Hooky

Cheers graham , can you pm me your number please . Many thanks all, I'm going to try trolling a few ' rhubarb & custard ' lures for the piggys, ' apparently !!!!!!!!!!!' This IS the way to do it . Very light rod with 15lb mono , who knows ! Fisher men's tales eh., I really have as dislike for heavy rods with big weights , maybe throwing away expensive lures on every occasion seems to my forte !

Many moons ago a member offered me a Downrigger to experiment with while trolling Lures. If you have one to sell please send me a pm, if you have one that you want to keep but would be willing to lend out for beer money it would be more than welcome. Thanks chaps.

I have also taken a look at the Dragonfly, very impressive . £1000. ,,,,,,!,,,, in his case I can't believe 'bigger is better' , Garmin make some superb stuff , no doubt about that, the customer support is also fantastic ( they replaced my 300echo even when the warrantee had run out) . I would love to see the club with our own back to back tests in our waters, from budget to extortion. Simply take a few piccys of a very well known location (lobster rock ?) ( I would also add I still can't Sus out what's a fish and what's not ! ) this could then be followed by a deeper water wreck hunt with someone giving co-ordinates only. I suspect it's the person operating the buttons that would succeed , it's 'not what you've got , it's how you use it' is the phrase I always hear.

Help me out Steve, using Navionics this is what I come up with ! I think I'm missing something,I can't find the 177ft hole ? Could anyone else point me in the right direction , Edit again !!!!!!!!'mmmmmmmmmm I'm such a idiot, I didn't do the sonar chart screen shot , good grief .

My last update, different features of the same areas taken in different years ? (Edited coz I'm getting confused ,!)

Yet more time consuming time and effort spent last night ! I'm sure the members browsing this post are are aware of the 'Doris' overlay on google earth, it's been posted many times. Now compare that to the same area ( try the area off Old Harry) . I'm going to attempt to screen shot different maps, the differences are huge, but they are there, it does show how the sea floor changes every season, that has been documented. Have a look at how Christchurch entrance changes , it can change with one storm, Wrecks are of particular interest to us, what is on your chart one day can vanish a short time later, the sandy bottom shifts every day ( hence my quest for the Valantine wrecks) To sum up my experience spending hours messing around is that it doesn't matter which system you use, it's down to budget, it makes very little difference to which mapping system, the reason is a large part of our area moves every few months. All this stuff no matter how much you spend will always be a guide, some of these guides will be more accurate Some parts of the seabed change very little over time , a very short time ago this tech was only available to the military, it's now available to,the masses for a few Quid .. On Fisheagle I have been attempting to get to grips with this side -scan imaging , it is truly amazing. So you combine that to the satellite location plus the oomajidlip dongle powered 3G wifi enabled gizmo to find that perfect spot. Terrific , all in the hope there 'might' be a nice fish that 'might' take the correct bait as long as it's presented on the correct rig. Good Grief , we are more daft than golfers and those metal detector types !

It plugs into the charging socket , it's about the size of a square off a Yorkie bar. I have a Lifeproof case, here it where it got a bit of a faff . You would have to leave the little door open , this would mean your fully waterproof case is now. Errrrr ,, not. I also had to trim some of the plastic case away to make sure it fitted. I would never want to use my ipad underwater so doing this is not a issue for me. IMHO it won't make a scrap of difference to any water that hits it., There is a full list of comparable cases on the Bad Elf website

Update ; so today my Bad Elf arrived, it's plugs in directly to your I device , don't forget , my ipad is a wifi only, you don't generally need a separate gps dongle for the 3G ipad, my idea is to find out how accurate they can be against each other. Will a dedicated gps separate system be more accurate ?? I'm just playing about @ home today , I'm going to try to grab a few screen shots to see what it can do under poor conditions. Not too bad, 6 out of 13 satellites with accuracy of 7m, I have now switched over to the iPhone which has 3G . On wifi Result is different, I'm only getting best of 10m under perfect conditions . Lots more testing to do, early days yet. Codpiece ;I know this all seems double Dutch , it is actually very simple. I'm am NOT a geek , techie sort of person ! The whole aim of this is to attempt to pick up very small marks and gullies that hold some very nice fish, fish love structure, that's one thing I AM certain about ! I'm sure many of us have found our fishing rather difficult this year, I think the inshore trawling has decimated our local areas, their is nothing we can do about it ? ( they know where all the local wrecks and snags are and avoid them, to me that's a small opportunity and try harder to get a few fish )

Incredible , all this technology , all this latest gear, shame I'm so useless at fishing !

The other slight problem is clarity of the screen in bright sunlight , use the white on black setting. I have found the Navionics is superb as a plotter, it's very simple to use , it's not the software , it's the device you put it on. iPhone screens seem too small, it all just gets a bit fiddly . I believe I had a absolute bargain for my brand new wifi ipad from PC world , £150.00 ( my old one completely died). So to that I already had the Navionics saved on my iTunes (for the iPhone) I then purchased the Lifeproof case, then a mounting kit, this will then have the Bad Elf gps. So that should do it, spend total £ 320 , for a touch screen plotter. I have no idea of the price of a Lowrance touch screen plotter ??? Or similar , I do now how much the separate gold card is if you have to purchase it for your dedicated plotter. You could always borrow mine for the day to see what you think, opinions differ, best to try it out before,you spend those penny's

I'm afraid I have given out some duff information to a few members regarding this brilliant tool, sorry about that chaps .. If you have a ipad with a SIM card ( gen 3) you should be fine, however if you have a iPod , 2nd generation ipad this post should be of help. As I understand it when you are receiving a location , this is generated from triangulated signals from shore based towers, if you loose these only a small part of the signal comes from a satellite , this is usually fine but is not always accurate . Your vehicle uses a different system, it uses satellites only, we all know how these can drop out at the most annoying moment. The issue we have here is accuracy , we need a very accurate system to find those important marks and combine this with you depth sounder . Take for example the Valantine tank wrecks, no matter how many times I've looked,I couldn't find them. These small marks are at best a pig to find, no matter what I tried it seemed impossible . I was using my second generation ipad tethered to my iPhone via Bluetooth , it does NOT work. ( that's the duff information I've been giving out). What you need to make this app work is a separate , fully accurate dongle , this locks on to dedicated satellites , without this you can miss these small marks and gullys by a very large margin , hence why I couldn't find what I wanted . I have bought myself a little thing called a Bad Elf, it simply plugs directly into your ipad ( including all generations and iPod) . I bought mine off eBay, it cost £94.00, I have done extensive research on this product, the write ups say this is the only one that is truly worth having, plug it in , download the app (. It's free, you don't have to do this as it will work fine as it is) It will take around a few minutes to lock on to multiple satellites , not just one,this should mean it will be very accurate, within 6 ft or so . This also works with many ipad , iPhone mapping systems , see the website for how it works. You could in fact use this in your car with a free car navigation app, no more lost satellite problems. I have also learned many small aircraft users use a Bad Elf gps , it works upto 1000mph and upto 6,000 ft. It also works worldwide, best of all it cost nothing to use ( In fact the standard system also costs nothing as it is not a part of your data package ) Please use google to look in to this , it's a complicated thing how this all works, it will tell you all the technical stuff.. I will let you know how I get on, I have a feeling this could be the end of my frustrations regarding using iPads etc and navionics ( I will bring it to the next meeting for full updates)

Jelly and ice cream is on the specials board @ the codgers marina today ! I can here the clattering of Zimmers across the harbour , lets party dooooooooods ! Happy Birthday Alan.

Good timing Tony, I was about to add that thought, my method is very controlled so this would never happen, even at the dreaded,KImmeridge !

No problem at all with the posting, if That's what's this club is all about. If anyone wants to,come along to film it working,, it would far better to see its plus sides as well as the major problems you could cause if done incorrectly ( I'm very surprised I can't find anyone else using reverse winching on YouTube , mechanically,,or manually ?! ) Seen a few American ones with nice slipways and pontoons etc, they are usually covered in co- operate stickers and trying to flog something ! Anyone want to do YouTube film ?...?..

Yes Peter, I struggled to get a Wilson 24 ft jobbie of it trailer even with hard rollers, no gentle push would do it, I'm relatively disabled back wise so I have to be very carefull If you look @ a few post backs another member with a rib with full rollers is also struggling . It's not possible to always reverse down the slip and hit the brakes, yes it works, to me it comes with its risks that are higher to your boat and others safety . I CAN launch my boat with a push, just, only just , if I strain my back again launching or retrieving it will cost me far more in lost wages etc than around two hundred quid so to me it's worth every penny. You may have noticed some of our club members are 'getting on a wee bit' anything that can assist them launching and retrieving for the less able. I've sat down @ Baiter many times to see so many people struggle as I used too, not any more. The very end of my trailer is around a foot shorter than the boat that's on it , by the time it comes off the last roller it's free, still attached to the wire, if you also look at the roller step I have not welded on yet, this gives the boat a very gentle final push. It's not totally necessary , it again must makes launching that bit easier ( and 10 times easier to recover )

Yes Rob , the speed of the winch is used in small actions, as soon as you take your finger off it stops. No, your vehicle would not need to be in the water on some slips ( gradient good) but around here , Baiter included, it makes no difference to the damage you could cause to your boat if you attempt to launch a boat by dumping its ass on to mud either by hand or winch. On mine the minimum I use is the water is just level with the keel rollers, this means the trucks rear wheels are around 9 inches deep. You could if needed reduce the diameter of the trailer wheels , lowering its height , I doubt if this would work if you had stern drives etc and very little water, that would,be just plain daft !

It works 100% , Rob, effectively I could get the boat off the trailer onto mud without any water at all ( that's why you need a very strong trailer if you were daft enough to try it ! I also have a spare cable, just in case.. Thought I would also add this is a two -way winch, forward and reverse. ( although the snatch block reverses the power of the cable.) You could also use this method to get you boat off its trailer using a hand winch using a strap. Don't use snatch block, replace it with another keel roller, again attaches to the rear of the trailer, it's how to do it the easy way, it's just reversing the pull from the front of the trailer to the back, hope its becoming clear ( it really is that simple)

Totally agree Coddy, hence the wireless remote, you can stand well away from the wires, good call , make sure there is NO PERSON near your craft when doing this. IF you break the cable etc with this method I do keep a brand new hand winch in the car, the whole assembly only uses 4 bolts that attach it to the winch post. Another thought; this type of powerwinch is also designed to pull cars etc up trailers and out of ditches etc, its a VERY powerfull tool. IF your craft was stuck well away from the trailer, it would also be possible to attach a length of anchor rope to the snatch block end and drag it to where its needed ( just tie loop knots in the rope in stages to reduce its length ( emergency only !)

If you get this wrong you will rip off the eye from you boat ,, be aware you need to check the run of the cables, if they catch the cables will break. When you are using a snatch block you are effectively doubling the power of your winch ( as far as I'm aware) You could also attach the snatch block end to retrieve, the other end could be attached to your tow bar (. 2 tons ? This will obviously be the safest way of using this powerfull tool but will,reduce the length by half. So the main hook with the red tag stays on the boat eye. The other goes to the back of the trailer ( i will add a attachment eye soon) This picture shows what can happen to the wires ! Don't forget to check them before winching.Make sure they are tight to the bottom of the hull. You don't even need to get your feet wet, very handy if the slipway is 'slippy '

Yep ,,works with any boat, the only thing you have to be carefully of is to be sure your engine is set as high possible. I will pop out in a while to do another picture of the snatch block attached to the back of the trailer. It goes without saying you need to routing of the wire underneath a rib,,easily sorted with some wire guides.

I've been meaning to put up this thread in hope that others with bad backs or no mates can get out fishing even when the slipway or beach is difficult. If you have any questions please post away, it works for me, I guarantee it works. First off you need a reasonable trailer, it doesn't matter if it has bunks or not. Your eye of your boat needs to be sound, your trailer must always be attached to your vehicle. The keel rollers of the trailer should be of solid construction (not those soft rubber ones) you can get these for around £12.00"each (I've still,got the rubber ones and it still works ok. Lets start with money, under £200.00 for the lot. First off is power, I use one of these that I bought from Machine Mart, the great thing is you can also use it on you boat to keep. Your phones etc charged, ( big lights are also no problem as it has a ciggarette type plug in as well as a tire pump ( also can act as a live bait aerator ! Next the winch, you can get this type from eBay , you can get them in various sizes, each can have different gauge of cable . Note you need the wireless remote control sort ( these are also supplied with the manual plug in switch. Show with wireless connection I keep the battery pack and control system on the tailgate of the truck, note that your winch is NOT waterproof! As you see from the third picture there is a snatch block, when launching you need to release the winch in to free mode, this attaches under the boat to a secure point to the furthest point on your trailer . You will now be able to launch your boat at the push of a button ( make sure the engine is fully tilted up ) To retrieve simply attach the hook,used in picture to your boat and press the button ! I'm just playing about with the trailer to allow me to get the boat launched and recovered from a flat beach or mud, you will need to try this against your own craft due to,the shape of your hull, I'm sure you get idea. Sorry : I have no idea why the last picky keep going upside down !

I have recently had a change of heart with issue of taking Bass, one per session and only a fish that's over three pound and under four. That gives me the grand total of Nil taken for the table this year ! This season has been very poor, loads caught , the majority have been schoolies , a few (6) have been a decent size but looked long and skinny ! I have never been fussed by political groups, on line petitions etc ( especially politicians themselves ) as they don't give a damn unless its for their own gain in someway, however , maybe it is indeed time to try again . ( still wont stop the local in shore trawling though which is our major issue .

And that's how you do a catch report , superb as ever.

Yep , not unknown for Plaice to be caught on crab lines by kids and the LRF right off the quay (along with congers ! )

No problem Jason, it couldn't have worked out better ( see you very soon I bleeding hope!)