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I thought I'd post up here my experience of the Lowrance Active Imaging sidescan transducer in case it helps anyone in the market for a new FF. I was out on a group of four wrecks off the SW corner of the IoW back in the summer, and I wanted to test out the new HDS Live 9 and Active Imaging transducer side scan capabilities. Below is a screen shot of the bow of the Kurland (details here: https://map.forgottenwrecks.org/uploads/documents/FWFWW_Site report_Kurland.pdf) compared with the Marine Archaeology Trust's professional sidescan view from the Forgotten Wrecks report. HDS Live Active Imaging side scan Marine Archaeology Trust side scan Pretty good correlation between the two I think, and decent resolution. The HDS side scan was taken at 455khz for the wider cone angle. Next time I'm there I'll try the same drift using 800khz so that I can get a better resolution image. Incidentally, the Forgotten Wrecks Map https://map.forgottenwrecks.org/ is a great resource for wreck hunting on the south coast . Well worth a browse for the history too.

Hi Colin In response to your request for a heads up on fishing the Thames Estuary and Essex coast I'll cast my mind back and see what I can come up with ,bearing in mind I've been here for nearly 4 years. There were a few slipways that are open to the public.The most westerley that I would deem to be OK is at two Tree Island which is council owned. It is in Leigh on Sea (Southend Borough) right behind Leigh Station. As I recall this one doesn't dry out but its a good 10 miles upstream of the general fishing areas. There are others to the east of that but they do dry out for a few hours. I never used slipways so I cannot talk from my own experiences. Once you are out there you can go for Plaice (near record ones taken off of East Beach in Shoeburyness during the winter times). Problem there is you will get plagued with flounders. Bit further east from there are the firing ranges. There are some superb Bass to be had there if you fish in the gutways especially at low tide when there is only a couple of feet under the boat and all around you are dried out sandbanks (3 miles out from the shoreline). The downside of that is you are on MoD ground and officially you have to ask permission but seeing as they never answered the radio you never got permission. If you were unlucky you could expect a visit from the bright orange hovercraft where the nice men on board, using good old fashioned english would leave you in no doubt as to how welcome you were! On one red hot summers day my mate took a 13lb Bass in no more than 2 feet of water. Like hitting the back of the London To Edinburgh Express. Only time I've ever seen a Bass tail walk. If you were brave enough to cross the shipping channel there were some good Roker to be had off of Margate. Go a little further out and north toward Clacton and that was a well know summer fishery for Tope and Doggies. Winter was mainly restricted to Cod, Whiting and Flatfish. You may or may not know that Essex has to longest coastline of any county due to all the small islands and inlets. There are three other main rivers available to you namely The Roach, The Crouch and the Blackwater. They all have slipways available either Public or some of the Yachtclubs are ameanable for a small consideration. The one thing to always bear in mind is that the east coast is flat and the sea is not deep therefore the majority, but not all, of the slips dry out. This in turn leads to some fast running tides. Do your research first and if the fishing gods are with you good days are possible. As far as bait goes I would always favour Rag, Lug and for the Bass it would be peeler crab. The Roker seemed to come better on fresh herring. Like all fishing a bait will work one day and they wont touch it the next! If you have a choice I would go for weekdays, especially during the warmer months as 'The Romford Navy' as they are locally known decend on the coast with their 3 metre inflatables with twin 150 Mercs on the back. Gives the local RNLI something to do! If you do venture to the east coast let me know how you get on.

Duly noted Ian... Lidl's here I come!!

Hi Andy, Well done for posting such an interesting topic, there is a lot to study with any of the newer finders, i have three sorts, iam still very much a novice at this stage but i set time aside some days iam out to forward my knowledge as to how to get the best out of them. it then seems to pay off when i go out to fish with experienced fisherman. Wreck fishing is high on my list to aim for this summer "weather permitting" so hopefully some of the "old hands" will be able to aim us in the right direction as to what wrecks have been successful in the last year or two for them. feel sure they will. Good luck Colin

Shame there isn't an Agree button Stuie. I saw this earlier and thought he got off so lightly he must have bribed the judge... If it were a thief who robbed to the tune of £53m he'd be banged up pronto, so why not this chap? The saddest thing though is the environmental impact on the eel population his actions will have had. 😥

Awesome! Will sneak the kids' pencil cases on board so that I can be sure to rub with the best! Who needs the pub, eh??

Cobbs are in my view heading for an exodus of boats. They are cutting all previously enjoyed benefits ie lift out bacon sandwiches and coffee are lacking this year, virtually no parking which as a customer I feel I am entitled to, no fishing competitions in fact they are in my view getting greedy and will in time pay for their short sightedness