The Soundings of Silence (Part 1)

ugh.  seems like the mild winter has everyone and their mother catching fish.  i haven't even made an attempt since returning home from Dallas.  there is a stocked river not 20 minutes from my home, yet i don't even think about going.  why?

1) i don't want to fish with 2 other anglers at each hole
2) with my first 6 month old son at home, it gets harder and harder to leave.

for those of you with kids, you'll understand...this time in his life is just so fun.  he is changing and developing every hour, and i just don't want to miss anything.

so that's the reason for my online silence.  but just because i'm not fishing, doesn't mean i'm not constantly thinking about it.  i'm dreaming of early May when i can paddle some of the northeast flats and sight fish for stripers.  but if you're anything like me, you study up before heading out.  here are some relevant, oldie but goodie articles.

Shallow Water Stripers (Nick Curcione)
Stripers on the Flats (Tom Richardson)

Seasonal Delights: An Underwater Guide to Dining on Long Island (John Papciak)

Connecticut's First Stripers (Frank Daignault)

Season Opener (Alan Caolo)

Northeast Flats Primer (Alan Caolo)
Fly Fishing Eastern Long Island and the Montauk Point Area (Amanda Switzer)
Shinnecock East: Disneyland for Fishermen (Michael Wright)
The Skinny on Long Island Flats Fishing (Angelo Peluso)

now that i've covered the 'how', i use maps to help me figure out the 'where'.  as you know, the one essential tool for fishing the salt is a GPS device.  i have a handheld Garmin for when i'm out on the yak, but use the Navionics app on my iPhone as well.  in my opinion, both screen sizes are way too small in general, but particularly when trying to cover lots of water in order to find the optimal spots.  so i try to pick out my spots before even getting to the water.

most of you know that the NOAA provides nautical maps with soundings (depths).  the NOAA offers maps in 5 ways:

1) paper charts for purchase (i'm too cheap for this option)
2) print-on-demand charts for purchase (i'm too cheap for this option, too)
3) online chart viewers (limited viewing area, too cumbersome to use)
4) downloadable raster (image-based) charts
5) downloadable electronic (vector-based) charts

in part 2 i will cover how i use the NOAA's raster charts and electronic charts in combination with Google Maps and Google Earth.