Sonar Sights

[nathanhooper]

Help me diagnose. When fishing today I saw many different sights. I did see a lot of bait balls, but nothing in the way of chasing them. But then at the end of the morning I did see some significant arches.

They were back up a creek channel, Indian creek, but on the main channel. I did not troll back into the various coves. The arches, which were the biggest of the day, we're suspended in 50' of water at about 30'.

In fact, even back out on the main lake I ran across some at the same depth. These arches did not seem to have much thickness to them. I have seen significant arches before with considerable color in them. These did not have that.

Is there a way if determining what type of fish these may be? I would think that only a few fish would be able to throw that kind of signal back.

[J-Doc]

Sound like gar to me. Big long sweeping arch but no "body" to it in the middle.

I marked a ton of gar in Ford's creek July4th as the sun was coming up. I fished one of the coves from point to back and out and saw lots of 4ft class gar splashing around on the surface.

I was talking to F&F about this last night. I don't know what it is about gar but everytime I see a bunch in one place, it's time to go. The "bad kids" have moved in and run off all of the good ones. I don't know if it's becasue they are eating all of the bait in that area, or if other fish feel threatened by the ugly toothy critter or what. Every time I see a group of gar, I'm pulling the trolling motor and leaving for other water. Usually a main lake area and not coves.

This time of year however........stripers seem to love to suspend about that depth range in the channels of large coves. If they were long and lean, I'd say it was probably gar.

[Feathers and Fins]

Get a picture and ill take a guess next time your out.

Where you are talking about it could be Stripers, Paddlefish or Gar.

[nathanhooper]

I figured I should have got a picture. I got a lowrance that lets me record, but never tried it yet. I am doing a lot of fishing next week so I'll figure out this recording thing. Thanks guys.

[Feathers and Fins]

If its lowrance does the mark look like this

Or this

[fisherofmen11]

Great learning here. Thanks Nathan for asking great questions. Thanks F&F and Doc for sharing. I wish I was on the water tonight. I have been wanting to night fish.

[bfishn]

...aqua-vu is your friend

+1

Unless you can catch the fish you mark to verify what it is, or see them on a camera, consistently determining the species and size is a crapshoot. You can draw some general conclusions that are often correct, but almost as many times you'll be wrong. Spend a lot of time with a camera down and the graph on, and you'll see what I mean. It's a very enlightening and often humbling experience that can show you what you thought you knew was wrong. I spent a lot of time with a camera, and when you're looking, you're not fishing, but for me it was time well spent. YMMV.

[nathanhooper]

I would have to say the top one. It's an older color model. Lms-332c. It looks much different than either of yours though. I have it on bottom something mode. It helps me see the bottom a lot clearer. It shows the fish as a dark colored arch, then the "thicker" they are the brighter colors start showing up. Bait balls are very easy to see with it.

I'm going out tomorrow. I will get a card ready and use it. I will have pictures to share Tuesday morning.

[nathanhooper]

Is that the rock?

[Feathers and Fins]

Top picture is Stripers picking off what's left a of a bait ball... Bottom image is Whites destroying a Ball.