Neighborhood ponds are great option for bream fishing.
Dear Capt. Paul:
In the past, I have used the Lowrance GlobalMap 7300c HD plotter. It has been replaced, so instead of buying a new plotter, what can I do to turn my laptop into a GPS plotter with the same nav charts and real-time tide data and current speeds that the GlobalMap had?
Thanks for your time, Chester
Capt. Paul’s response:
There may be others, but I use a product called Chart Navigator Pro by Maptech. It is a series of raster-scanned marine charts and topographical maps, aerial photos and vector charts that cover all U.S. waters. It also includes sea-bottom contour charts for many of the covered U.S. waters.
It is a fantastic system that allows you to operate the program on the laptop away from the boat as well as having it connected to a GPS receiver.
Contact Maptech at www.maptechnavigation.com/water/chartNavigatorPro/index.cfm to review the program.
They also offer a GPS unit they call iGPS that connects directly to your laptop, but the program can use many other GPS units by connecting these units to your laptop via a USB cable.
Maptech offers less-expensive programs other than the Pro Version, but the Pro Version is the most comprehensive marine mapping program that I have found.
I suggest that you contact Maptech, either via the web or at (978) 834-9950, Monday through Friday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Eastern to see if it will suit your needs.
I believe that the latest version of Chart Navigator Pro is 2.0, so be sure to get that version if you order from a location other than the Maptech site.
Got a GPS-related question for Capt. Paul? Ask it on the reports page of www.LouisianaSportsman.com.
