reading a depth finder

[raray1221]

i recently added a new depth finder (lowrance) onto my boat to help with striper fishing. most the time when things appear i have no idea what i am looking at. any tips or advice on reading and understanding these things would help me. Thanks

 

[Mark_VTfisherman]

Re: reading a depth finder

I would start with reading the manual and then maybe buy a dvd on electronics. I think it was InFisherman that put out a nice segment on sonar.

Then get on your boat with another angler who is an avid fisherman and ask him to show you baitfish clouds, bottom composition, find the thermocline, identify weeds, and see game fish.

I have always messed around with gain and filter settings (the manual will tell you how) on some waters until the graph is telling me more information than I can see with my naked eyes. Sometimes the "auto" settings will make you miss a lot of things.

I learned even more important facts about sonar in the last year from a fishing buddy who has fished bass tournaments (and won). Often, I would not run the thing in "Fish ID" mode- I'd run it as a sonar and stuff like baitfish clouds and floating junk won't be triggering "fish alarms." But my buddy taught me a lot more about what the screen was showing when Fish ID was turned off, and how it reveals clues which have helped me fish better. My instincts were good, I just needed some guidance from experience.

 

[jtcarter]

Re: reading a depth finder

What depth the fish are at and what the bottom is made of, are the two main things i'm looking at on mine most of the time and temp of course. Most of the time you're not going to see those perfect simulation arches that represent fish. You have to be directly over them for that.

On most lowrance units assuming you have a color one. A wide yellow band represents hard bottom, a thin one that fades to blue or orangish red is a softer bottom.

Sensitivity should be set around 75 percent most of the time or just keep that part running in auto.

Last, get familiar with your manual, you 'll thank yourself for it.

 

[eurolarva]

Re: reading a depth finder

I got this from a fellow iboater years ago. It is about a 3 meg file and is very informative. I cant remember which program will not read it. Either word pad or note pad. Both word and micorsoft works will work on it.

home.comcast.net/~printergod2000/fish finder manual

 

[dingbat]

Re: reading a depth finder

Maybe a little over the top for the average Joe but none the less, a pretty good write up on the opertion of a fish finder.

You have no idea what your missing by running in auto mode with the fish symbols on.

http://www.tidalfish.com/forums/che.../256035-setting-up-understanding-your-ff.html

 

[Mark_VTfisherman]

Re: reading a depth finder

home.comcast.net/~printergod2000/fish finder manual

I have Win98se - I couldn't scan it for viruses with McAffee - locked up my computer. I'd like to read it though for my own info, but my naturally paranoid self is now paranoid. Is this a virus-safe file? Why isn't it posted merely as a .doc or .pdf or html?

I could try to open it without scanning it first but that feels like I would be going dumpster-diving in the bio-hazard bin at a methadone clinic.

raray1221:

I turn the "auto sense" features off when in very cloudy or fertile water. August on Lake Carmi for example: there is so much clouding the water up on one side of that lake (plankton, etc.) that my entire screen turns basically black. When I turn the gain down, I start showing bottom and marking fish again (when they are there).

When I move back to my normal area to troll, I go back to "auto" or turn it back up again. I am not going to give you numbers as different units and different waters seem to require their own settings, and I don't want to bias you with "my" numbers which don't match my what my friends do for the same result with other brands and models.

I never use the "fish id" mode however- you miss some stuff, and I have proven many times that branches, suspended pine cones, chip bags and the like show as BIG fish- even baitfish clouds mark as larger fish sometimes.

In the regular sonar mode, a cloud of baitfish show as a cloud, my downrigger weight as a line, and different size marks (and depth changes etc.) help me identify fish instead of thinking EVERYTHING is fish. Like I said, I learned a lot last summer, and the last couple of years over all, my sonar prowess has improved exponentially. Why?

First, I started using contour charts and my eyes to allow the fish finder (sonar) to expand on what I already knew, instead of just taking that static info at face value. What is it showing me that I don't already know?

Second, I have always been "the expert" in my boat. Not that I really was that great of a fisherman, but that almost all of my guests were not as good as me- they were hoping I would put them on fish, and I have done that ok.

What changed is that I have fished often with a buddy who is an extremely astute fisherman, as well as a few others who knew a lot more than me, especially my friend. Sometimes you can learn something in two minutes of observation and instruction that would take years on the water.

Lastly, a few years ago I found myself well versed enough with fishing that I could ask questions at certain tackle shops and understand enough of the answers to ask follow ups. This has improved my fishing tremendously.

So don't be bothered about what you know or don't - just find someone who you can fish with who knows a lot more than you, and go out a number of times. That will get you over the sonar learning curve faster than anything.

 

[raray1221]

Re: reading a depth finder

thanks so much guys, these tips are excellent!i will read the manual well and try and redirect myself. Thanks again

 

[eurolarva]

Re: reading a depth finder

The manual is as I got it. I just re downloaded and AVG scanned it just fine. I was unable to open it with note pad and word pad using vista. It opened with pics in word.

 

[Shizzy]

Re: reading a depth finder

Ill agree 100% with what has been said. the only thing Ill add is once you figure out the basics you need to spend some time putting around the lake. when I first got one for my boat I spent many many hours with one hand on the trolling motor tiller, the other hand holding the map and one eye on the finder. I would figure out what I was supposed to be over and then saw what it looked like on the screen. Find some weeds, rocks, sand, mud, dropoffs, sunken islands etc and run over top of them over and over. You will then start to understand what you are seeing.

#1 you will train yourself and #2, you might find a new honey hole.

 

[Pat Curtis]

Re: reading a depth finder

Yup. When you get some time, cruise around slowly...marking Waypoints (if your fish finder does that) on your GPS. Sometimes what a paper map shows.....compared to what a Navionics chips shows...and then compared to what your Sonar shows...could be 3 different stories. Like if your sonar shows a big rock pile on a flat...but it's not on your maps....Mark it.

I'm to the point when fishing off shore....I look at my fish finder so often I rarely toss out buoys anymore.

 

[roadrash]

Re: reading a depth finder

Im willing to bet there is some joe on U Tube with your model number showing you how 2 better use your fish finder. I bought a high end humminbird a month ago and theres all sorts of vids on it.