Most anglers avoid fishing right after a cold front blows through the state, but bass in the streams and bayous on Lake Ponchartrain’s North Shore go bananas.
Dear Capt. Paul:
I have a Garmin Street Pilot Colormap with Metroguide v5, and I have just purchased a 64mb data card. I have just figured out that the Colormap does not accept more than 50 maps, but with the maps I have picked I am only using about 44mb.Do you know of any way around the 50-map limit? If I use a USB programmer, can I get around the limit?
Thanks, John Caddell
Capt. Paul’s Response:
Although the Garmin Street Pilot Colormap is now listed as a discontinued model, it is a first-class GPS receiver.
In using your Street Pilot Color Map and the data cards, you will note that some maps that appear to be of equal size relative to square miles require significantly different levels of memory.
For instance, a 10-square-mile map of rural roads may take considerably less amount of mapping memory to accommodate the same 10 square miles of city streets.
Garmin usually limits the amount of memory that the unit can digest to that of an amount of memory that the internal processor of the unit can handle. In some units, it is set at a 50-map limit.
By the way, the latest operating software for your Street Pilot Colormap is version 2.20. The new software version has added support for new vendor of 128mb cards. You can download the new software from www.garmin.com.
You have the option of purchasing additional data memory cards in 64MB and 128MB sizes and inserting these cards when reaching the end of coverage of the one card.
You may also want to contact the Garmin Support section at (800) 800-1020, and ask them for a way around the 50-map limitation.
Newer Street Pilot units have forgone the data card configuration and have been replaced with an internal hard drive for the map storage information.
Let me know how you make out.
Dear Capt. Paul:
I have a friend who is taking his sportfisher to the Tickfaw River from Fourchon for repairs. Can you give me the shortest route?
Willwall
Captain Paul’s Response:
Wow! Have you considered trailering the rig? There are two basic ways to get there via water. Both ways you will have to cross the Mississippi River.
One is Belle Pass in the Gulf of Mexico to the Barataria Waterway to the Intracoastal Waterway to the Mississippi River to the Inner Harbor Navigation Channel (Industrial Canal) to Lake Pontchartrain, to Pass Manchac to Lake Maurepas to the Tickfaw River.
This route is the shortest at about 130 miles, but you would have to negotiate two locks, and you may need to secure prior authorization for traveling in this area from the Office of Homeland Security or the U.S. Coast Guard.
The locks are located on the west side of the ICW at the Mississippi River and on the east side of the river at the Inner Harbor channel.
The other is from Belle Pass in the Gulf of Mexico to Red Pass to Tiger Pass to Venice to Baptiste Collette to Breton Sound to the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet to the Intracoastal Waterway to the Inner Harbor Navigation Channel to Lake Pontchartrain to Pass Manchac to Lake Maurepas to the Tickfaw River.
This route is about 195 miles.
I am capable of providing a waypoint to waypoint of the entire route for you for either of the two alternatives as a service. If you are interested, contact me via louisianasportsman.com, and I would be happy to discuss my recommendations and the cost.
Dear Capt. Paul:
I would really appreciate the coordinates for Bayou Biloxi, Blind Bay and Three Mile Bay in the Louisiana Marsh. I’m leaving from the Rigolets.
Thanks a heap,
Danny
Capt. Paul’s Response:
The Bayou Biloxi light is located at or about N30 00.430 x W89 33.600. It is about 800 yards from the shoreline. It is about 11.5 miles at a bearing of 157 degrees from the railroad bridge at the Rigolets by Lake Borgne. The actual Bayou Biloxi entrance at the shoreline is at or about N30 00.037 x W89 33.43.432.
Blind Bay is about 14.4 miles from the Rigolets railroad bridge at Lake Borgne at a bearing of 120 degrees. It is southeast of Malheureux Point, south-southeast of Le Petit Pass Island and west of Three Mile Bay in the southern part of the Mississippi Sound.
The Blind Bay light, red No. 2, is located at or about N30 02.855 x W89 25.258. It is located near the center of Blind Bay Pass.
Three Mile Bay is located about 17.6 miles from the Rigolets railroad bridge at Lake Borgne at a bearing of 112 degrees. It is east of Blind Bay and west of Turkey Bayou on the southern shoreline of Mississippi Sound.
The Three Mile Pass light, which is located on the east side of Three Mile Pass and just north of Three Mile Bay, is at or about N30 03.256 x W89 21.430.
Unless otherwise specified, all positions are stated as H,DDD,MM.mmm and were determined using WGS 84 datum. All headings, bearings and courses are stated in magnetic degrees.
