C-MAP Reveal on a Simrad unit is an enhanced mapping chip that takes the basic preloaded chart and adds bottom structure, grass beds, coral heads, and a Google Earth overlay, so you can pre-scout a destination from the dock and navigate to specific rocks and drop-offs. In this How 2 Tuesday I sit down with Captain Scott Walker to cover how to install the chip, switch to the Reveal chart, and use it to find spots both inshore and offshore.
Listen now: press play in the player above and follow along.
C-MAP Reveal is an enhanced mapping chip that upgrades the basic chart your Simrad ships with. Once installed it adds bottom structure, grass beds, coral heads, deeper channels, and a Google Earth overlay for your area. That lets you pre-look at a destination from the dock and navigate straight to a specific rock or hole. Scott highly recommends it and shows the install in the episode.
Your Simrad comes preloaded with C-MAP US Enhanced, which is basic. To switch, go into the menu, find the chart selection, and change it from C-MAP US Enhanced over to C-MAP Reveal. The screen then fills in with the detailed structure for your area. Scott walks through the exact menu path in the episode.
Zoom out and Reveal shows the coral heads and structure across the reef. Scott keeps his known numbers but uses the chart every day to find a new rock to investigate, then decides whether it earns a spot in his full-time arsenal. With tracking on, you also see your exact path in and out, so you can follow your own track home after dark. He demonstrates this in the episode.
For deep work like swordfishing or deep dropping, go to menu, options, chart options, and turn on high-resolution bathymetrics. It removes some navigation options but sharpens the detail on drop-offs. Zoom into a hump like the West Hump and the bathymetrics show the highest and deepest spots so you can set your drift right over the top. Scott shows this one-button setup in the episode.
High-resolution bathymetrics is a chart option that dramatically sharpens the detail on underwater structure and depth contours. Scott uses it for deep dropping and swordfishing in 1,500 to 1,800 feet, where seeing the exact shape of a hump or ledge lets him position his drift precisely. It is a single toggle in the chart options. He explains when to turn it on and off in the episode.
A lot of anglers have questions about their electronics, and Scott Walker runs everything Simrad makes on Into the Blue. When I get asked about charts and mapping chips, he is the guy I want answering. Scott does not just talk theory, he installs the chip on camera, switches the chart, and shows exactly how he hunts new spots with it. That kind of hands-on detail is why I keep bringing him back. Hear him walk through it in the episode, so press play in the player above.
When you buy a Simrad it comes preloaded with the entire US navigation chart, East and West Coast and the Great Lakes, but it is basic. C-MAP Reveal is the upgrade that brings the chart to life with bottom structure, grass beds, coral heads, and a Google Earth overlay. Scott can study a dock in the Bahamas from his boat in the Keys and feel like he has already been there. He explains the difference in the episode, so press play in the player above.
Making the swap is simple once you know where to look. Go into the menu, find the chart selection where C-MAP US Enhanced lives, and change it to C-MAP Reveal. Suddenly you have the whole island in detail, grass beds, coral heads, deeper channels, and you can pick a rock and navigate to it to check for mangroves or lobster. Scott shows the exact path in the episode, so press play in the player above.
Scott has his known numbers, but he treats Reveal as a discovery tool. Every day he zooms out, finds a new coral head he has never fished, and runs over to investigate, then decides whether it earns a permanent place in his arsenal. With tracking on, his path in and out becomes a breadcrumb trail he can follow home after dark. He demonstrates his routine in the episode, so press play in the player above.
Offshore is a different game, and Scott turns on high-resolution bathymetrics for it. The detail on drop-offs gets much stronger, which matters when he is swordfishing in 1,500 to 1,800 feet or setting up over a hump like the West Hump. Seeing the highest and deepest points lets him drift right over the top. He covers the one-button toggle in the episode, so press play in the player above.
The chip that comes with your unit gets you home, but C-MAP Reveal is what turns your Simrad into a fish-finding tool. The structure, the overlay, and the bathymetrics give you eyes on the bottom before you ever drop a line.
If you run a Simrad, find the Reveal chart for your area and start hunting new rocks the way Scott does. Press play in the player above to watch the full walkthrough.
Captain Scott Walker · Into the Blue · Simrad · C-MAP · C-MAP Reveal · high-resolution bathymetrics · West Hump · swordfishing · Waypoint TV · How 2 Tuesday · Tom Rowland Podcast · Saltwater Experience
How 2 Tuesday is my weekly series where I break down one fishing skill at a time, from knots and casting to gear, tactics, and the habits that make you a better angler. Watch and listen to every How 2 Tuesday episode from Tom Rowland.
Captain Scott Walker runs Into the Blue and is one of the most respected charter captains in the Florida Keys. He runs a full suite of Simrad electronics and is known for translating complex marine technology into simple, on-the-water steps. He is a frequent How 2 Tuesday guest in the Simrad electronics series.
Subscribe to get the latest episodes, show notes, and exclusive content delivered straight to your inbox.