Available recently on mobile and tablet devices via the Navionics Boating application or on your GPS handsets following the update of your Platinum map, this layer is an evolution of the SonarChart Shading that I presented in this article . Now, Relief Shading brings us into a new world where the slightest relief will no longer go unnoticed.
What is it in concrete terms?
This new layer provides a very detailed view of the bottom topography by combining shading and color. It's a real visual comfort. Whether you're a novice or an expert chart reader, you'll be able to analyze the underwater terrain with this layer.
Exploitation of Relief Shading
With your Navionics map you have the option of displaying the following views:
- Traditional menu
- SonarChart
- SonarChart Shading
- Relief Shading
All the difficulty of the prospection is to find isolated structures or reliefs, likely to shelter an underwater life.
The 3 following views are taken from the same place. I voluntarily placed three marks in order to highlight certain reliefs, invisible at first sight.
This first view is traditionally used for navigation. I hardly ever use it for fishing or just to target a large area to prospect in order to refine my prospecting using other layers. The 3 markers seem to be placed in the void. And yet...
On this second view, the SonarChart layer is active. The bathymetric lines are more numerous and allow a better interpretation of the underwater relief.
This capture is the new Relief Shading view. What can I say?
Prospecting is within everyone's reach. All the underwater reliefs are highlighted. It is possible to determine the nature of the bottom at a glance (rock, sand...). The corridors between the rocks and thus the current veins carrying food are easily identifiable.
The 3 markers initially placed indicate an underwater relief which, on the first 2 views, was invisible.
What coverage?
All French coasts are not covered for the moment but patience, as for the SonarChart Shading it should come during the year 2021.
However, some very nice areas are already available such as the Glénan, the Sein and Ouessant sectors. Enough to satisfy a lot of sport fishermen on extremely rich areas.
