GPS is state of the art — make use of it
The Vermilion Bay Fishing Edge consists of 205 different waypoint positions. Many locations were once land points or islands that are now submerged, in addition to other visible and key navigation spots.
The Vermilion Bay Edge covers an area from the Intracoastal Waterway and Intracoastal City on the northwest to Weeks Island at the northeast, including locations around Weeks Bay.
It includes the 25-foot-deep hole in Weeks Bayou, which is waypoint VR122D at 29°49.7535’ N. lat ~91°48.6924’ W. long. It also has positions in and around Cote Blanche Bay at Point Marone, to East Cote Blanche Bay to the East Cote Blanche Bay reefs at the Gulf of Mexico, to the Shell Keys Reefs, which is waypoint VR045E at 29°24.3941’l N. lat ~ 91°51.2224’W. long.
It also has the Grassy Island Point Reef at waypoint VR068C at 29° 31.8229’N. lat. ~ 91°57.7649’W. long., as well as Diamond Reef located at 29°31.0729’ N lat. ~ 91°59.1192’ W. long, to waypoints VR068B, VR068E around Pavy’s Shell Reef ,and waypoint VR068D located at 29°32.8289’N lat. ~ 92°00.477’ W. long.
It also has positions around Tete Butte Reef at the Gulf of Mexico, and features the deep hole in Southwest Pass near Porpoise Point, which is waypoint VR069A at 29°35.4970’ N. lat. by 92°01.2551’l W. long. Of course, it has other waypoints in and around Southwest Pass, such as several near the Boxcar Reef in Vermilion Bay at Waypoint VR130A at 29°37.8246’ N. lat. ~ 92°00.4914’ W. long.
And naturally it has Redfish Point, and the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries’ artificial reef near Cypremort Point.
The Captain Paul’s Fishing Edge of GPS Waypoints will give you an edge in navigating and fishing the Vermilion Bay area, which offers a great variety of year-round fishing.
Get the edge
As a means of assisting my readers I started publishing these locations which included a description of the area and a Latitude~longitude or UTM value which had to be manually entered one at a time into a GPS unit. As technology advanced and GPS units could accept maps and data, including waypoints, routes and track downloads, it fell right in with my published waypoints. So I began marketing these waypoints as Capt. Paul’s Fishing Edge of GPS Waypoints. I call the program Fishing Edge because I believe the information will give fishermen an advantage in getting to, finding fishing spots, moving around and getting back from some of the more favorite fishing areas in the state.
Presently, Capt. Paul’s Fishing Edge consists of 21 different areas statewide, including Barataria Bay, Lake Borgne, Hopedale to the Mississippi Sound, Hopedale to Bayou Terre Boeufs, Delacroix to Point a la Hache, Bayou Bienvenue, Port Sulphur, Lake Pontchartrain, Lake Borgne, Calcasieu Lake, Pearl River WMA, Lafitte, Leeville East and Leeville West, Empire-Buras, the Rigolets, MRGO waypoints with six routes around the new Hopedale Dam, Cocodrie/Dulac, Bayou Sauvage NWR, Big Branch NWR, Myrtle Grove and Vermilion Bay, which has been highlighted here.
Waypoints can now be electronically installed
Each file has an electronic data file that can be downloaded into a variety of GPS brand units. All of the EDGE programs are sent as an email attachment to your computer address. This data download enters all of Capt. Paul’s waypoints into the unit in a matter of seconds from your computer.
To help those of us who are not computer savvy, each download has a general map of the area in 1:100,000 scale, and individual information on each waypoint. These map images cannot be installed in the GPS unit, but offer a location of the waypoints and their descriptions, as well as a READ ME and INSTRUCTIONS file.
To order an Edge file, you must have an email address that accepts attachments. All of Capt. Paul’s Fishing Edge files can be found in the Louisiana Sportsman Outdoor Store at sportsmangear.com. In addition, there are several links throughout the website which will bring you to the Fishing Edge ordering page.
Remember that you must list your brand of GPS unit, your email address and the selected area you want to order. The Edge files are not brand name interchangeable, so be sure to make the correct GPS selection.
Hurricane preparedness
With hurricane season now underway, I strongly suggest that you mark or capture GPS waypoints for your home, office or other important locations where you may want first responders to reach you. I know all these locations have a street address, but some of the responders may not be from this area, and as such are not familiar with street names — or the street names may not be visible. This is especially true from the air. Save the latitude~longitude, the position format and the datum used to determine the location. Save them as a hard copy in a location where they can be acccessed — this could save a life.
Should you need any assistance in determining a position, contact me and I will try to assist you. Email it to capt@lasmag.com