The new Garmin CHIRP sounder system was installed during this years haul out and bottom paint adventure. The installation was not without its problems and required rehauling the boat and eventually installation of an external ID chip for the transducer (the one built into the transducer was faulty). CHIRP is the new sonar technology recently released by Garmin and Simrad. CHIRP stands for 'compressed high-intensity radar pulse'. Essentially, CHIRP replaces a single-frequency pulse with a pulse containing several frequencies ranging from low to high in a single pulse. With our Airmar transducer these frequencies are 'LOW CHIRP 42Hz to 65Hz and HIGH CHIRP 130Hz to 210Hz. On return these frequencies are separated and the timing of the returns and their amplitude produces a high-resolution image of the bottom and targets in between.
The pictures shown in the banner are from the final debugging run to the 9 mile bank (with Bob Buzzard). The pictures in the banner were taken near the Fish3 site at the nine mile bank and are pretty typical. Images like those labeled Sand Dabs usually produce Sand Dabs or occasionally smaller rock cod like Starries. Larger fish such as the Salmon Grouper and the Red Buzz is holding in the other picture are more often found in small clouds around structure. We made 7 bottom runs this year. Six were planned and one at the finger bank saved an early yellowtail trip. Fishing at the finger bank has been more productive although the modest size of the rock cod ( 2 to 4 lbs) was pretty similar at the two sites. Rockcod .
Continue 2012 Season