Fish Finder Training – Screenshots & Interpretations

[nathanhooper]

I think this is going to be good discussion. I am new to the sonar game myself, but learning every day. One thing that strikes me odd is that one picture you show BW of the thermocline.

Like I said, I am new, but that does not look like it to me unless you were zoomed in and there was clarity below that. The thermocline is a layer of water between two layers. Its like a sandwich, not just two pieces of bread.

I may be wrong, and so I cannot state for fact. However, I am a video nut when it comes to learning and I have seen videos that show what you were seeing and they state that that thick mat is actually baitfish.

[J-Doc]

You are probably right Nathan. Good find! See......I'm still new to this game as well so I hope to learn a lot myself.

I do hope this thread turns into a very helpful resource. I think there is a lot of collective knowledge within this forum alone and if we help each other, I think we can all learn some things. One can spend hours browsing Youtube and still not see it applied to a real-life experience. If someone can take a photo of their graph, post it here and get multiple opinions, I would think it would be not only less time spent on their part but better real-life information applied to them specifically.

So.....

Share your screenshots/photos of your graph. I know of some particular forum members that are willing to help and have not chimed in yet but they will be.

[nathanhooper]

I didnt know if I should double them up, seeing how you provided the link to that other discussion. But I'll throw them in here for discussion sake.

Still not sure exactly what this is. It was not there, as in I mean the clutter started getting more and more as the sun set and darkness came in. Whats interesting is that the fish we were seeing also took a hike.

Here is where it started, you can see some small fish in there.

This is one of the favorites of the night. We came back over this ball again and the next time over it looked like a chunk was missing and there were arches up in the ball. I got so excited I forgot to take a picture.

These are pictures from earlier in the day. Not sure, I'll let people elaborate on them. We never caught any of what we saw here. When we finally caught it was the ones in a little shallower water and they were directly on the bottom. Hybrids. It was my first long troll session with the down riggers and it took me a while to figure it out. You'll see lines in the photo's of my down rigger balls.

I'll have more tonight. I found a 1gig card to use and I'm taking a friend who says he cannot catch a fish out. I'm sure I'll have some more good photo's to show, hopefully of some fish also.

[Feathers and Fins]

1. How many of us have a fish finder? (I'm guessing 90% of us do)
2. How many use the "fish symbols" because without that, you just don't know what you're looking at and don't have enough confidence in your graph to find fish without it?
3. Do you turn the sensitivity down so much that it will only show "big fish" or big solid objects?
4. Do you know what you're looking at??? (hey, I have to ask) :-)

1. I do

2. When i have kids or Novice anglers I do as it keeps them occupied

3. I let the situation dictate this. If the water is showing a lot of debris and false readings because of it I will turn it way down if it is clear I turn it way up to just the point I can see fish sizes. If I am targeting specific fish or structure I will vary it so i get a clear picture.

4. 80% certainity of what I am seeing for species but goes up to 100% if I drop the camera

What am I seeing on my graph?

Is that a bass or is that a catfish on the bottom?

Or is that a group of rocks?

1. Pretty colors useless without past exeriance to start forming a knowledge base off of.

2. Based of past exerience you can get a good idea of what it could be Bottom fish are much more difficult to identify correctly, Drop the camera time

3. Rocks are a constant structure and multiple passes from multiple directions will let you know this OR use Structure Scan which quickly lets you know .

FOR THE NOVICE - HOW TO READ SONAR:

(If this is not you, skip forward to the next level)

First…..

This needs to be broken down into categories:

1) Basic sonar understanding

2) Advanced sonar

3) Drop-shot presentation

4) Side Imaging

5) 360-degree imaging (I’m not covering much here as I think it’s a gimmick personally until the technology gets better)

1. This thread should aid many in that and only by questions will the basics come about. GREAT IDEA FOR A THREAD

2. With the discussion and time on water advanced learning will occur taking people from basic to advance.

3. turn the unit way up to see the bait

4. Love my side scan but before it is useful a person needs to have a good understanding of the bottom contour and structure in the area. For this I use paper charts and spend many hours marking on them where structure is, then I can use the sidescan to get a great picture of what is in the water colum and even schools of fish on the bottom.

5. Great tool for salt water but so far for lakes I do not like what im seeing. Agree its a sales gimmic at this point unless you are a very deep large lake.

Love the Topic.

[Bird Watcher]

I think this is going to be good discussion. I am new to the sonar game myself, but learning every day. One thing that strikes me odd is that one picture you show BW of the thermocline.

Like I said, I am new, but that does not look like it to me unless you were zoomed in and there was clarity below that. The thermocline is a layer of water between two layers. Its like a sandwich, not just two pieces of bread.

I may be wrong, and so I cannot state for fact. However, I am a video nut when it comes to learning and I have seen videos that show what you were seeing and they state that that thick mat is actually baitfish.

Trust me, it was not baitfish. I did have the sensitivity turned up a litte so that I could see my bait and tackle a little easier, and while you are correct that the thermocline is a layer, you have to remember that with the sensitivity turned up, you will get an echo off the top of it since the water from the thermocline down is denser and the water above is less dense.

[Feathers and Fins]

In discribing thermoclines this is the best example i can think of

The Dark Blue is warmer clearer water. the light blue is cooler les clear water. If you turn this picture on its side picturing the dark blue as warmer water on top and the light blue cooler water on bottom you see a clear line seperating them ( that is the thermocline).

Part of cooler water is the richness of the microscopic organisums in it and this as well can often be seen in deeper ( feet thick ) thermoclines that are is productive because of the small organisums which attract the larger bait fish that feed on them and then up the food chain.

[Bird Watcher]

In discribing thermoclines this is the best example i can think of

The Dark Blue is warmer clearer water. the light blue is cooler les clear water. If you turn this picture on its side picturing the dark blue as warmer water on top and the light blue cooler water on bottom you see a clear line seperating them ( that is the thermocline).

Part of cooler water is the richness of the microscopic organisums in it and this as well can often be seen in deeper ( feet thick ) thermoclines that are is productive because of the small organisums which attract the larger bait fish that feed on them and then up the food chain.

That's a good explanation Scott.

[nathanhooper]

I wish they would hurry up and take the 360 imaging, combine it with 2d sonar, and have a virtual 3d baby with it. Makes sense to me. lol

I did see where humminbird had 3d graphs before, actually it was not true 3d but close too it. The rep I talked to said people did not like it well enough over the 2d stuff. As far as seeing how the bottom is laid out, I just cannot see how it would not be useful. I think with today's technology it should be fairly easy to take all the stuff and have a 3d virtual world that you could twist around with a joystick or something. I've got it all in my head, lol.

Anyways, enough of my rant on wishes. I guess I have just not ever seen, myself, or looking through videos and pictures, of a thermocline like that. But I'm glad you posted it BW for us to see.

I work in the water industry so I know the principle behind the thermocline pretty well. Sonar is another thing. I could tell you exactly where it was at with other instruments, but I don't see me ever taking them out on the boat just for that.

I would love to see some more pictures of the thermocline on different sonars. I would be guessing its setting up right now so we should be getting good view of it in the coming weeks.

[nathanhooper]

I just thought about it, and figured out that the best way to know for sure if your seeing bait fish or not is to go over deeper water. If the line stays horizontal all the way then its the thermocline, if not then it would be bait fish? Of course, I guess if you were to also go a little ways on flat ground surely bait fish would not stretch for hundreds of yards at the same thickness.

[J-Doc]

Here's a screenshot of an old submerged bridge or at least what's left of the pilings and the gap of the creekbed. This is just off of the marina at Prairie Creek on Beaver Lake.

F&F thinks this is a pretty good shot of a thermocline setting up. I think he's correct. It's a bit thick but it's settling in with all of this hot weather we've been getting the last week or so. This shot was taken July 6th before the fireworks show at Prairie Creek.