2 pencils to draw every nook and cranny of the Louisiana marsh. If there was a great, but unplanned, fishing spot a few miles away I wouldn't know how to get there.Īs you can imagine, there are few cartographers with the patience, paper and No. This was time consuming and left me 'blind' in the marsh: I only knew what points I had programmed. I would have to program my own waypoints and routes to locate my fishing spots and get there. I used different GPS units throughout the years, mostly Lowrance. I was always able to get around with this despite the stock maps being complete garbage. I kicked it up a notch with Keyhole Markup Language in Google Earth, learning how to create my own routes and upload them to my Garmin 60Cx, an inexpensive hand-held unit. This gave me confidence to boldly go into unexplored territory. With these I could shoot re-sections across bayous to figure my position. Since the prairie marsh is so flat it is easy to get lost, but also easy to see landmarks from a distance, to include water towers and even well-known buildings in New Orleans. Those things I learned I brought home with me to inshore fishing.

After all, it was a basic skill in Amphibious Reconnaissance. Then it changed a lot after I joined the Marines, mastering navigation on the water and on land. When I was a kid my dad did all of the navigating and driving.Īside from the marsh closest to the marina, I couldn't tell you where I was exactly or how to get back. Learn how in this Standard Mapping E-Card Review.

This small, but powerful, piece of equipment has revolutionized inshore fishing.

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