Bob F

NIce fish matey.

Whilst crusing out to the cod marks off the IOW on Sunday I had the recorder running on the sounder. When I got home I looked at the recordings and I was surprized to see that the only place I recorded any fish was the area where Adam picked up his cod. The plot showed a small shoal of fish (herring?) surrounded by 3 or 4 individual larger targets (cod??) at about 70ft. And beneath this shoal just off the bottom are two largish targets. It's easy to imagine a shoal of herring in mid water being hasseled by a bunch of cod, and a couple of individuals sweeping the bottom picking up the pieces. If this is a accurate interpretation of the data, it begs that question, should we be trying an alternative method for cod? I understand the reason why everyone uses a large bunch of squid hard to the bottom to attract the cod by scent because of the cloudy waters, but maybe we are missing cod that are hunting herring shoals off the bottom?? Modern shads work as much by vibration as they do by sight, so maybe a fast retrieve with a shad from the bottom to mid water and back down again whilst on the drift could be a successful method. The vibration will overcome the visual impairment. I'd really like to give it a try next time I'm out, if I can find a buddy that's willing to forgo a day at anchor feeding LSD with

Does anyone know where they used to catch Common Skate around here? I assume it would be a deep mark somewhere. Didn't know we had marks deep enough. BF

I'll be out for the cod and whiting. BF

Duncan, yes, you have to be a new subscriber to Sky. Adam, Sky+ is the Sky box with digital recording onto a hard drive. I have to say it is terrific. The record quality and ease of use is great. It also have dual receivers so you can watch and record different channels, or watch a recording whilst recording another. With Sky+ you don't need a VCR anymore. Another nice feature which we use quite a bit is Live pause/rewind. If you are watching something on live TV you can pause and restart it, or rewind to see it again. Thanks my sales pitch. If you're thinking of subsribing to Sky definitely go for the Sky+ box. I have 3 vouchers, but I guess all existing Sky+ subscribers will also get the vouchers to give away. Our Sky+ box cost me

If anyone is interested in getting a Sky box, I have some vouchers for the new Sky+ Box (you get the box free) and 3 months half price Sky TV. Bob F

Yes, I think Martin got the phrase back to front... hee, hee, hee.

Some of the "experts" stick with a plain patternoster. I guess the most important thing is being in the right place at the right time. But how to you target the big one? An old saying is fish the flats on the flood, and the channels on the ebb. BF

Gordon, Adam, Can you get me 20-30 Lug, please? BF

Dec 18th BF

So, the only thing missing on the list is the cuddly Teddy in true Generation Game fashion. Very nice Hamper, Rich. BF

Very nice, Sam. What engine will she be fitted with? BF

What are you getting, Charlie? BF

A motorist was unknowingly caught in an automated speed trap that measured his speed using radar and photographed his car. He later received in the mail a ticket for

Abbott and Costello in "Buying a computer" COSTELLO CALLS TO BUY A COMPUTER FROM ABBOTT ABBOTT: Super Duper computer store. Can I help you? COSTELLO: Thanks. I'm setting up an office in my den and I'm thinking about buying a computer. ABBOTT: Mac? COSTELLO: No, the name's Lou. ABBOTT: Your computer? COSTELLO: I don't own a computer. I want to buy one. ABBOTT: Mac? COSTELLO: I told you, my name's Lou. ABBOTT: What about Windows? COSTELLO: Why? Will it get stuffy in here? ABBOTT: Do you want a computer with Windows? COSTELLO: I don't know. What will I see when I look at the windows? ABBOTT: Wallpaper. COSTELLO: Never mind the windows. I need a computer and software. ABBOTT: Software for Windows? COSTELLO: No. On the computer! I need something I can use to write proposals track expenses and run my business. What do you have? ABBOTT: Office. COSTELLO: Yeah, for my office. Can you recommend anything? ABBOTT: I just did. COSTELLO: You just did what? ABBOTT: Recommend something. COSTELLO: You recommended something? ABBOTT: Yes. COSTELLO: For my office? ABBOTT: Yes. COSTELLO: OK, what did you recommend for my office? ABBOTT: Office. COSTELLO: Yes, for my office! ABBOTT: I recommend Office with Windows. COSTELLO: I already have an office with windows! OK, let's just say I'm sitting at my computer and I want to type a proposal. What do I need? ABBOTT: Word. COSTELLO:! What word? ABBOTT: Word in Office. COSTELLO: The only word in office is office. ABBOTT: The Word in Office for Windows. COSTELLO: Which word in office for windows? ABBOTT: The Word you get when you click the blue "W". COSTELLO: I'm going to click your blue "w" if you don't start with some straight answers. What about financial bookkeeping? You have anything I can track my money with? ABBOTT: Money. COSTELLO: That's right. What do you have? ABBOTT: Money. COSTELLO: I need money to track my money? ABBOTT: It comes bundled with your computer. COSTELLO: What's bundled with my computer? ABBOTT: Money. COSTELLO: Money comes with my computer? ABBOTT: Yes. No extra charge. COSTELLO: I get a bundle of money with my computer? How much? ABBOTT: One copy. COSTELLO: Isn't it illegal to copy money? ABBOTT: Microsoft gave us a license to copy Money. COSTELLO: They can give you a license to copy money? ABBOTT: Why not? THEY OWN IT! (A few days later) ABBOTT: Super Duper computer store. Can I help you? COSTELLO: How do I turn my computer off? ABBOTT: Click on "START".......

A family is at the dinner table. The son asks his father, "Dad, how many kinds of boobies are there?" The father, surprised, answers, "Well, son, there's three kinds of breasts. In her twenties, a women's breasts are like melons, round and firm. In her thirties to forties, they are like pears, still nice but hanging a bit. After fifty, they are like onions." "Onions?" "Yes, you see them and they make you cry." This infuriated his wife and daughter so the daughter said, "Mum, how many kinds of 'willies' are there?" The mother, surprised, smiles and answers, "Well dear, a man goes through three phases. In his twenties, his willy is like an oak tree, mighty and hard. In his thirties and forties, it is a birch, flexible but reliable. After his fifties, it is like a Christmas tree." "A Christmas tree?" "Yes, dead from the root up and the balls are for decoration only."

I think you are probably placing the cursor at the top of the wreck and using the pop-up box to determine the bottom depth. If you do it that way you get bottom depth 72ft and cursor depth 60ft. But in this case I think the system is misinterpreting the deck plates of the boat as the bottom. If you move the cursor to the actual bottom (average) it reads ~77ft, so 17ft. But what's 3-4ft between mates???

Well, my fuel tank sorted itself out and is now back to its proper proportions. Just left it outside and it came back to shape after a few days. BF

This was a drift along some of her length. We were catching plenty of Pout and the odd pollack. The description in Dive Dorset says she's fairly broken up with 2 big boliers showing. Perhaps that's we can see here. Incidently, in tems of scale, she lying in 80ft of water and is 20ft from bottom to top on this plot. BF

And this is the Betsey Anna. In mid water on the left, the red splodge is a shoal of fish (probably Pollack, since I caught one). And immediately around the wreck the red shading is either pouting or nets, I suspect. BF

On the left is a trip across the Spoil Grounds, and the peaks on the right are a few passes across the Betsey Anna. BF

Sounds like exciting stuff, Tom. Charlie, emailed. BF

Tom, Just had a look at the Navman web site and can't find a unit that records sonar data. Which one is it? There is a boat speed log. cheers BF

Rich, Yes, you can turn the record on and off (for example, when you are at anchor), and change SD cards. I take a couple of SD cards out with me just in case I fill one. I'll post some pictures of the Betsey when I can get the print function in the Sonar Viewer to work!!! cheers BF

Hi Becks, I have the Eagle Seachamp 2000 combo unit (a repackaged Lowrance). As far as I am aware, the Lowrance and Eagle combo units are the only ones that allow you to record sonar data. Unfortunately, there isn't a way of interfacing your two units and recording the data. This is the main reason why I chose the combo rather than 2 separate units. The new Lowrance units have a new interface bus which is supposed to allow you to add stuff like radars, etc, but even then, I still don't think you can record sonar data with separate units. Not sure what you mean by "There is no software available from navionics yet, coming soon i was told 12 months ago"??? I assume you are using Navionics Gold on your plotter?? The Sonar Viewer software is available for free from the Lowrance and Eagle webs sites. The sonar/GPS data is recorded onto a standard SD flash card that you plug into the combo unit (it has 2 SD slots, one for your Navionics chart and one for recording your data). I have a 128MB SD card which records a couple of hours of data, so you can leave it recording whilst you are cruising around, and then view it at your leisure when you are back home using the Sonar viewer software. The beauty of the software is that when you place your mouse over an interesting mark it shows the GPS co-ordinates and depth. It's then a simple matter of entering the co-ordinates into your plotter. Hope that answerd your questions. Cheers Bob F