Bluewater Intel — Maine to Southern California

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Maps, ports, catches & your own waypoints.

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Welcome aboard

Bluewater Intel combines ocean data with regional fishing knowledge to show you where target species are most likely to be biting. This guide walks through the app and explains what information drives the predictions.

Getting Started

Five steps to your first prediction.

1

Pick your home port

Tap HOME PORT in the top bar and pick the port you're fishing from. The map zooms to your area and a range circle shows how far offshore is reachable. 95 ports are supported from Portsmouth, NH to San Diego, CA (plus Bahamas crossings). Until you pick a port, no port shows as "home" on the chart — your home port appears as a larger gold anchor badge with a white ring, and fishing spots only load once a port is selected.

2

Pick your target species

Tap TARGET SPECIES and choose what you're after. 50 species are in the picker — each one is modeled with its own regional habitat profile. If you pick a species that doesn't live near your port, the app will tell you so directly.

3

Read the Bite Map

Colored areas show where your target species is most likely to be biting right now. The scale goes from green (decent) → yellow → orange → red (best). Tap any colored area for a breakdown of why that spot scored well — and tap the 🔊 button in that breakdown to have it read aloud.

Planning ahead? Use the Forecast pills on the bite-score banner (Now / +12h / +24h) to see how wind, tide, solunar, and pressure shift the score — without leaving the map.

Planning a specific day? Tap any waypoint and open the 6-Day Forecast tab for a 3-hour breakdown of wind, seas, air, water, and the tides — so you can pick which day and tide to run.

Two numbers, two meanings:
Bite Score = how favorable conditions are at that spot (the big colored number).
Confidence = how sure the model is about that score — in either direction (the smaller number next to it).
Confidence rises when the major signals agree and falls when they conflict. It also climbs when we're confident a spot is poor — for example, a species that's out of season or out of its range here is a high-confidence "stay home," not a maybe. The "What's affecting confidence" panel in any breakdown explains what's driving the number.

4

Use the right-side icon column

🗺 Base Map — switch between Satellite, Ocean Bathymetric (NOAA BlueTopo), or Seafloor Relief. Toggle Depth Contours in Layers as a transparent overlay on any basemap.

◆ Layers — iOS-style toggles grouped into Predictions, Map Markers, Ocean Data, and an Advanced section. Toggle the Bite Map (the color-coded bite forecast for your target species), Major Fishing Areas (canyons, wrecks, reefs, lumps and ledges — the 15 closest to your port), ports, your catches, satellite SST & Chlorophyll, animated Wind, Front Convergence (SSH), and ocean currents. Closures and LORAN-C live under Advanced.

📏 Ruler — tap to measure distance in nautical miles. Drop multiple points to plot a route.

⚙ Settings — set defaults like home port, species, base map, and account preferences.

5

Explore the menu

Tap MENU in the top right. It's organized into grouped sections like iOS Settings: Map & Data (Offshore Chart, Fishing Reports), My Tools (My Catches with logging + pattern analytics, Waypoints & Structure, Virtual Tackle Box, Download My Trip), and Reference (Regulations, Terminal Tackle, Fish Encyclopedia, Tutorial, Help & Contact). Ocean layers — SST, chlorophyll, wind, radar, currents, and front convergence — are toggled on the map itself under Layers. To log a catch, open My Catches and tap Log a Catch.

New Features

Recent additions worth knowing about.

⭐

Plans & subscription

Bluewater Intel offers a free tier plus a paid Subscription that unlocks the full app — the Bite Map, ocean & wind layers, forecasts, and more. Pick monthly or a discounted annual plan, and you can start with a 7-day free trial (a card is required; you're billed only if you don't cancel before the trial ends). Checkout and billing are handled securely by Stripe — we never see or store your card number. Manage or cancel anytime from Menu → Manage Account → Manage Billing, which opens the Stripe customer portal. Subscriptions auto-renew until canceled; see Menu → Legal & Privacy for the full subscription, payment, and refund terms.

🎣

Catch logging with auto-filled conditions

Open Menu → My Catches and tap Log a Catch to record one. Choose species, size, time, and location (map center or GPS). The app auto-fills ocean and weather conditions from the same sources shown on the map. Optionally attach a photo and opt in to share the catch as an anonymous fishing report (which can feed back into predictions). Once you've logged a handful, a Your Patterns panel summarizes the conditions that show up most often in your successful trips — and can break it down per species.

⚖️

Marine closures & regulations

Toggle Closures & Sanctuaries in the Layers panel to see permanent spatial closures on the chart — National Marine Sanctuaries (orange), no-take reserves (red solid), HAPCs (purple dashed), and groundfish closures (red dashed). Tap any closure for the rules and a link to the official regulation page. Menu → Regulations opens a full directory of federal sources (NMFS, MAFMC, SAFMC, Gulf SERO, Pacific WCR) and every state agency from Maine to Southern California, with your home state's agency surfaced at the top.

🛰

Satellite ocean data overlays

Two NASA satellite layers, toggleable in the Layers panel under "OCEAN DATA": Sea Surface Temp (MUR 1km — cloud-free, hi-res, shows the Gulf Stream wall and temp breaks) and Chlorophyll-A (VIIRS 1km — water color/productivity, where bait stacks along the green-to-blue boundary). Both work on any basemap. The color legend appears at top-left when active, along with the date the imagery is from.

💨

Animated wind layer

Toggle Wind (animated) under Ocean Data for a live particle wind field — streaks show direction and are colored by speed (calm green → strong red). For a point forecast with gusts and a multi-day outlook, tap any waypoint and use the 6-Day Forecast tab.

📐

Bathymetry on the map

US waters use NOAA BlueTopo bathymetry; other regions use global elevation data. Switch the basemap to Ocean Bathymetric or Seafloor Relief to visualize the bottom, toggle Depth Contours in Layers as an overlay, and tap the map for depth in feet and fathoms.

What Data Drives the Predictions

The Bite Map combines all of these — none of them by itself.

🌡

Sea Surface Temperature (SST)

Each species has water temperatures where it is most likely to feed. The Bite Map compares local sea surface temperature to that species' profile for your region. In the breakdown this shows as Water temperature.

📊

Temperature break

The boundary between cold and warm water — what fishermen call a "color line" or "the wall" — can concentrate baitfish and attract predators. In the bite breakdown this shows as Temperature break.

◎

Front convergence

Where ocean features stack together — temperature edges, water color, current shear, and sea-surface height anomalies — bait and predators often concentrate. On the bite map this shows up as Front convergence in the breakdown; toggle Front Convergence (SSH) under Ocean Data to see the underlying eddies and breaks on the chart.

⬇

Water depth (bathymetry)

Depth determines what habitat is available — a species won't score well in water that is too shallow or too deep for it. The map uses NOAA bathymetry on US coasts and global elevation data elsewhere. Offshore pelagics are kept over appropriate blue water rather than inshore shelf, and bottom species are evaluated against conditions at depth, not just the surface. In the breakdown this shows as Depth.

🌿

Chlorophyll concentration

Water color and productivity help describe the food chain. Clean blue water offshore and greener inshore water each suit different species. Edges between green and blue water are often productive.

📈

Barometric pressure trend

Falling pressure (storm approaching) often triggers active feeding. Stable high pressure can shut down the bite. Recent pressure trends are included in the score.

🌙

Solunar windows, tide stage & moon phase

Major and minor solunar feeding windows are calculated from the moon's position. For inshore species especially, tide stage matters — most inshore action happens on a moving tide. New and full moons also tend to drive stronger tides and more aggressive feeding for many species.

💨

Wind direction & weather change

Wind affects boat positioning, surface chop, and how bait stacks against structure. Different species have different wind preferences. Recent weather changes (a front passing through) can also trigger or kill the bite.

📅

Season & range

Season and geographic range act as a gate: if a species is out of season or outside its normal range for your area, the map suppresses it and the breakdown flags it with high confidence — rather than lighting up spots where the fish wouldn't realistically be.

📍

Recent catch reports

Recent fishing reports for a species near a location can bump scores in that area. Newer reports carry more weight than older ones. Reports tied to a port near the bite area can influence the Bite Map; posts without a usable location show in the forum but do not shift scores.

Honest Notes & Limitations

⚠ Predictions are guidance, not guarantees

Fish move on their own schedule and even perfect-looking conditions don't always produce. The app is best used as a planning tool — pick a few high-scoring areas to start your day, then adapt based on what you see on the water.

⚠ Always verify regulations

Marine closures and regulations change throughout the year — bag limits, slot limits, seasonal openings, emergency closures. The Regulations page links to official sources. Always confirm current rules with the responsible agency before fishing.

⚠ Not a navigation tool

Bluewater Intel is a fishing planning tool — not navigation, not safety equipment. Use proper charts, GPS, marine radio, and weather radio for navigation and safety decisions. Found a bug or have feedback? Tap Menu → Help & Contact, or email info@bluewaterintel.com.

⚠️ Verify Before Fishing

Fishing regulations change throughout the year — seasons open and close, slot and bag limits adjust, emergency closures happen. This page links to official sources. Bluewater Intel is a planning tool, not a legal reference. Always confirm current rules with the responsible agency.

Users

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⚠️ Not for Navigation · No Guarantee of Catch

Bluewater Intel is an educational planning tool. Do not use it for marine navigation, route-planning, or to avoid hazards — use official charts and navigational equipment. The app does not guarantee that fish will be caught. Predictions are estimates, not promises.