The Ipod Nano. Not the most obvious piece of kit to spring to mind in an angling context. But as with many things in life, it's what you make of it, or in this case how you choose to use the thing that gives it it's undoubted value. So what exactly is an Ipod. In a nutshell, it's an electronic gadget probably smaller than even the most compact flattest mobile phone, but many times more versatile, though the one thing it can't do is send out or receive messages. Whatever information and services you can get from it for the most part come from downloads via a computer USB lead, either from the Internet, or from saved files of your own. But before we look in more detail at what those files might be, lets first do a quick run through of the facilities the Ipod Nano offers......

• Stores and plays music – up to 2,000 recordings
• Stores and plays video either filmed on the Ipod or downloaded as MP4 files – up to 8 hours
• Stores and shows photographs – up to 7,000 pictures
• Stores and plays down loaded podcasts
• Has built a in video camera with play back
• Has built a in fm radio
• Records voice memo's
• Has note pad facility
• Stores contacts information list
• Gives date and time, plus alarms and reminders

And most importantly, in terms of music, video, photographs and pod casts, it stores a mix of these in separate folders which can be accessed and played/read up to its maximum storage capacity. All the quotes above are based on the 8 Gb memory version. A 16 Gb version is also available.

So what might any of this got to do with angling. Well aside from the more obvious entertainment value of music or radio either on a long journey or while actually out fishing, lets explore some of the 'more interesting facilities' from an angling perspective in a bit more detail.

We all like to be seen showing off our latest catch or PB. With fish stocks ever dwindling, and conservation (both optional and by legislation) now very much a part of many anglers lives, having images of fish offers the best of all worlds. The potential to show off your catch and have the fish swim away both immediately and as a lasting memento. For still pictures, this needs to be done using digital camera images down loaded to a PC, compressed, then dropped onto the Ipod via Itunes. For video however, you simply record whatever takes your fancy and can play it back immediately or store it, though you can also record using a standard digital video camera and edit the footage first before dropping it on to the Ipod.

Voice memo's are also very useful in an angling context to quickly note down a range of information either coming from other sources on the day, or even actual fishing marks, particularly when used in conjunction with the video camera. Having charter skippers contact details in case of problems en route is another potentially helpful option, though this could be done equally well using a mobile phone. The alarm facility might also be useful after a heavy night on an extended trip, as indeed would be the calender with trip reminders and 'to do' stuff relating to trips written in to all the appropriate dates.

But the facility I particularly like and make most use of is podcasting. Podcasts are broadcast programs for want of a better way of putting it, done specifically with down loading on to an Ipod in mind, allowing them to stored and listened to, or watched in the case of video podcasts, whenever it is convenient. Depending of course on the type of subject material you prefer, there are literally thousands of free down-loadable podcasts out there waiting to be picked up, as well as thousands of audio books including fishing which can be bought. But it is the medium of podcasting from a purely angling perspective that particularly interests me.

As a website, fishingfilmsandfacts.co.uk has given me the opportunity to broadcast fishing articles, video's and a blog as a way of me putting something back in to angling. Prior to podcasting however, that has limited prospective interested parties to sitting in front of a PC. As an extension of that, fishingfilmsandfacts will now be venturing into the world of podcasting too. Short video podcasts of boat demonstrations are currently ready and waiting to go up on the site, along with the first few of what are destined to become a series of audio podcasts talking to a wide range of interesting people in the world of angling who either have, or still are making major contributions to the subject.

The flagship project however is a fish identification podcast. Initially this will be for marine species, but could well be extended to cover coarse and game. Not all fish species will be described as is the case on the website (www.fishingfilmsandfacts.co.uk). The intention of this particular podcast is to confine it to the more commonly caught fish species that anglers regularly catch and in some cases mis-identify. Examples here would be Bull Huss & Lesser Spotted Dogfish, Gurnards, and the commoner flatfish. The idea is that the Ipod can be taken along on a trip and listened to in situ with the fish sat in front of you waiting to be released. As importantly, these podcasts can also be down loaded on to some makes of mobile phone.

For more information about the facilities and operation of the Ipod Nano, go to the Apple website at Apple