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The 10-Day Color Loop shows you where the Blue water has been off your inlet over the last ten mornings, and the Blue-water report under it puts this morning's position into plain words. It's free for subscribers to The DeepRead Edge and updates every morning at about 7:05 a.m. Eastern.
Most offshore days come down to one decision: how far to run before you put lines in. Blue water moves. It can sit on the 100-fathom line one morning and be in 30 fathoms the next. The loop shows that movement, and the report gives today's position for 16 inlets from Miami to Jacksonville.
Use it to answer three questions:
Where is the Blue water off my inlet today? The report gives a depth and a distance.
Is it coming to me or leaving? The report says whether it worked inshore, backed off or held since the last clear look.
Which inlet has it closest? The first line of the report names the shallowest Blue water on the coast that morning.
The page plays the last ten mornings of satellite water color from Jacksonville to the Keys, one frame per morning, like a weather radar loop.
Date label: the morning that frame was made.
Day counter: where you are in the ten mornings. The last frame is this morning.
Pause: tap the chart to stop the loop and study one morning.
Moving white streaks: surface currents for that day, showing which way the water is flowing and how fast.
Inlet names: Miami north to Jacksonville. Find your inlet first, then look east.
Latitude and longitude labels: the chart's grid, so you can compare a spot with your own charts.
Blue-water report: this morning's Blue water by inlet, in words, under the loop.
The streaks come from an ocean current model, not from the satellite. They're a best estimate of the current, not a measurement. Long, fast streaks running north mark the Gulf Stream. Short or curling streaks on the shelf mark slower, turning water.
The color shows how clean the water is. Darker blue is cleaner. Green carries more plant life and is usually shelf or coastal water. The chart has no color key, so this is it:
Deep blue (Gulf Stream Blue): out in the Stream itself, mostly over deep water with no structure.
Medium blue (Blue): the clean edge of the Stream, and the water it pushes onto the shelf.
Light blue (Blended Blue): where Stream water and shelf water mix.
Teal (Blue Green): shelf water.
Green (Green): coastal water.
Areas the satellite could not see: cloud hid that spot that morning.
Blue is the water to find. Gulf Stream Blue is the cleanest, but it usually sits out over deep water. Blue water that has moved in over the ledges and reefs inside 100 fathoms is what most of us fish.
Look for the edges. A sharp change from blue to green over a short distance is a color break, and it's worth a look when it sits over bottom you like.
The chart judges blue against the Gulf Stream each morning, so the colors stay comparable from a clear summer day to a hazy winter one.
Each morning the report gives one line per inlet, south to north, saying how deep the inshore edge of the Blue water is and how far off the inlet it sits.
A typical line reads: “Off Sebastian Inlet, Blue water has worked its way inshore about 6 nm overnight and now sits around 30 fathoms, 11 nm off the inlet.”
What the words mean:
“around 30 fathoms”: the inshore edge of the Blue water is over about 30 fathoms of water.
“11 nm off the inlet”: how far east of the inlet that edge is, in nautical miles.
“worked its way inshore about 6 nm overnight”: the edge is 6 nm closer to the beach than yesterday morning.
“backed off about 5 nm since Monday”: the edge is 5 nm farther out than the last clear look, which was Monday.
“holding”: the edge has moved less than 3 nm since the last clear look.
“outside the 100-fathom line”: the Blue water hasn't come onto the shelf there.
“no Blue water at the shelf edge”: the Stream's edge off that inlet is carrying blended or green water today.
“no clear look this morning”: cloud hid that stretch; the line gives the last depth seen and the day.
“a large change from yesterday, so treat it with caution”: the position jumped more than 20 nm in a day. It's given, but check it against the loop.
One or two lines open the report. One names the inlet with the shallowest Blue water that morning. The other names the biggest push inshore since the last look, when there is one.
The report never guesses. It uses only what the satellite saw in the last 24 hours, and it says so when cloud got in the way.
Run these five steps after 7 a.m. and you'll have a starting point before you clear the inlet.
Read your inlet's line. Note the depth and the distance. That's your starting point.
Read the lines either side of you. If the Blue water is 20 fathoms shallower one inlet north or south, a longer run along the beach may beat a longer run offshore.
Check the direction. “Worked inshore” means the Blue water is coming to you. “Backed off” means plan to go farther than yesterday.
Play the loop. Watch the last three or four mornings off your inlet. A steady push inshore over several days is more dependable than a one-day jump.
Pause on this morning and look at the edge. Find where the blue meets the green nearest your inlet, and compare it with the bottom you fish on your own charts.
Planning the night before works too. Yesterday's report is the best guide you have until the 7 a.m. update, so check the new one before you commit to a long run.
A single chart shows where the water is. The loop shows where it has been going, and that tells you whether today's edge is likely to still be there when you arrive.
A push inshore. The blue edge steps toward the beach over two or three frames. Fish the blue side of the color change where it crosses structure.
Backing off. The edge retreats east and green water fills in behind it. Expect a longer run than last trip.
A finger. A narrow tongue of blue reaches onto the shelf with green on both sides. Both edges of the finger are color breaks.
A curl or hook in the edge. Often the current streaks bend around it. These usually travel north along the Stream's inshore edge, and they pull Blue water onto the shelf as they pass.
A stall. The edge sits in the same place for several mornings. That's the most dependable water on the chart.
The current streaks help you judge a drift. Where they run fast and straight, you're in the Stream. Where they slow, bend or curl back, the water is turning, and bait tends to collect along those seams.
The loop is a once-a-day picture of the surface, and the water keeps moving after the satellite passes.
It updates once a morning. By afternoon the edge may have moved. Treat the position as a starting point, then trust your eyes and your temperature gauge.
Cloud blocks the satellite. On a cloudy morning some inlets get no reading. The report says so and gives the last depth it saw.
It shows the surface only. It can't see temperature breaks below the surface, bait or fish.
Detail is about half a nautical mile. A narrow rip or weed line won't show.
Positions are approximate. Depths are rounded to the nearest 5 or 10 fathoms.
The current streaks come from a model. They show the general flow, not the exact current at your boat.
It's not a weather or navigation product. Check the marine forecast and your charts before every trip.
It's a tool for deciding where to start looking. It doesn't promise fish.
Fathom: 6 feet of depth. 30 fathoms is 180 feet.
nm: nautical mile, about 1.15 statute miles.
100-fathom line: the 600-foot depth contour, roughly the edge of the shelf, where the Stream's inshore edge usually runs.
Blue water: water the chart paints Blue or Gulf Stream Blue that morning.
Inshore edge: the side of the Blue water nearest the beach.
Worked inshore: the edge is at least 3 nm closer to the beach than the last clear look.
Backed off: the edge is at least 3 nm farther out than the last clear look.
Holding: the edge has moved less than 3 nm.
Color break: a sharp change from one water color to another.
No clear look: cloud kept the satellite from seeing that stretch in the last 24 hours.
GET THE DAILY ANALYSIS
The loop and the report show where the Blue water is. DeepRead Offshore Fishing Analysis marks the spots off Canaveral, Sebastian and Fort Pierce where temperature, color, current and bottom line up, every morning by 6:00 a.m., with a note on why each one earned its mark and GPX files for your plotter.
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