Re: depth finders
Most consumer transducers aren't meant to side scan or look forward. Logically speaking this would totally throw off the depth as the distance looking forward is much greater depending on the angle than looking directly down. Also the sound waves will disipate more and not return back, giving you decreased sensitivity when locating the bottom.<br /><br />the readout on depthfinders is historical when they graph, so seeing a fish symbol above a bottom contour does not mean it is necessarily ther ein relation to the contour. it only looked to be there depending on which way the fish was going and the travel of your boat.<br /><br />while finding fish is a great feature of those fishfinders, finding echoes in relation to different structures and locating places more apt for fish to be is the real key.