Smart Fishing Spots: Using the Marine Charts Layer
- By: Pat Ogletree
- on
The Smart Fishing Spots app has a ton of features built in. With the Smart Spots, oysters, weather, and others taking the limelight, you might overlook the marine charts layers, but it’s a valuable tool on its own or combined with other layers and tools.
Whether you’re a chart-reading veteran or they’re all Greek to you, in this video, I’ll show why this layer is important and how it can help you on the water.
If you have any questions or feedback, please leave a comment below—I’d love to hear from you!
Smart Fishing Spots Marine Charts Layer
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Key Takeaways
The Marine Charts Layer…
- Offers navigation aid with depths, channel markers, obstructions, low tide exposed areas, bridges with clearance, security zones, and more.
- Combines with shaded relief to expose deep structure or oddities that can help you find fish.
- Combines with the distance tool to help you determine how far away features of interest are.
- Is available on both web and mobile app.
➡️ Download the Smart Fishing Spots mobile app on the Apple App Store or Google Play Store!
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Good stuff, Pat. Always learning something new from you guys.
Pat Ogletree I have a question about something I noticed in this video. At the 1:39 mark you zoom in on a bridge and the view changes from the normal overhead view to more of like a birdseye view. I’d there function key sequence or something that you did to achieve that view or is it just something your version of the app does. I have tried it several times and my laptop app nor smartphone app do that. Can you explain what you did for us please?
Yea pat I guess I never realized on how much the marine charts help it’s kinda weird though because you mentioned that the marine chart shows channel markers well in the paper copy ones that you can purchase still from most tackle dealers these charts donot show the channel markers I have only found some buoys listed but they were not channel markers I wonder why they don’t list them? considering I find it easier to locate a channel marker especially in the icw and use it fir a reference point to find other areas I have yet to fish but want to in fact there is an area in the icw that goes past a creek that I fish regularly in the winter that I have always tried to find tge channel marker number but could not on my paper marine chart but now since it lists it on the marine chart layer on the smart spots app I should easily be able to find it hopefully it works for me because in the last few weeks I have been having trouble using some of the fearures in the app like you said it now has a catch log but when I tried looking for it I could not find it and that was only after I found out there was one that joe mentioned in his post about 10 things most members didnot know the app had the first one he mentioned was the catch log the only problem was while I did find it in my past waypoints that the gps on the app automatically marks there was no photos like the one joe demonstrated then when I asked nick provolone about it one of his techs told me that this feature wasn’t available yet but will be soon and to keep updating the app if needed which I do anyways it is what it is I’m just glad that this app doesn’t make or break my time spent fishing because being a baby boomer I’m not really tech savy and glad I’m not because unlike alot of people that let there electronics rule and guide there life I donot and always use my common sence or my old school ways in mostly getting things done because I ALWAYS have a backup plan I guess my only other question for you is do you?🤔
I’m not sure why paper maps wouldn’t have the channel markers, seems like that’s one of the more important things to show. Maybe they only print them so far inland and once you reach a certain point they stop.
The catch log is available on the web version now. In order to have them on the app we have to submit any changes to Apple and Google. Once they approve of the content then we can go live with it. It will be on there soon.
I’m not sure if you’re an Apple or Android user but in my case I use Safari (Apple) as my browser and don’t have any issues with the app. When I use another browser on my phone I’ll have issues from time to time.
Great info on combining the layers for charting Pat.
Neat little trick! Thanks for watching!
Thanks for the heads up I will check it out next time out
Thanks for watching!
Very nice presentation Pat! Finally getting a lot of detail in the area off Sanibel where I live. I look forward to using the tools more. Thanks!
The more you dive into them, the more tools you find to help!
Pat, you’re Top Shelf! Thanks for the tutorial.
Thanks Charles!!
I hadn’t thought about layering over a layer. Made me go try the Marine Chart with the 1 ft. Contour layer. I didn’t have much time to spend with it but it appears to show the marine chart depths rather than the contour depths. If that’s what it does, this seems to be a work around from the depth inaccuracies on the contour layer. Thanks, Pat.
That’s a good point, didn’t even think of using it that way. I don’t see why it wouldn’t work.
Appreciate the input, I’ll play around with it and see how that can help with navigating.
Thanks Pat. Helpful tutorial. This keeps getting better!
There’s so much the app can do and even more to come!
Very cool stuff, thanks Pat
Glad you liked it!