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Where And When To Fish, a Satellite Perspective
Ok, this will vary a bit from coast to coast and we were focused on the Gulf of Mexico only. Dr. Roff was there with Roff's Offshore forecasting service and was explaining how they work with NOAA and NASA and are currently not only offering temperature zones but are now offering water color analysis which targets chlorophil in the water. This in turn indicates a "food chain" area.
So, in the Gulf, we are looking mainly at the "loop current" and the eddys that break away from it and move warm blue water closer to the shore. The longer these eddys remain in tact and when they move over "structure" such as ledges, reefs canyon areas etc, you get a double whammy!
When looking at temperature and chlorophil enriched water, you are looking at a significant change in temperature and/or an area of high chlorophil/green color change. These are baitfish congregation zones and you should camp out in these areas as fish will eventually "feed" in these spots.
The key is, the longer these currents and eddies remain stationary, the higher the concentration of bait and the better the fishing.
So the Roff's surface analysis not only tells you the temperature breaks (like we can get in vague forms on the internet) but analyzes the information over days and can point out areas that have remained stationary. They can indicate "hot spots" of bait which can help eliminate lost time and fuel hunting down productive areas.
We have alot of constant nutrient flow into the Gulf from the Mississippi River and Mobile River and it flows constantly so tides, etc don't have a huge impact on the Gulf. Obviously the tributaries, rivers etc are more effected and that is where they recommended learning from a guide service or local knowledge.
Lastly, "water color", like what we see in our boat, can be deceiving. There can easily be 5-10' of "dirty water" on top of clear/blue water. The dirty water is from the rivers and would not be ideal for fishing offshore but, you can sometimes look at your prop wash/etc to see if cleaner water is coming up from underneathe, allowing for good fishing. So, you would want weighted baits and downriggers to get the meat beneathe and into the clean water where the fish would be active.
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