Learn more about fishing the deep waters of Green Canyon in the Gulf of Mexico.
FishTrack Staff
Home to vast petroleum reserves, the Green Canyon area, located more than 140 miles offshore in the central Gulf of Mexico is an ultimate long-range offshore fishing destination. The many oil platforms that dot Green Canyon provide the structure needed to draw big pelagic predators including blue marlin, wahoo, dolphin and tuna. Take a closer look at Green Canyon with exclusive cartography provided by C-MAP, and learn more about fishing this deepwater canyon.
This C-MAP 3D chart reveals the bottom structure found in the Green Canyon area in high detail. The C-MAP charts also indicate the locations of key oil platforms for offshore crews. These C-MAP charts are now available for Simrad, Raymarine, Furuno and Lowrance plotters.
The myriad oil rigs and platforms found in the Green Canyon area attract sea life all the way up he food chain, from phytoplankton on up to big predators like this trophy blue marlin released by Capt. Jimmy Crochet of Conundrum Sportfishing. Crochet runs the 61-foot Conundrum and is a big player on the Gulf tournament circuit. Crochet holds the state record with a tournament-winning yellowfin tuna, and the Conundrum most recently topped the leaderboard in the Catch and Release category of the 2014 Mississippi Gulf Coast Billfish Classic. He often heads to Green Canyon when the weather provides a window of opportunity because he knows it will produce.
This C-MAP chart gives a more detailed view of the locations of oil rigs and platforms in the Gulf of Mexico. Finding blue water and temperature breaks around these fish-attracting structures is usually the first step in planning a Green Canyon trip. Crochet's team will use a number of fishing techniques: "We do a mix of live-baiting and trolling during the day, often running quite a bit between spots," he says. "Then at night we'll chunk or live-bait for tuna."
This screenshot shows the waypoint tool on FishTrack's Central Gulf of Mexico fishing chart to give you an idea of the distances involved in a Green Canyon run. "From Port Eads to the Neptune Rig is about 104 miles," Crochet says. "Then if you run to the far west edge it's about 180 miles total."
Blue marlin can stack up in the waters of Green Canyon, and Crochet reports that on one of his best overnight trips he want 5-for-6 on blues. It's this reason that Green Canyon remains a go-to spot for the big boats fishing the Gulf.
C-MAP's High Resolution Bathymetric Charts are designed specifically for fishermen and offer a detailed view of the depths and bottom contours of the Green Canyon area. This information is vital when choosing an area to target.
Crochet consults a number of satellite chart services before making a run to fish the Gulf rigs, checking for blue water, temperature breaks and current. "The ideal amount of current is about one knot," Crochet says. "When you start getting over two knots, it's just too much." Altimetry also plays a role in finding fishy water. "I like areas in the -10 to -20 range when looking on the altimetry maps," Crochet says. The FishTrack chart above shows mainly green water over much of Green Canyon, but with a blue-water color break on the western edge.
C-MAP's raster charts offer a more traditional "paper chart" view of the Green Canyon and include updated navigational information, including the location of bottom structure and oil and gas rigs. This chart is ideal for navigating.
