selous

I just ordered a Cannon Digi-Troll 10 TS which is not available here. $1197 from the states (oceanmarinetackle), the standard Digi-troll 10 is $2889 here from CH Smith so the Tournament Series would probably over 3k here. Cannon transducer there is $80, here it is $289. I got a bargain because it has gone up to $1500 a couple of days later, still half the price if you could get that model here. Reputable online stores provide tracking numbers on your parcels. Locally, if you were looking for an alternative to Cannon or Scotty have a look at the Stelcos sold by the downriggershop. Or wait a week and I'll have a couple of manual Cannons for sale.

Anyone know of a shop that has the Okuma V system rods in stock? Can't find them anywhere. The best I can find is on the net from a NZ vendor which will cost me about AUD $240 shipped.

Hi all I have decided after breaking a couple of cheaper reels or having them fail, I will only stick to top quality reels in future, especially for my heavier set ups. I am looking to put a SW stella on each of these rods and am wondering which size I would be best off getting. I will be using them for big kings, dollies, jigging etc. 6' Strudwick Bluewater 10-15kg 6' Strudwick Bluewater 25-37kg 300-500gm I initially was looking at the twin powers, but after researching the topic, the general consensus seems to be to go for a stella if you can afford it. Given I can get a Stella 20000SW from the US for under $900 and the 5000SW for under $700 for example, I decided to go the Stella over the Twin Power. Cheers Rob

I don't use burley for kings as I mainly downrig (is that a verb?) for them, but I would guess if you want to burley from a static possie the standard chook pellets/tuna oil/ catfood mix would be what you use, just search the forums for burley. I would think that burley would be of limited value for kings. It may attract baitfish which in turn could attract Kings I suppose but you're better off targeting structure with decent bait IMHO

Got one Kingie just legal @ 68cm downrigging at the colours. Got busted off at the surface on another which was bigger than the first, hard to guess how much bigger because I only caught a glimpse. Both were on live yakkas - had live squid as well which didn't get touched all day. Tried around North head and Bluefin Point for another rat king, then stocked up on more squid and hit the various markers around the harbour - or I should say tried to. All the markers were holding schools of numbies who insist on anchoring or tying onto the markers making it next to impossible to fish anywhere near them. Got some decent size squid though so it's Kingfish and Calamari on the menu tonight.

I was out on Saturday having a fish around Pittwater/Broken Bay when a storm cell approached. As I was passing Patonga at a reasonable speed I hit a set of waves and as I hit the 3rd or 4th wave in the set, the quick release bracket on the bow mounted Minn Kota decided to live up to it's name. Over the side went the leccy with foot pedal attached into 10m of water. Things I learnt from this episode: The retaining pin supplied with the unit is useless. It has either failed or worked loose. If using the composite quick release bracket use a padlock to secure the handle. Always keep all receipts and instruction manuals, even if it is a one page assembly sheet (I do) Photograph everything on your boat. I am insured with club marine and notwithstanding I had all the manuals and receipts, they still wanted photographs if I had any showing the Minn Kota installed in addition to the receipts and manuals. Electric motors don't float!!! It could have been worst - at least I was insured. Although I marked the spot on my sounder where the Minn went in I'm guessing that it would have been stuffed even if I had been able to recover it.

Hi Huey I prefer the Platinum card as well, and I am glad I got it for half price given the issues with it. I would have been pretty pissed if I paid $650 for it. I guess what is annoying is that there is next to nothing available on the web in the way of screenshots, detailed reviews or demo units at point of sale where a prospective purchaser can see the chart in operation. The only screenshots I could find on Navionics look very different than the display on my unit (see http://www.navionics.com/PlatinumFeatures.asp#) Compare the screenshot of the Contiguous Satellite Photo Overlay on the Navionics page to the display on the HDS - there is no resemblance. Navionics also have a You Tube channel where they talk up their products e.g. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZfSfMcmfII...re=channel_page and watching their demonstrations, I would have expected the Platinum chart I purchased to perform similarly. I certainly would not describe the satellite overlay on my unit as hi res, and it looks nothing like the overlay shown in the video. As yet, I have not been able to find the other features touted,such as tidal information, panoramic photos etc. The point in posting the screenshots etc is so that prospective buyers, like Toxicfish, have enough information to make an informed decision as to whether the Platinum chart is worth the extra $$$. While I will probably hang onto the platinum chart for the information it does give me, I certainly would not recommend anyone outlay money on the Platinum plus chart when it is released without seeing it demonstrated first.

The Nauticpath card was free with the unit as they wouldn't work with Navionics when initially released. Now the software upgrade has been released I would guess that new stock with the upgraded software installed will be sold without a card.The unit has a very basic factory chart installed which is so basic as to be next to useless. Cheers Rob

Well, I've now had a couple of days to see how the Navionics Platinum card looks in the Lowrance HDS units and I'm pretty unimpressed. The Satellite photo overlay is unusable, and the map appears quite blocky and pixellated in parts when viewing the conventional 2D and 3D charts. I contacted Lowrance who suggested I might have a dud Navionics card. I also contacted Navionics who were aware of the issue and basically said that's the way it is with the Lowrance units, possibly due to the colour mapping in the HDS. They said they don't have the same issues with Raymarine, which is of no use to me. The Platinum Plus card is supposed to be "awesome" but isn't coming out until around September. I've half a mind to return the Navionics card and stick with the supplied Nauticpath card. Here are some screenshots of the Platinum Maps You can see the blockiness and pixelisation on the land mass Harder to see due to resizing for this post - note the areas of blockiness near Sow & Pigs Satellite Photo Overlay - It looks much worse if I zoom in - even at this resolution you can see how pixelated it is. Compare the shots from the platinum card to the supplied Nauticpath charts:

I mentioned this in my reply to the thread regarding Navionics Platinum v Gold charts http://fishraider.com.au/Invision/index.ph...st&p=306414 Lowrance have now released software upgrade v. 2.0.30.50 which supports Navionics charts among a raft of other improvements and new features. The 310mb download is the same package for each unit, which means you only need to download one update if you have different units. You will need a blank SD card to load the update onto. Details can be found in my other post or here: http://www.lowrance.com.au/en-au/Products/...oftware-Update/

Before you do anything you need your software to be updated to HDS version 2.0.30.50 which was released on 15 May. You will need a blank formatted SD card to load the update on - the update is 310mb and available from here: http://www.lowrance.com.au/en-au/Products/...oftware-Update/ Unless you have run this update, you will not be able to use a Navionics chart. Now if you are going to use Navionics, go for the Platinum, as it is now the same price as the gold chart ($385) The reason it has been reduced is that a new card is going to be released shortly to take advantage of the advanced features of the HDS series. Doubtless that will be priced around the old price of the Platinum cards - $650 or thereabouts. So should you go for a platinum now or wait for the new cards? From what I have been told, the new features will be chooky, but not essential and probably of more interest to the cruising yatch types than fishos. I have ordered mine from Bias today - they will order them in but do not stock them in store. Having said that, you have to ask yourself if it is really worth it for the HDS-5, given the screen size. I have a HDS-5 and a HDS-8 would not have gotten one for the HDS-5 if that was my only chartplotter. I personally think that you will find the screen too small to usefully take advantage of the 3-D Display, satellite photo views etc. The nauticpath chart has plenty of detail for a conventional chart and was free with your unit. Hope this helps. These are the new features of the upgraded software package, for those who are interested: * Support for Navionics cartography up to Platinum+ via first release of Navionics Turboview® viewer * Tides and Currents feature now available for Nautic Insight™ and Nauticpath™ cards, including full-screen tide and current predictor * General improvements to user interface responsiveness and key-flow, and enhanced pop-up help * General improvements to chart zoom and pan redraw speed, including much faster drawing of shaded relief in Lake and Nautic Insight™ * New “Steer” navigation panel with full highway display, compass rose overlay and digital route data presentation * Numeric entry and waypoint position edit mode now faster to operate * Improved access to waypoint, route and trail library functions * Improved import and export of waypoints, routes, and trails * Added ability to export and import user settings * Default waypoint names shortened to reduce display clutter with large numbers of waypoints * Added ability to enable & disable WAAS and select the active GPS antenna to the satellites page * New fast ping speed display settings for very deep water * Improvements to sonar bottom tracking in particularly difficult conditions * Improved presentation when networking sonar between HDS and LCX or LMS products * Both digital and analog gauges now update faster * Improved access and set-up of pages with new Pages system menu for access to overlay data and SIRIUS® audio controls * Repeated pressing of PAGES key now rotates the Pages carousel which retains split screen * selections for faster access to frequently used functions * Now possible to configure sensors directly from streamlined overlay data selection menu * Improved Info page layout options including navigation and tournament layouts including for split screen use * Now easier to set your local time * Automatic detection of multiple engine and tank data sources * New steer-to compass available on info page and as overlay data option * Trip log data items now available as an overlay data item * Improvements to fuel management user interface * Data overlays now display port or starboard label for sensors where appropriate * Now possible to set independent keel offsets for multiple depth transducers * New support for chart/radar overlay on all Lowrance charts only (including Nautic and Lake Insight™) with multiple palette choices and full transparency control * Now supports BR24 Broadband Radar close-in ranges down to 200ft or 50m * Improved radar update performance * Chart will now keep the vessel on screen when using the chart/sonar or chart/radar shadow cursor at high boat speeds * Waypoint arrival radius and course deviation indicator settings now accessible via new Navigation system menu * Chart boundaries now displayed on Lowrance charting * Trails settings moved to Chart system menu * DSC support added over NMEA 2000 * Track-Your-Buddy support added for compatible VHF radios * Improved handling of NMEA 0183 input from some non-standard devices * Added full SIRIUS® weather transparency control * Added SIRIUS® weather history animation up to 12hrs (Lowrance charting only) * Added SIRIUS® marine zone warnings * Improvements to SIRIUS® audio channel selection * Support for new SIRIUS® subscription options * Now possible to upgrade other head units and network modules via the ethernet * SIRIUS® connection diagnostics moved to Networking system menu * Improvements to screen capture function interface including full screen preview * Ability to copy all sonar logs or screen captures to SD card simultaneously * Networked settings can now be restored to factory defaults * Added full support for German, Italian, Norwegian, Danish, Russian, Finnish, Portuguese, Bulgarian, Croatian, Greek, Hungarian, Polish, Slovakian and Ukrainian languages

Do you have to do the course to sit the exam or can you study the handbook and just sit an exam? I was just wondering as I can't envisage the course would be too arduous. I qualified as a radio operator when I was in the Army years ago, so I am pretty confident I could pass from just studying the handbook. Cheers Rob

I would be interested in doing the course too Cheers Rob

Outstanding fish. Well done. Just goes to show, you don't have to have a boat to catch decent fish. Congrats

Thanks Jewgaffer, I hear you. I have done some comparing and it seems that reels are more expensive there than here. Looking at some of the Shimanos I have come to the conclusion that I'm better of buying here. However, as I mentioned in my original post, sounders and chartplotters are substantially cheaper in the US than here. I am currently leaning towards the Lowrance HDS 5x for the front casting deck and an HDS-8m for the console. From what I've read, the 8m will function as a combo unit when networked with a sounder. Downrigger accessories are definitely something I will look at - the Cannon terminal kit for example has a RRP here of around $100. I think I saw it for around $27 there. Cheers Rob