J-Doc

Crap.....all this fuss over gar fishing. First he gets me trolling, then he gets me wanting to chase stripers, and now I'm actually thinking about throwing for gar just to pass the time and have some fun. Might even clean and grill one. Just so I can imitate Glen and Mitchell from Swamp People "that gar's some good eatin' man. Oh ye-yah baby!!" F&F = Evil influence and chief disturber of my bass fishing habit

How fast is "faster"? I get about 2.5mph idle. Should I try 3.5mph or even 4mph when its hot and near mid day?

I figured catfish would bite a liver before a striper.

Ok, here are my thoughts. Someone can correct me if they disagree. In this photo (reading from left to right), I see a group of bait on the far left, misc. bass or possibly small stripers in the middle, a hump/rock with possibly a lone catfish behind the rock and Kentucky bass suspended above it while smaller bait are suspended to the right of it. Also, I see smaller fish below as the ledge falls off with possible floating debris below. In this image, I see a mixture of bait schools. Some appear to be a mix of white bass? Also, in the bottom right I see trees (not brush piles as traditional sonar makes all stickups look wider than they really are) In this one I too see probably gizzard shad. Not sure what happened on the bottom left? Looks like fish moved down to cover as you went over? This image shows a couple of small tree stickups and possibly a brush pile. Note the fish behind it on the left side and possibly catfish on the bottom going up the slope. I'd say it's bass suspended in the middle. Short fat bodies. This looks like a group of bass to me sitting on the bottom. Maybe smallmouth? Not sure if that's a rock or brush pile on the far left. I'm guessing brush pile.

Without spending a lot of time on this.......I see a lot of white bass and some trees. Your "fish shot" image shows a brush pile with some fish on it. I'll provide more analysis later when I get some time (unless F&F beats me to it first which will probably occur) :-) I think you have some good images overall and anytime you spend on the water and learn something is a positive thing and experienced gained. Try not to worry so much about catching fish rather than try to learn to enjoy the scenery, the time away from the daily grind and the time with friends. I know once I did that, I started catching fish regularly. :-) Enjoy the sport and don't let it ruin you on the sport.

I'm glad I wasn't the only one laughing at that one. LOL! Sorry Nathan........it's just the inner-teenage boy still in me. hahaha

No transducer spliter exists that I'm aware of. Have you considered a RAM mount? That's what I did till I got a fish finder on the front. You can rotate the unit around so you can see from the front while you're fishing. Cost about $50 for a recent RAM mount. Might even make a specific mount for that unit. I don't know how well that transducer will even find the bottom for you through the hull.

Hey, I look forward to you sharing your thoughts here on the forum! Thanks!

Sounds like a fun time. I'd love to go one day if ever given the chance.

PM me and send me one. I'll take a look at it. Sounds interesting. See........we've all learned a lot just from your interaction here. Thank you for sharing!

In the first pic, I see some large schools of bait. In the pics below that, I see a mix of what are probably white bass (the thin long arches). Any arches that have any thickness to them and long are probably striper or paddle fish (more than likely stripers). I can see your bait (continuous horizontal line) and fluctuation of the bait. I can also see where your wife was jigging (line jumping up and down. Also in the last few pics, I see what look like possibly a few walleye on the bottom (thin arch with distinct or heavily curved arch vs. flat arch). Could be bass but I'm thinking walleye. The very last pic looks like bass to me (short fat arch) Looks like you have your chart speed about 50%? Try speeding up your chart speed to 75% and your arches will shorten up a bit and your images will get a bit crisper with less noise on the surface. Also try turning up your surface clarity. That may get you crisper fish arches. On the downside, you won't see your bait as distinctly.

Based on some quick Googling for "estimation of fish size".... I'd say I need at least the following: - a crash-course if not special training in marine biology and marine management - a crash course in hydroaccoustic technology - a Didson Sonar (mega-bucks) - and a general understand how to calculate fish sizes based on scientific data to get within any accuracy For now...........I'm just going to generically say "Oh that's at least a 6-pound bass".....or "Oh that's at least a 20lb striper" just to make me feel good. LOL! http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/FedAidPDFs/fds07-44.pdf http://yukonriverpanel.com/salmon/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/cre-16-10-klondike-river-sonar-final-report.pdf I'm moving on for this request as it just went over my head faster than a gizzard shad fleeing a striper.

Thanks Phil. I know that what I have learned within the last year alone has changed the way I fish and for the better. If only there had been a place to read something briefly or someone to explain what I was seeing on my graph years ago. It could have leaped-forward my understanding. I hope this thread helps teach others and offers a useful resource for a long time. When members post a photo and ask "what is this I'm seeing on my graph and how do you know that?". .. that's a big value and rare in other forums.

So you got a fish finder? Nice to hear someone is having so much luck with crappie. You are definately....the crappie whisperer!! Lol!

Care to share the math for everyone? :-)

How do you calibrate size by boat speed?

Typically, that cove is full of trees. I think the cedar trees hold fish better than just single timber stickups. Might target those cedars with your depth finder and see if you're finding fish there and anchor close by with your light setup if the depth/contours are right. Also, I'd say try closer to the main lake about 1/3 into the main Rambo arm from the main lake. Usually the very back is somewhat "empty" because of water temps. That's the way most coves are on this lake anyway. Wish I could go out tonight. I want some fish pics guys!! LOL!

Well said. I agree with the above. The bait fleeing predators is what we call in the south "wigging out". LOL!

This is what I have found to be typical of stripers and hybrids mixed together Short fat arches with a bit of an angle. Bass have an eve fatter and steeper slope to the angle. However, big ole huge stripers over 20-30lbs are going to show a more flat and thick arch like F&F commented on so he is probably correct and that's probably one big striper by itself roaming around vs. a school of smaller ones.

Oh and as for bottom structure vs. fish..... On the image above you see a yellow bottom. that indicates silt I believe. If you see something darker in a blue or red mix on the bottom, it's a fish. If it's a more solid color and not a mix, it's usually a rock and all dark blue I believe. (correct me if I'm wrong here about colors but the concept I believe I have correct)

And then again......... I am still learning. :-) I think F&F may have it right above. He beat me to it. I still think what he says is a bass may be a striper or big hybrid though. Why? Look at my non-color graph shot earlier where there is a large school of stripers. They have the same arch pattern as what I marked as a striper.

Here is my brief interpretation. F&F taught me that striper make shorter/fatter arches and gar are the long skinny arches like shown below. Also, whites and hybrids stay grouped together tightly.

So before we analyze new screenshots, here's a good topic for discussion and education. Rock or fish? If fish, what kind? If I had a dollar for every time I saw a blob on the bottom thinking it was a rock or rock pile or a catfish because catfish are "bottom feeders". I could probably buy a nice new St. Croix rod! Lol! I was fortunate enough to have a local guide teach me dropshotting one day. I learned note about reading a graph than the technique itself as the graph is the key. We found lots of bass pile up tight together in little groups on points, flats, rock piles, etc. All of the fish we caught out of 50+ fish that day were all on the bottom. NONE were catfish a either. You have a color graph? Good! The more dense an object, the darker the color (I may have that backwards as I'm basising this on memory). If you see a blob on the bottom that's red/yellow mix, its fish. If its a long arch on the bottom, its fish. If its a series of echoes on the bottom tight together, its fish. The way you can tell if its a rock is consistent color through tout as its a very dense object. No color graph? Same principle applied in gray tones. The better quality graph you have, the easier it is to differentiate fish from rock on the bottom. Also, look for little "blips" or noise on the backside of humps, ledges, drops, trees, etc. Those are fish 90% of the time. Right where the drop occurs or a hump drops off, you see blips or mixed arches. Those are typically fish relating to the drop or adjacent structure. Find a small hole? There's probably fish in it. This is great on flats because if the terrain is flat, if you find a stump, a rock, a hole, etc, its going to consistently hold fish every year if water levels are the same.

Should be able to pop it in a card reader or your computer and use it like a flash drive. Micro SD? Or SD card? Doesn't matter really, you just need a card reader or a computer with a built in card reader for SD cards (laptop). I have a micro SD so I bought a 2gig micro SD card that came with an SD card adapter. Looking forward to some new screenshots!!

Oh and thanks for the support on this topic. I think its a very good one and something not utilized enough (sonar that is).