making the most out of your fishfinder

[fishinguypat]

i know this ain't the season for it but a recent post had me thinking about some of my troubles with my fishfinder. for example i have my fishfinder set where it shows fish symbols and i dont know if this interferes with number of fish shown? i have touble with the more technical terms can anyone give there preferences on their settings?

[Fisherman]

Turn off the fish ID symbols. A F/F "sees" things in the water, bugs, leaves, algae and fish(if they're there). It has no way of knowing the difference, but if there is something, it will show it, and, with the fish ID on, you think there's all sorts of fish. Do a simple test, hang a jig and rubber worm so that the F/F sees it, shows up as a fish, eh?

[limeyangler]

My buddy has his fishfinder set on fish ID...with the bleep sound 'on'.....DRIVES ME NUTS!

 

not only is the constant bleeping annoying, like fisherman said....everything in the cone angle shows as a fish.

 

I try to tell him to switch it off but he insists we are sitting on top of hundreds of fish....really?....well we've been here an hour and caught jack......lol.

 

much better to learn how to identify objects without ID on...takes a bit longer to get used to...but once you can (not saying you cant) you'll never wanna have the ID on again.

[Garnet]

In a boat or on ice the way to learn your fish finder is side by side with a camera.

 

Garnet

[Bob Devine]

On Tues Jan 5- 2010, there will be an online chat with Lowrance technician Lawren Wetzel and Jack Summers of Radio World. They will be answering your questions about using your graph and new products. Learning to use your electronics and trusting them will make catching fish easier. They are marking something on the screen for a reason, whether it is debris, bait or fish trust it.

This chat will be taking place from 8-9pm at Big Fat Bass http://www.bigfatbass.com/viewthread.php?tid=13969.

Edited December 22, 2009 by Bob Devine

[Fishn Technishn]

this is the best I have seen so far. If anyone has links to more/better articles feel free to post

 

http://www.fishfindercity.com/fitiandin.html

 

 

FT

[Guest ThisPlaceSucks]

make sure it's not on demo mode when you leave the dock.

[Radnine]

This is a link to an article that I found. I have another paper copy of a good article on how to set up your fish finder but I am having trouble laying my hands on it. When I find it I will post it here.

It's a funny thing about the turning off of the ID, my B-in-Laws always have theirs turned on and look at me like I have two heads when I tell them to turn it off. And while they do find and catch fish, they think nothing odd when the entire screen is filled with fish symbols, then they catch none (meaning there is no such thing as an erroneous reading to them). In fact a good drinking game would be to take a shot every time Fred (B-in-Law) asks if I'm "marking any?".

I turn mine off because that is what everyone here says to do, but have still yet to see a fish arch. In the end I really use it to find depth and structure, then rely on the fact that when you find structure you find fish.

 

http://www.gordellis.com/articles/other_05.htm

 

Regards,

Jim

Edited December 22, 2009 by Radnine

[Greencoachdog]

I notice no one has mentioned how sonar actually "see's" a fish. When you mark a fish on sonar with ID off or on, you're not "seeing" the actual fish... just a very small portion of the fish, the air bladder. Sonar doesn't travel through air and that's the part you're viewing on the screen.

 

Today's sonar units for the fisherman has a certain criteria programmed into the unit for the fish ID, mainly air pockets (air bladders). Leaves don't show up as fish, branches don't show up as fish, even when I drop a jig or lure over the side it doesn't show up as a fish.

 

I will agree that maybe not all fish symbols are fish on the ID, and will go even further by saying not all fish show up as symbols on the ID either!

 

When I pass over a large school of Shad with the ID on, it doesn't show hundreds or thousands of little fish symbols... it shows a large cloud, and will have the larger fish either below the school or around the school depicted as symbols.

 

For me it's a confidence thing, I don't really care if all the symbols are fish or not... and just because I have fish symbols on the screen and I'm not catching anything, doesn't mean those symbols aren't fish! Has anyone ever marked fish with the ID off and not caught anything???

 

As far as the alarms go, I never use them because I can't hear those high pitched squeaky sounds anyway!

 

Just my stubborn opinion!

[Fisherman]

I turn mine off because that is what everyone here says to do, but have still yet to see a fish arch.

Regards,

Jim

 

Next time we have soft water, take your boat and F/F to a spot with about 30-40 feet of water on a calm day. Your transducer angle may not be in exactly the sweet spot. It may look good on land, level side to side and front to rear, however, when the boats in the water, the way the boat sits in the water can completely change that. I know I have to have my transducer tilted nose down a bit if I want to see my cannonball at 75', doing that, the fish don't show as a full arch, only partial, if I tilt it slightly nose up, I loose the cannonball, but see the fish better.

[Rob]

I turn mine off because that is what everyone here says to do, but have still yet to see a fish arch. In the end I really use it to find depth and structure, then rely on the fact that when you find structure you find fish.

 

 

 

 

Remember in the winter, the fish will only show as straight lines. I use my summer finder in the winter as well and works great.

 

Rob C

[fishinguypat]

thanks guys...i always wondered why there are fish on the sonar when i pull up my anchor...when fishing smaller ontario lakes should you just look for passing fish or arches ?

[Terry]

thanks guys...i always wondered why there are fish on the sonar when i pull up my anchor...when fishing smaller ontario lakes should you just look for passing fish or arches ?

 

I'm not sure what you mean by that

 

arches are that shows an a screen when the boat is moving and the fishfinder marks fish

or a strait line if you are sitting still....

[vinnimon]

I notice no one has mentioned how sonar actually "see's" a fish. When you mark a fish on sonar with ID off or on, you're not "seeing" the actual fish... just a very small portion of the fish, the air bladder. Sonar doesn't travel through air and that's the part you're viewing on the screen.

 

Today's sonar units for the fisherman has a certain criteria programmed into the unit for the fish ID, mainly air pockets (air bladders). Leaves don't show up as fish, branches don't show up as fish, even when I drop a jig or lure over the side it doesn't show up as a fish.

 

I will agree that maybe not all fish symbols are fish on the ID, and will go even further by saying not all fish show up as symbols on the ID either!

 

When I pass over a large school of Shad with the ID on, it doesn't show hundreds or thousands of little fish symbols... it shows a large cloud, and will have the larger fish either below the school or around the school depicted as symbols.

 

For me it's a confidence thing, I don't really care if all the symbols are fish or not... and just because I have fish symbols on the screen and I'm not catching anything, doesn't mean those symbols aren't fish! Has anyone ever marked fish with the ID off and not caught anything???

 

As far as the alarms go, I never use them because I can't hear those high pitched squeaky sounds anyway!

 

Just my stubborn opinion!

I have noticed on my old h100 f/f it did show my jig,jigging from bottom.I figured it was a fish following it.Maybe it picked the airation it produced I know now that airation(turbulance)in the water can have a dramatic effect on my f/f.As I have seen on others.Drove me nuts untill I was on someone elses boat and saw the same thing.

[glen]

Great posts and info. Thank you.

 

 

I would like to add this quote from the fishfinder city link.

 

(You don’t have to worry about the sonar unit spooking the fish - they can’t hear it.)

 

I would be worried about the fish feeling the sound wave.

[Radnine]

Hey Fishingguy,

Here us the link to that article that I was talking about in my original post (Seven Steps to Maximize Sonar Performance).

http://www.walleye101.com/7%20steps%20part%201.htm

Jim

[splashhopper]

this is the best I have seen so far. If anyone has links to more/better articles feel free to post

 

http://www.fishfindercity.com/fitiandin.html

 

 

FT

 

 

 

Uh oh....

clicked that link and it says>>>

 

This business is closing on 12/30/09.

 

We'd like to thank all of our past customers for your support.

 

FishFinderCity Staff