fish finder

Simon Atkinson wrote:
: "Phil.L" wrote in message
: ...
:: Laffinkitten wrote:
::: what''s wrong with virtual fishing?
::
:: nothing, and i never implied there was.
:: but as compared to the real thing its no substitute.
::
::
: but as a tool for searching out features such as snags and the make
: up of the bed I can see the use of it, no dragging a lead covered in
: weed spooking fish, it would be a visible marker on the surface so
: you will know exactly the location of the features and if you fish
: some of the smaller older pools not the usual gravel pits there are
: often submerged trees etc where a lead snags and often has to be
: pulled for a break you could accurately find the areas where you
: could fish safely.

they may have a small amount of fans who've just forked out a fortune to buy
them, but they wont become commonplace, simply because a lot of anglers
(most in my opinion) fish the same places time and again, and once they
'know' what the water is like, maybe after one or two uses, it will be left
in the shed, or in the small ads in the local rag for a fiver.


:
: I know we are talking gadgets here but I've seen pole fishers use fish
: finders and I'm sure once people scoffed at bite alarms when swing
: tips were satisfactory.

swing tips are still satisfactory, as are baitrunners without alarms, and
for that matter an old washing-up liquid bottle top.
they all do the same thing, IE, let you know you've got a bite, the only
thing they dont do is let everyone else know youve got a bite.
That said, bite alarms are a bonus for night fishing, but other than that,
they fall nicely into the 'useless gadget' dept.

: Even the guy who reviewed it for the AT (who
: I suggest is a competent angler) found a couple of fish holding
: features on his local river that he did not know before, it is just a
: tool, a aid to fishing and as a tool I can see a swim being mapped
: out quicker and easier allowing more time to fish.

i wouldnt read too much into ATs reviews, as i've been getting it for years
and i've yet to read a bad one.
They get paid a lot of money for 'reviewing' new products and almost always
give the product in question a brilliant write up, then when you buy it, it
turns out to be a pile of crap.