| 07 July 2010
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New details can be seen with Navionics Fish N Chip
Fish N' Chip Changing the game for Inshore and Wade Fishing
When Navionics debuted its brand new Fish N Chip this spring, all anyone wanted to talk about was how you could see one-foot contours on the bottom of some of the fishiest estuaries in the state.
But it was talk that centered more on the novelty of the details the chip provided than anything else. That novelty quickly faded as anglers realized just how important seeing those contours really was.
For anglers, those contours are the most intriguing part of the chip. Suddenly, fishermen who have been plumbing the depths of a certain area for many years can see holes they never knew existed.
“This is brand new data. Stuff we’ve never been seen before or has ever been available before,” said Paul Michele, Navionics Southeast Regional Manager. “For most of the areas there are three foot contours for offshore fishing. For major estuaries, there are one foot contours and it shows where the eel grass is. In places like Tampa Bay, it shows the manatee zones, reduced speed zones, etc."
Making it possible to spot bomb holes, troughs and trenches in Tampa Bay, Navionics FishNChip expands fishing frontiers. 
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With the one foot contours, all of a sudden you’re seeing all the potholes, trenches, sloughs that you never knew about. In Tampa Bay, you can see all the bomb holes.”
The fact that you can look at your bottom machine and see where the eel grass areas are is important. First, it keeps you from running across a grassy flat and damaging the fragile ecosystem (or your prop). But second, and perhaps more important, eel grass is a vital nursery for juvenile fish and that means the big fish you’re trying to catch are not far away. Eel grass edges next to a deeper sandy bottom often create an overhanging shelf where larger fish lurk
The chip also includes tides and currents for the area you are planning to fish.
Michele has fished the PTTS tarpon tournaments in Boca Grande for several years. He fished with Capt. Ozzie Fischer, who grew up in that area and guides clients for tarpon in the pass. When they slipped in the Fish N Chip, they couldn’t believe what they saw down below. There were contours they never knew existed.
Measuring the Difference
Paul Michele, Navionics, puts his products to the test.
That same chip helped them in an SKA event and a Flatsmaster event in Pine Island Sound. “In that SKA tournament, the chip showed where some of the breaks were in the 65-foot realm, so we could hunt the edge where a lot of baitfish were stacked,” Michele said. “We used it in the Flatsmasters and it helped us find some cuts into the shallow flats where we could see some holes where fish would hide at high tide. We never would have found those cuts without the chip. We finished 8th that day.”
"Using this technology will change the game for inshore fishing and shore bound wade anglers as well," said Michele. Fish N' Chip's level of accuracy in shallow water and easy to carry mapping devices will open up a lot of new possibilities for anglers.
Getting in the Game
The chip costs $199 and works with every bottom machine, except those manufactured by Garmin. The chip covers the entire East Coast of the United States, from Maine down around Key West and up the Florida West Coast and around the Gulf. It also covers the western coast of Texas and the Pacific Ocean.
- For more information on the Fish N Chip, go to www.navionics.com
- Enter the sweepstakes to win a Navionics Fish N Chip : Join the Snook Foundation before Sept 30th
