Showing posts with label charts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label charts. Show all posts

Monday, 12 May 2008

Garmin Chart Plotter Review and other updates

As you will know from my last blog, Salar is out of action for the moment with a sick engine, so I am confined to shore fishing or prevailing on the generosity of other boat owners. On Friday I went trout fishing for the first time in probably two years, and although the weather and the location at Meon Springs were idyllic, it was all a bit too easy compared to sea fishing. Still, home smoked trout makes a nice change!


Last week I was going to post a review of the new Garmin GPSMAP 4008 Chart Plotter, which was delayed because of Salar's little adventure. I have now completed the review and it is posted on the Boat Angling web site. I won't repeat it all here, but one feature makes it stand out against the competition - it has a true video VGA screen which is much better than the previous generation of chart plotters.


I have also had time to post another couple of updates on the web site: how to make a bailer for nothing; and a downloadable chart of the general marks published on the site. No, none of the detailed, private or secret ones are there I'm afraid!

A fishing blog wouldn't be worthy of the name if I didn't mention catches: I have it on very good authority that Boulder Bank is producing more and better bream than Bullocks Patch or Brackelsham areas. However, the shoals are very localised and the difference between over 100 (true and verified!) bream and just a few fish can be just a few yards. More bream-catching tips from my friend the bream-meister next week...

Friday, 28 March 2008

Exporing the Solent seabed

The Marine Coastguard Agency web site has loads of useful information. I recently came across a part I had not found before: The Civil Hydrography Programme. Needless to say I had not deliberately gone looking for it. This is in fact very useful - it is the result of sea-bed surveys which are published in the form of Google Earth overlays, and shows the sea-bed as if Moses has been by and parted the waters. All you have to do is install Google Earth (if you don't already have it), then go to MCA web site page and download the files covering your area of choice. There are two downloads covering the whole of the western arm of the Solent - just open Google Earth and load the maps from the downloaded files. Enjoy.