When I first read an article in the March/April 2007 publication of Ski-Boat magazine called – Summer on The Shoal – How to fish the reef, by Kevin Smith , I was totally blown away. There were underwater images, a map of the shoal, techniques on targeting various species etc. I immediately set about getting my boat and tackle ready for my next visit to the Shoal. The evening before I could barely sleep, I was so excited about applying my new found knowledge. The morning arrived and it was off to Umkomaas. The launch was a breeze and before long I was in the ‘vicinity’ of the shoal, and this is what I had facing me:-

What happened to all the underwater images and maps? Fortunately I did have a few waypoints from a good friend of mine, so I fumbled my way around the outer and inner edge for several hours with very little success, and diveboat skippers shouting at me when I came too close to the reef. This is what my GPS looked like, 3 waypoints and miles and miles of trails:-

Even using Navionics Gold did not give me the detail I needed.

I realised that I had been beaten by lack of local knowledge, so I contacted the author of the article and booked a day with him to go fishing the shoal. The result of that day was a 23kg Wahoo, some Yellowfin Tuna and an awesome Kingie. Kevin knows the reef like the back of his hand. He has not only fished it for many years, but is also a diving instructor based in Umkomaas. Kevin has since moved to Australia and has left a horrible hole in my fishing agenda, (and friendship). To get to know the reef like Kevin will take many years, time I unfortunately do not have in these busy times we live in. So I had to find a ‘shortcut’, and 3D Bathymetric mapping is my solution to the problem.

Kitted out with a Sonar Logging capable fishfinder/GPS combo unit on my jetski I headed for the Shoal. After a morning of recording and some time behind my PC using DrDepth, this is what popped up on my PC screen:-

This image is an orbit able image that can be viewed from every possible angle imaginable, like orbiting a planet with a spaceship. So every little spot can be pulled to pieces and analyzed in the comfort of my home. This North to south view of the Shoal I have zoomed in to get detail of the Northern Pinnacles, and for the purposes of this article, added some ‘artwork’ for effect:-

The next step is to create a high resolution detailed map with contours (adjustable depths), actual depths (in feet or metres) and names of the various spots. This map is a background map on your system, so all your old waypoints and POI’s will just overlay this chart.

When you are on the water fishing, the last thing you want to do, is sit fiddling with your electronics. With this new technology you can now plan your entire day at your home or office.

So the next time you hit your favourite spot, you will be fishing, not driving around all morning looking for hot-spots.