DROP SHOT - TECHNOLOGY QUESTION

[dwiebenga]

Hey all,

First of all, I always get good advise from this forum. I hope my few post have been helpful as well.

I am interested to see if my electronics are good enough for drop shotting on Table Rock. I have family that live on the lake, and I hope to make more than one trip next year.

I have a Eagle Fishmark 480. If someone uses this model. What settings do you use. I am still trying to get use to it.

Thank you

Dave

[outdoor nut]

My brother and I fish together a lot, we take turns running the trolling motor, up front we have a lowarnce x110, in the back we have an Eagle from 1992, he and I see different things on different electronics, but we both see the humps, depth, rocks, and trees. I almost prefer the old eagle. As long as you can see the depth and changes in bottom you should be fine. I should add we catch a lot of fish too. good luch

[SD bass hunter]

I think that you are trying to tune it in so you can see your bait/lure on the screen. not just the general humps/cover in the lake. I do not have this depth finder but I looked it up and do believe that you will be able to obtain this feature with your chart. Here are a few tips.

Set the scroll speed as fast as it can go.

Set grayline about 30-50%

Set ping speed as high as it can go.

Set your graph to manual

Set depth range (ex: 10ft-60ft)

turn your sensativity as high as it can go without interferance. (to help prevent interferance make sure that the depth finder is running off a different battery than the trolling motor, have the wires run on different sides of the boat if possible, and I have even heard of guys putting rubber between their trolling motor and transducer.) I run my sensativity about 80% but you will have to see what works best for you.

**Make sure that the transducer points straight down**

hope this helps

[Ham]

If your electronics are good enough to find a few brushpiles, you should be good to go. I haven't mastered drop shotting by any means, but I have caught a few bass doing it AND seeing my lure on the screen has NOT been as issue.

I used to read about that with guys that were working slab spoons but I thought the whole lure on depthfinder screen was an ice fishing thing.

[SKMO]

I think It's good to be able to see your drop-shot rig (or spoon) for a few reasons:

I'll often dropshot in 80-90' of water trying to keep the rig just above treetops that may be 30-40' below the surface. If you can't see your bait it's pretty hard to stay in the sweet spot and pretty easy to get hung up constantly.

I also fish the rig right on the bottom in 30-50' of water. It's pretty common to go over a couple suspended fish that may be 10-15' above the bottom. When you notice this you can raise your rod or give your reel a couple cranks and get your bait on the same general level as the fish or slightly above them. With the way a bass's eyes are positioned I think fish see what's above them a lot better than what's below them. It is surprising how far above them they are looking and will respond. Many times when I am watching my rig drop to the bottom a fish will shoot up from the bottom and intercept it on the way down, often coming up 15' or more. Sometimes they eat it, sometimes they follow it back to the bottom and eat it, more often than not they do nothing but sniff it and leave it alone. Anyway it's pretty cool to watch, makes you realize how many fish see and inspect your offering with no bite. i.e. they are watching, they are simply not cooperating.

Another one of my Grande Theories relates to competition. If I am seeing a single fish here, and a single fish there there, it is probably a mediocre bite and I'll have to do some serious "begging". If I am seeing 2-4 bass-type returns on the screen at once and get my bait in proximity chances are they will rush it and one will suck it in pronto. It's just like feeding my two dogs. If we are in the food bowl area I can throw down a sock soaked in kerosene and if they are both nearby, they will fight over it assuming it just might be prime rib, they can always spit it out. If only one of them is there they always approach the offering as if it WAS a kerosene soaked sock.

One thing for sure is that a transducer with a wide cone angle is a lot easier for me to "video fish" with than one with a narrow cone angle. My last depthfinder had a narrow (17 degree I think) cone angle and although it was a real quality unit (X-15) it was almost impossible to keep my bait in the zone of coverage in deeper water. The boat had to be pretty much stationary. My current depthfinder has a 30 or 35 degree cone angle and it is a night and day difference in how much easier it is to keep my rig in sight. That said, keep in mind that just because your display shows your rig and a fish or two in proximity on your display, they (fish and rig) may actually be 10-15 or 20' apart horizontally, depending again on the cone angle and depth of the water. Your display will show everything at once that is within the cone and the processor does some averaging to give you the display picture. In any case when you see a display return that looks like bass it's a pretty encouraging thing, since the most important factor in deep fishing to receive a tug on the end of the line is fishing where fish are at. Sounds like a trite smart-arse remark but it was not meant to be that, after some time you will know if you are fishing around fish.

I think most mid-priced or better depthfinders have the capability to see your bait so if I was shopping for one I'd for sure be taking into consideration the cone angle of the transducer. Some units have more than one transducer angle available also.

I think getting the highest quality depthfinder you can afford and spending the time to learn how to use it and INTERPRET what you are seeing is a really important part of making the most out of the deep fishing thing. With a good unit and some experience you can get a pretty good picture of what's down there and be able to tell what you are looking at. Hardwood trees, cedar trees, brush piles, logs/stumps, boulders, underwater bluffs, shad schools, broken up (harassed) shad schools, and different species of fish all have a unique "signiture" you can learn to interpret not with 100% certainty but with some degree of confidence.

I'm sure some will roll their eyes when I suggest you can tell species but I am certain when I am over something that might be bass. They have a distinct concise thickness to the line that they give on my screen. Not to say that it might not be another species but I know what bass look like. Just as importantly I know what they do not look like. Big thick arches never bite and I would assume they are carp, gar, paddlefish, catfish...whatever. Smaller numerous arches and a blotchy return are usually panfish. (I know this because I chase bluegill on occasion). A nice solid black line just off the bottom, preferably 2 or 3 at once going up and down, those are usually active bass and when I see that I go on point for the bite.

So to answer your question "Are my electronics good enough for dropshotting ?" it looks to me like your Eagle Fishmark 480 is a real good quality Lowrance/Eagle unit with plenty of capability to pick up on your rig at any depth. So the ball is in your court on learning how to fine tune the settings and interpret what you are seeing on the display. Getting a good depthfinder is not the solution or answer to all the questions of what's beneath the boat, but it is the visual display of where all your questions begin. There will still be plenty of times you see something wierd and say "what the heck was THAT" ? but over time you will say that less often.

[Ham]

I watched a show with a couple of guys drop shotting on TR using a Lowrance X17 unit. Having seen that show I understand better what SKMO was talking about.

My drop shotting has not been the in the depths required at TR. Most of the time, I was very happy to find the brush pile with my electronics and maybe refer back to it to make sure I was in the right area.

When I make the move North, I'll be in the market for a boat upgrade and much BETTER electronics.

[bobby b.]

Regarding the 35 degree transducer discussed by SKMO, the Eagle Fish Mark 480 unit as well as many other Eagle units come standard with a 20 degree transducer yet they claim a 60 degree capability by making some adjustments to the unit. Does anyone know how and if this 60 degree thing works?

[SKMO]

Regarding the 35 degree transducer discussed by SKMO, the Eagle Fish Mark 480 unit as well as many other Eagle units come standard with a 20 degree transducer yet they claim a 60 degree capability by making some adjustments to the unit. Does anyone know how and if this 60 degree thing works?

Increasing the sensitivity gives a wider cone angle:

http://www.lowrance.com/tutorials/sonar/so...tutorial_01.asp

Read the section on cone angles it it explains it, but do not know if you would get 60 degrees.

There is a ton of good info in all the sections of the tutororial, worth reading or re-reading any time.

[Ham]

SKMO have you seen or read anything on the Hummingbird Side Scanner unit that's coming out soon. Ralph Mann's had an article in In-Fisherman on it and I watched a fishing show that was pimping it pretty hard.

I have considered Lowrance to be the NAME in depthfinders, but that Hummingbird looked really nice.

[Ham]

JE, Man I'd love to have you show me the ropes on that sonar. I'd be glad to buy the gas too, but I'm in Louisiana so I'll have to take a rain check.

It is a very impressive looking piece of equipment to be sure.

I appreciate you're giving a full disclosure on your business association with Hummingbird. In my mind, you can be on a pro staff and still be honest.