector chart data type approved to ISO19879, meteorological information and transmission technologies. Jeppesen Marine offers a wide range of navigation and operations products and services to serve markets from inland and coastal navigation to today’s safety-conscious commercial shipping industry. Jeppesen Marine is chartered with the same underlying values that launched Jeppesen in 1934 – improving safety and efficiency through innovative navigation solutions.

For 75 years, Jeppesen has made it possible for pilots and their passengers to safely and efficiently reach their destinations. Today this pioneering spirit continues as Jeppesen delivers essential information and optimization solutions to improve the efficiency of air, sea and rail operations around the globe. Jeppesen is a subsidiary of Boeing Commercial Aviation Services, a unit of Boeing Commercial Airplanes.