SST Online Sample Charts 3/21/09

Hello everyone,
We wanted to give everyone a sneak preview of what we have coming out this season. At the end of this post you will find a link to a sample shot from a few days ago using our new High Definition, High Detail SST chart and our new Turbidity chart. As most of you know, we have just recently become a sponsor of VBSF.net and are very excited to be on board. We have been in business for 13 years and our goal is to provide you with the very best service available anywhere, at any price.

Very shortly, we are going to provide all VBSF members with a temporary password that will allow you to “test drive” our site. The password will allow you full access to the site until April 30th. Both Mike and I will be available by phone and email during that time to answer any questions that you may have.

Before I get started, I’d like to apologize for the length of this article. It is intended for those anglers who may be new to offshore fishing and/or using SST charts. Most of you are probably already familiar with using the charts and understand the dynamics of the Gulf Stream and the eddies that spin off of it. Many of you probably already subscribe to a service or have a friend that does. If so, we hope you will take this opportunity to check out our site and compare it to the one you are currently using.

SST (Sea Surface Temperature) Charts

When it comes to choosing an SST service provider, there are several choices out there. While some of the providers are fairly new, others have been in business for awhile. The prices for these services can range from $99.00 a season all the way up to $2000.00 a season. Some of these companies will even sell you an individual analysis, for about $60 per shot! Each service has different features, chart overlays, details, cloud masking procedures and update times.

No matter which company you choose or the plan you decide on, it is important for you to understand that all SST service providers get their information from the same 6 or 7 satellites. Currently there are 4 NOAA, 2 NASA and 1 satellite from the European Space Agency that recently came on line named “Metop 2”.

The NOAA POES Satellites (Polar Orbiting Environmental Satellites) are named 15, 16, 17 & 18. The 2 NASA satellites are named Modus Aqua & Modus Terra. The Modus satellites provide low resolution sea surface temperature data, but they also provide chlorophyll and turbidity data. As you will read later, the turbidity data is becoming more popular than chlorophyll data for several reasons. Coming online sometime in the next few months will be NOAA 19. For more information on the NOAA satellites, you can check out the following website: http://www.oso.noaa.gov/poesstatus/

AVHRR (Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer)

An AVHRR sensor is an instrument that can measure the amount of thermal infrared radiation given off by an object. Satellites equipped with these sensors can measure the amount of thermal infrared radiation given off by the surface of the ocean. NOAA has been flying satellites with these sensors since October of 1978 and presently NOAA 15, 16, 17, 18 and the new 19 satellites are equipped with operating AVHRR sensing equipment.

From the images taken by these sensors, software can determine the temperatures on the surface of the ocean. It is important to understand that these sensors do not send back pretty color images. The data is sent back to earth in a digital gray scale format with over 250 shades of gray. Each shade of gray represents a different temperature. The colorization of these SST charts is done with computer software. We can adjust the colors as necessary for different seasons to show the most contrast in the areas we are most interested in. In our charts, purples, blues & greens represent the cooler temperatures, while the yellows, oranges & reds represent the warmer ones.

Each of the NOAA satellites will make 2 overhead passes (approx. 500 miles above sea level) per day providing us with up to 8 shots per day to look at. It is very important to have has many shots as possible because factors such as clouds, fog & haze make it very tough (sometimes impossible) to produce a usable chart.

Once again, it is important to note that all SST service providers are looking at the same data on the same day – including the free sites such as Rutgers University. It is impossible for one provider to have different data than another. However, what they do with that data can be very different since the amount of time a provider is willing to spend “massaging” the data to mask cloud cover efficiently and geonavigate their chart overlays can make a big difference in the accuracy and amount of “good” data a member will see. At SST Online we take the time to do it right. We always hope for those perfect days (especially around tournament time) with no clouds, fog or haze giving us the perfect “clear shot”. But as most of you already know, this is not normally the case - and this is where our premium animated loop feature is worth its weight in gold.

Multi-Merging

To overcome these atmospheric interferences, we use a technique called “multi-merging” and we use these multi-merged images in our animated loop feature. Multi-merging allows us to combine all unobstructed pixels of all of the available data over a 24 hour period to create one chart. By using these multi-merged images our members can create video loops of the movement of the gulfstream and the eddies that spin off of it – for whatever time period they are interested in, whether it is the last few days, few weeks, or the last couple of months. The length of the loop is only limited by the amount of physical RAM memory in the users computer – and how long they are willing to wait for the download! Besides showing current movement this feature is very important if we run into a stretch of cloudy days. By looking at the loop you can determine and predict the path of the stream and the eddies that flow off of it.

The Gulf Stream and Eddies

The Gulf Stream is one of the strongest currents in the ocean with an average velocity of 3’ per second. It is the life-line to our fishing grounds. I like to think of the stream as a super highway filled with delivery trucks full of bait and fish. I like to think of these eddies as the trucks getting off the super highway and delivering this load of life into our canyons.

If you can visualize it this way, then it might help you understand the reason for the poor yellow fin tuna fishing we’ve experienced the past couple of seasons. The fish aren’t gone, the delivery trucks just didn’t make it to our stop. If you look back at the good years and look at the eddy’s we had during those seasons, you will quickly see why.

How Eddies Are Formed

An eddy is described as a meander in the stream that becomes too sharp and pinches off. As the Gulf Stream moves north along the Florida, Georgia and South Carolina coast, it turns to the east off North Carolina flowing northeastward across the Atlantic. From this point, it does not follow a straight line and has many twists and turns. These twists and turns are called the meanders of the stream.

Eddies can form both north and south of the Gulf Stream. The eddies that form north of the stream are called warm core eddies; meaning the water in the center of the eddy is warmer than the water surrounding it. Warm core eddies spin clockwise. The opposite is true of cold core eddies, the ones that form south of the stream. These eddies spin counter-clockwise and the water in the center of the eddy is cooler than the water surrounding it. Although it is called a cold core eddy, it is still Gulf Stream water and the water in the core is still warm.

For the most part, we will be dealing with and fishing on the edges of the warm core eddies. Nothing is more exciting for an offshore angler than to see one of these warm core eddies come barreling into the 100 fathom curve early in the Spring when the water temperatures are still in the mid 50’s. Well defined edges and temperature breaks of 10-12 degrees will have us itching to get out there.

As a warm core eddy breaks off the stream and starts spinning clockwise, it will slowly start to drifting to the west towards the continental shelf. When you see this happening, think of it as an early Christmas present because Santa is coming. Remember the delivery trucks? Hopefully it’s a huge one full of bait, tuna, marlin, dolphin & wahoo that will take a long time to unload.

Although eddies can last a few months to more than a year and can be more than 100 miles wide, they usually do not stay in one spot that long. The rotation of the earth and the Coriolis effect play an important role in establishing the size and lifespan of an eddy. As these eddies reach the continental shelf and start to move up into shallower water, their direction starts to take more of a southern route. It is our hope that this southern direction will cross right over the tips of our canyons bringing in clean water and new life.

Turbidity and Chlorophyll

Chlorophyll and turbidity are fairly new factors when it comes to SST charts. It is easy to understand why chlorophyll would be of interest to anglers. Being that it is at the base of the food chain, it seems only logical that bait and game fish would follow. Research over the last couple of years has proven that is not always the case. Incidences of good catches and high chlorophyll content have not always coincided, making these chlorophyll charts less important in the scheme of things.

Turbidity is the newest tool on the table – and it is turning out to be a good one. Turbidity can be defined as the cloudiness of water. The more turbidity you have, the less visibility you have. In our oceans, turbidity is caused by a large number of scattering particulates or large amounts of sediments & phytoplankton.

Why is turbidity so important? All pelagic species hunt by site. Turbid or dirty water reduces their visibility. It has also been found that highly turbid waters can reduce the amount of oxygen in the water, warm the water faster and irritate the gills of some fish species.

Turbidity is measured by examining the amount of reflectance in the visible region of the electromagnetic scale. (I probably lost a few of you on that one) Easier said, the suspended materials in the water reflect light and the more materials you have in the water, the more reflective or dirtier it will be. We have all seen it before while fishing offshore. The opposite is true about clear water. The cleaner the water, the more it will absorb the light making it easier for game fish to hunt their prey. So, it only makes sense for us to hunt where they hunt.

Given the recent trends, opinions and data on chlorophyll & fish vs. turbidity & fish, we will be providing the turbidity charts rather than chlorophyll charts. The turbidity data comes from the NASA Modus Aqua satellite and passes overhead only once a day giving us 2-3 usable images per week if we are lucky - similar to the chlorophyll data.

The Benefits of SST Online

I hope that I have not put you to sleep and that this information will be useful to you this season. SST charts are simply one tool that we use and are not intended to “guarantee” you that you will catch fish. What they will do, is show you where the best possible conditions exist to find the bait and ultimately, the game fish we seek. Once you arrive at these locations, it is your job to search out the bait. If you are not marking bait, expand your search. Once you find the bait, stay with it. If you are marking fish down deep and not getting bites, try different tactics. Deploy your planers, downriggers or start jigging.

When you subscribe to our site, you will have unlimited access to all of our charts, loops and data updated daily from April 15th through November 15th. You will have access to our toll free telephone number and our private members only forum. If you want, you can sign up to receive our instant email service that will send you an email immediately after every chart is updated – so there is no need to check back every hour and wonder when the next chart is going online. On the subject of posting charts – we do it between 11PM and 2AM daily whenever possible – so you will always have the most recent chart for your trip. When we get a better shot in the afternoon, we will post that as well. After November 15th we are on demand. Give us a call or send an email and if we can get a shot, we will post it for you. With our service, you will find yourself checking the conditions every day – just like following the fishing reports on the very popular and useful VBSF forums.

The Good News

For the money, we feel we provide the best features and the best customer service. Our membership base has been growing since we first started this business in 1996 and our rate of renewals and repeat customers is over 90% for a good reason. At $149 per season, we think you will agree and that is why we want you to try it out for a couple of weeks. After the trial period ends on April 30th, those wishing to become a member will have the opportunity to do so at a VBSF only discounted price of $129 for the 2009 season. This special rate will be available to VBSF members between May 1st and May 10th and we will provide a special link to use to get this special offer. In addition, for those new members who have a Blackberry phone, you will receive a free copy of the new smartphone app we just finished called “TideBerry”. Tideberry gives you all of the daily tide data that you need in a graphical and text format for over 3,000 locations along the coast – and no internet or network connection is required. You can check it out now at www.tideberry.com .

The Bad News

There really is not any bad news. I just felt like saying that. We are sure that you will find our site interesting and informative. We hope that you enjoy the trial offer and if you choose to sign up for a membership, we promise to give you the best service possible. Just remember that we cannot control the weather and the cloud cover. There is one other thing that I’d like to say and someone might take it as bad news, but it’s not intended to be. Each year it only pertains to a few individuals, so please accept my apology now for saying it here.

We have worked very hard for the past 13 years on developing and providing a superior service at a low cost to our members. At the price we are offering the service, we feel it is an incredible deal. Unfortunately, each season there a few people who do not think that the deal is good enough and try and split it up with their buddies.

In order to keep our fees low and keep this from happening, we have software that monitors all of our members usage and keeps it from getting out of hand. If the software detects multiple computers using the same user info at the same time - regularly, it will shut that password down. Now this does not mean that you cannot access the site from many different computers – you can, it just means that you can’t give your password out to everyone on your dock. Like many of our members, if you have a partner or a captain or mate who uses your user info, normal usage will not set off any red flags.

Thanks for taking the time to read this. Here is the link to see some of the amazing detail that our new HD charts will provide. http://www.sstol.com/hd_samples2009.htm If you have any questions, please email us or give us a call anytime and we will do our best to answer them.

Capt. Tony
tony@clearshotsportfishing.com

Mike B.
mike@sstol.com

Thanks for the informative post, Tony! As an inshore fisherman with an interest (if not the budget) in bluewater, it helped me a lot. The numerous names of wrecks and canyons, etc. are easier for a newbie to relate to than the other samples I have seen for sure! I look forward to the 2 week trial to try my hand at following the charts. Welcome to SST and the Clear Shot as commercial sponsors to VBSF!

Great....I really like the fact your including turbity charts in your upcoming service...that is a big seller with me..thanks....looking forward to the trial period..Bob

Awesome.... I like the sample shots and difinatley like the turbidity chart. It's going to be on this year!

Hey G&H Lures,
Thanks, is your trip to Hatteras still next week? I want to make sure I get you a password to use while you are down there.
Let me know....

Capt Tony
SST Online/ Clear Shot Sportfishing

Yes... Hope the weather breaks for us next week. We'll be there from the 5th until the 12th. Hope to get some YF and wahoo. Thanks...

[size="3"]The new HD on these shots are crazy! I've been wanting to join this service for a while and I think now is the time. When do you think you'll have the link posted for the trial?

Tony/Mike, thanks for taking the time to develop that post. Even for our members that don't drag the blue water (yet), it fills in a lot of the blanks as to the available technology and how it's used. Finally, if you're spending the fuel to run to the stream, this can really help maximize the investment.

If anyone wants to review this post later and can't find it, Tony B has allowed us to add the technical part to our tips section. Thanks Tony!

TIPS LINK

Marlin Maniac,
Your welcome, we are glad that you enjoyed the post. Hopefully it'll be very helpful for the guys just getting into offshore fishing or for the guys who have never used SST or Turbidity charts before. You hit the nail right on the head about the fuel issue. It is very important to understand how the water conditions out there are constantly changing hour by hour if not minute by minute.

Each time you head offshore, you want to put yourself in the best possible location that has the most potential for holding bait & producing fish. I can't tell how many times a charter will show up at the boat in the morning and say "Hey Capt., my buddy fished in this spot 3 days ago and did awesome and we've all voted and think this is where we should go today!"

I don't mean to sound negative, but I honestly believe this is one of the most common mistakes made by guys who only get to fish once or twice a week. They base their decisions on where to fish that day on information that is old. We all need to have the most current information available (hopefully a few hours old) each time we head out there. It is so so important.

As for the new HD charts, we are working very hard to get them completed in the next 2 weeks so everyone can check them out live.

Tight lines,

Capt. Tony

SST Online/ Clear Shot Sportfishing

Signed up for the SST service 2 days ago. Mike was a great help can't wait to go fishing!

VBSF FREE TRAIL!

SSTOL is happy to announce that the distance/bearing feature is now available on the interactive SST charts. Althought the VBSF free demo period has expired, you can check it out on our SAMPLE page.

Thanks for giving it a try.

Mike