Using a fish finder 101

[fishdawg]

Good point Terry

I think it was the transducers that were with older LCX, 520, 102, ect... Models that were most problamatic

 

A good friend who I fish a lot with has been using a Gen1 HDs 8 for 6 years now... 50 trips a year and doesent cover it during trailering... Still showing a great flawless picture

[Mister G]

Experience by playing with YOUR unit is the only way to get better at it.

I know know when I see red on the bottom it's perch but when I see all yellow it's them dam gobies and time to keep looking. This pic shows a lot of perch on or very near the bottom. This is what I hunt for, before I fish for them.

[Can_38]

I just run mine on demo mode and pretend I know what I am doing.

LoL

[Sinker]

Experience by playing with YOUR unit is the only way to get better at it.

 

I know know when I see red on the bottom it's perch but when I see all yellow it's them dam gobies and time to keep looking. This pic shows a lot of perch on or very near the bottom. This is what I hunt for, before I fish for them.

That to me is a few perch, not a lot, and its from a boat in open water.

 

I can't post pics here for some stupid reason, or I would show you a pic of a lot of perch.

 

S.

[manitoubass2]

If only I played with my unit more...

 

7 kids now...

[Old Ironmaker]

Experience by playing with YOUR unit is the only way to get better at it.

 

I know know when I see red on the bottom it's perch but when I see all yellow it's them dam gobies and time to keep looking. This pic shows a lot of perch on or very near the bottom. This is what I hunt for, before I fish for them.

Now that is being dialed into your unit Mr.G. I have a fish finder now I need a fish catcher.

 

M2B2, quit playing with that thing.

 

The old Black and White Garmin I have has to be over 15 to 20 years old. It sits next to my 2 year old Bird. I see almost exactly the same thing on both, depth, structure, noise, baitfish. I will often just use the Garmin for fish finding and the leave the HBird on full screen GPS. I guess that says a lot about the quality of Garmin, back then anyway.

 

Wouldn't it be nice if you can just swap out the transducer with out having to fish it from stern to stem? Maybe you can, are there unit where you can just change the transducer?

[manitoubass2]

Now that is being dialed into your unit Mr.G. I have a fish finder now I need a fish catcher.

 

M2B2, quit playing with that thing.

 

The old Black and White Garmin I have has to be over 15 to 20 years old. It sits next to my 2 year old Bird. I see almost exactly the same thing on both, depth, structure, noise, baitfish. I will often just use the Garmin for fish finding and the leave the HBird on full screen GPS. I guess that says a lot about the quality of Garmin, back then anyway.

 

Wouldn't it be nice if you can just swap out the transducer with out having to fish it from stern to stem? Maybe you can, are there unit where you can just change the transducer?

Organisms are lovely, I'll never quit figuring out my unit

 

A larger screen would be sweet though???

Edited March 8, 2017 by manitoubass2

[Mister G]

That to me is a few perch, not a lot, and its from a boat in open water.

 

I can't post pics here for some stupid reason, or I would show you a pic of a lot of perch.

 

S.

LOL . . . maybe you can show me more and bigger perch but I have my doubts . . .

[Slimbo85]

ive only done a bit of researching but im happy i went with hummingbird

 

found this helpful for a noob like me

[GBW]

That to me is a few perch, not a lot, and its from a boat in open water.

 

I can't post pics here for some stupid reason, or I would show you a pic of a lot of perch.

 

S.

Shane, PM me on FB the image and I'll post it if you want for you.

 

LOL . . . maybe you can show me more and bigger perch but I have my doubts . . .

I have a funny feeling he's very dialed in on his gear here so... It's up to him to send the image so I can post from my PC vs him having issues from the "mobile version" of the site.

[Fisherman]

All depends with particular "unit" your "playing" with

[GBW]

pic's from Sinker

[manitoubass2]

That's a beauty pic!!!

[GBW]

That's a beauty pic!!!

the result

[manitoubass2]

the result

Even better!????

[Mister G]

And some of my perch . . .

 

 

 

 

 

[manitoubass2]

Lol.

 

What's the average size? 6"???

[Sinker]

My post wasnt about who had the most or

the biggest perch, i dont really care. I spend a ton of time fishing them and seen many, many piles of huge ones.

 

My post was about what we are looking at in your pic of the graph. In your pic there is 2 or 3 fish on the screen, and the boat is bouncing up and down to create the ridgy looking lines.

 

In my pic there are a lot more than one or two, and since i was on the ice the lines are smooth. The pic of the fish were the ones we caught the day i took the photo.

 

Also notice how i am not showing the top 10ft of water on my graph, and i am not zoomed it at all. On your pic you are only showing the bottom 10ft and you are zoomed 4x. I never use zoom. I use upper and lower limits. I set the depth i want to see with no zooming. It makes for a clearer picture.

 

Anyways, nice perch!

 

S.

[Big Cliff]

My post wasnt about who had the most or

the biggest perch, i dont really care. I spend a ton of time fishing them and seen many, many piles of huge ones.

 

My post was about what we are looking at in your pic of the graph. In your pic there is 2 or 3 fish on the screen, and the boat is bouncing up and down to create the ridgy looking lines.

 

In my pic there are a lot more than one or two, and since i was on the ice the lines are smooth. The pic of the fish were the ones we caught the day i took the photo.

 

Also notice how i am not showing the top 10ft of water on my graph, and i am not zoomed it at all. On your pic you are only showing the bottom 10ft and you are zoomed 4x. I never use zoom. I use upper and lower limits. I set the depth i want to see with no zooming. It makes for a clearer picture.

 

Anyways, nice perch!

 

S.

Knowing and understanding what you are seeing on the screen

[Mister G]

I was sitting a ton of perch, that was not one or two fish on the graph but a large school that stretched for about a 1/4 mile. And yes the lake was a little rough that day.

 

I thought this was about sharing info for those who want to learn more about interpreting sonar readings, not a pissing match.

 

Zooming in is a big benefit to identify a species that you are targeting because of their bladders. When the unit is tuned in correctly using the proper adjustments of sensitivity, ping speed, surface clutter, noise rejection, color line, temp line and scroll speed it's then possible to get the most out of the unit you own.

 

When first learning how to use a graph, it might be better to use the auto mode but eventually it's much better to learn the tuning adjustments on manual to get the most out of your unit. Auto mode will never get you there.

 

Now each and every unit is a bit different and some manufactures label the setting a bit different but the bottom line is to learn YOUR unit and what it can do for you. Of course the higher end units can do more so it's up to the angler on how much you want from the unit and how much you are willing to spend.

 

As I have told many others who want me teach them how to use their units I installed for them, take the owners manual with you on the water and PLAY with the unit as much as possible. Whenever the fish quit biting you should be making adjustment to your unit to optimize it for that day's fishing. By continuing to do this you will eventually become comfortable with it and it's reading on the screen.

 

No one can actually say, "only use zoom or never use zoom or don't use the surface clutter adjustment, etc because of all the different units on the market, how much power yours has compared to someone else's AND the water you are fishing in that day may be different. Heck, my unit has adjustments for general use, slow trolling, fast trolling, shallow water, deep water, fresh water, clear water, ice fishing and a few other modes so I can't specifically tell you how to set up your unit if it's not exactly the same as the one I am using this year.

 

READ the owners manual 2-3 times before hitting the water and PLAY PLAY PLAY with it until you think you know what you are doing. It's fun learning how much is in these little boxes.

 

My next unit will have that "Fish Bite" button on it that I keep writing Lowrance to add. . . . . LOL

 

Then there is the GPS mapping for units that have that feature that can not only return you to the exact same spot where you caught them last year but also bring back home safely in a thick fog. Great feature for those who fish large lakes in open water.

[manitoubass2]

My first unit was for ice fishing, lowrance elite 4x

 

I had a horrible time setting it up at first. It was Terry that helped me dial it in(thanks again Terry!)

 

Turns out, most my difficulties came because I was setting it up in heavy current, not the easiest thing to new for a electronics newbie.

 

Then I went out on the lake and set it up and holy crap, night and day difference! Hammered walleye on rainy lake with my buddy Stan. I could see exactly what was going on in the water column and I caught alot more fish because of it!

 

One thing I love, sitting on a school of fish, is watching how they react to your lures. That in turn helped me refine a few "new to me" fishing styles that turned out to be incredibly effective for walleye and crappie.

 

Now it's hard to go without. It's just an adult video game

[BillM]

Sometimes I spend more time looking at the graph then I do fishing It can be addicting.

[TennesseeGuy]

I hit a new level on my learning curve when I spent a couple of hours running my underwater

viewing system and sonar at same time. I now have a better understanding of what I see

on my sonar.

[AKRISONER]

you aint ice fishing unless youve got electronics...Flasher is literally everything out there.

one of my favourite things in all of fishing..maybe behind watching something smash a top water is watching a flash appear on bottom, swim up to your bait slowly...and then triggering it to strike. You can literally see it bite your lure on the flasher. My eyes dart from the screen to the tip of the rod just in time to see the bite. Crappies are the best for this cause of their tendency to vertically bite. Watch that rod go straight.

Edited March 10, 2017 by AKRISONER

[Mister G]

I hit a new level on my learning curve when I spent a couple of hours running my underwater

viewing system and sonar at same time. I now have a better understanding of what I see

on my sonar.

On many of the newer Lowrance HDS units a video feed option is available. Just a push of a button you can go from downview, 2D or video feed from your camera. Or split the screen to whatever sonar view you want with the video feed to compare on the same screen. It's a nice feature for what you like to do.