April 7, 2015

Add this Tool to Your Navigation Arsenal

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A reader of the Blog hit me up and wanted me to share this with all of you. No, this is not Google Earth!

Anybody that has read this blog knows I use satellite imagery to my advantage. If you're new to this, then check out the scouting articles I wrote, Scouting: Part One and Part Two.

Another great mapping tool is the Strategic Online Natural Resources Information System or SONRIS, a product of the Department of Natural Resources. The website has compiled a ton of information that can be super imposed on an interactive map. Information that is really useful like the placement of gas platforms and where old platforms used to be. Speaking of oil rigs...

Once you enter the SONRIS site, look for "GIS Access" and click on that. A new tab will emerge and there will be your map with custom information layers.

There is a pop-up that gives you more information and it is suggested you take the tutorial if you are not savvy with this kind of interface.

If you use the information selector on the right you will find selections for aerial photos from different years as well as the locations of different types of structure like oil and gas rigs.

There is a wealth of information and I suggest you take some time to look it all over. In a nutshell you can plot in your GPS the locations of gas/oil rigs you want to fish.

If you are new to an area you can use the SONRIS map to identify the location of gas/oil rigs. You can plot these locations into your GPS and plan your fishing trip.

If you are new to an area you can use the SONRIS map to identify the location of gas/oil rigs. You can plot these locations into your GPS and plan your fishing trip.

Captain Devin

About the Author

Devin is a former fishing guide and lifelong inshore angler. He founded Louisiana Fishing Blog in 2012 to share his ideas as a charter captain and still writes in it today. Since then he's created a fishing university — LAFB Elite — where he teaches inshore anglers how to safely navigate Louisiana's coast and catch more fish.

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