Bob F

Hi Adam, I think one of the claims was that these auto tabs can compensate for unequal weight on one side of the boat. Do you know how they do this if they operate on water pressure created by the flow of water. For example, if you were to go out solo, would the auto tabs be able to level out the boat so that it wasn't leaning to one side?? cheers BF

Yet another "Mikey Take".

I tend to agree, Duncan. I have a recording of a shoal of bait fish under which are 3 or 4 larger individuals. In those larger fish you can clearly see the swim bladders high lighted in red and surrounded by the main body of the fish, which suggests the FF was detecting the flesh of the fish even if the return was weaker. My old plotter never showed this sort of detail. BF

Done a bit more digging into this... The theory is that fish flesh is made up mostly of water, therefore there is insufficient difference in the substance that the sound pulse is passing through (from sea water to fish flesh) to cause a reflection. The swim bladder is filled with air and therefore presents a big change in the type of medium that the sound pulse passes through (sea water to air) and so creates a strong reflection. So, it is indeed the swim bladders that we are seeing when we detect a fish on the FF. The swim bladder of an individual bait fish is too small to be detected on its own, but a shoal of bait fish will be detectable. But I'm still not sure if a large shark will show on the FF. I guess the main body consists of mostly water, but what about the cartilage and jaw bone. Isn't cartilage and bone a honeycomb structure and therefore contains air?? BF

I'm amazed by the suggestion that sharks do not show up on fish finders because of the lack of a swim bladder. Granted, the swim bladder in a fish does give a stronger return because of the air pocket, but the main body of a fish should also show up but as a weaker return. A shark's body would still give a return but without the stronger return in the middle caused by the swim bladder. If you do see a shark on your FF with a stronger return in the middle it will probably be a number plate or a diver's air bottle, in which case it's probably time to get a bigger boat. BF ps - this has intrigued me, so I might try to research it more.

Gordon What are risers? BF

Not somewhere I've been. Is that really the name of the place? Sounds like someone swearing???

James, Karen resently bought a waterproof digital camera that she uses for Kayaking. Its a Pentax Optio WPi. 6 Million Pixels. Takes beautiful photos. It has a 3x Optical zoom. Perfect for use on a boat. I think its the only waterproof digital camera on the market. Not sure what the price was, but I think it was less than

Come on lads, slow down with the posts will ya...I cant keep up.

What you have to remember is that Rich used to be a Taxi Driver. He never goes anywhere by the shortest route.

Gordon, It must be nice to have a visual image of the marks you're fishing over, and knowing where you've seen fishing lying. I expect big things from you this year... Andy, Going round in circles and not finding anything was what prompted me to dig deeper into their numbers and uncover the error. Having said that, I still haven't found the numbers to be very accurate. You really have to do a wide search when you get to the rough area. It's still a good book for information on the marks, though. BF

There's gotta be a good anagram for SIPS, too...

I've just had a look at my Dive Dorset book and I've crossed out the "southwards" and put "northwards", and crossed out "eastwards" and put "westwards", so they got both directions wrong. So, OSG36 50 38 60N and 01 55 57W would be approx 50 38 64N and 01 55 65W in WSG84. Add 0.04 minutes North and 0.08 minutes West. So, yes I agree with your calculation, Paul. I've also just checked it with Martin's conversion tool and got the same result. BF

This is starting to ring a few bells. I seem to remember that the Dive Dorset conversion is wrong. Instead of 0.08 eastwards I think it should have said westwards. Brian, yes you are right about the 60. Didn't notice this, so the numbers must be decimal. BF

Andy, You can also use your plotter to make the conversions for you. First, set the plotter to the OSG36 datum (rather than WSG84) and set the co-ordinates to Degrees Minutes and Seconds (rather than Degrees and Minutes). The coordinates you have shown above appear to be in degrees minutes and seconds because the last two digits do not go over 59 (60 seconds). If any of the last two digits were 60 or over, they would be in decimal, in this case you would use Degrees and Minutes. Next enter the coordinates you have shown as a waypoint and save it. These are now OSG36 coordintates. Now change the Datum back to WSG84. When you select your waypoint again you should notice that the numbers have changed because they are now being shown in WSG84. You can also change the coordinates back to Degrees and Minutes so that you can see the decimal figures. It sounds like you are taking the coordinates from the Dive Dorset book. These numbers haven't proved to be very accurate for many members. What wreck are you looking for? cheers BF

Hi Matt I'd suggest this is incorrect. You should not loose the map detail even if 1.5miles was your lowest range. Take it back. BF

Yeh, good decision, Adam. I would not have liked being out there today. BF

Happy Birthday, Dean. BF

I think Tom's been sniffing too much Sikaflex. Don't ever go fishing with him alone...it gets a bit scarey out there with no one else around. Anyway, welcome to the mad house, Albino. BF

See you at Beaulieu, Jake. It's a "must go to" event. BF

Terrific reports lads. I hope some of this gets fed back to the show organizers and Sea Angler. Time and money is precious to us all, and to be hoodwinked into using up both is almost criminal. I'm angry and I didn't even go!!! BF