Fish Finder Training – Screenshots & Interpretations

[bfishn]

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!

Just as well, since F&F's formula is only valid in a theoretical, 2-dimensional, static plane.

The horizontal, right-to-left scale displays time. No more, no less. Every time the unit pulses, one or more new vertical rows of pixels appears on the right while vanishing from the left as history. As long as a target is reflecting a signal, it will be displayed horizontally in the time scale. The length of that mark is determined by;

boat speed

chart speed

depth to target

target movement relative to xdcr

target position in pulse coverage area

The first 3 are fairly intuitive, but the last 2 deserve a closer look. Active fish are seldom motionless in the water column, particularly with a boat passing right overhead. 1-2mph (trolling/idling speeds) are pretty common for short natural movements, spooked or feeding fish move even faster. So while the length of a mark may theoretically yeild a close idea of fish size for an immobile fish, it's far less relavent in a world where fish don't sit still.

If a fish is moving the same direction as the boat, it could be on the screen a long time. Going the opposite way may leave just a blip. Side-to-side's another story yet, and one that's off to the side of the boat, just getting clipped by the edge of the pulse beam will mark way shorter than the same fish sitting in the center at the same depth and being sampled for a longer time.

[Topwater TRL]

Great! Keep it coming.

[hoglaw]

phenomenal thread guys. Sonar is a 6th sense. Beyond being a sound signature snapshot of what's going on beneath you, you can look at your sonar and look at a visual reference and really start to visualize what's happening between A&B through deductive reasoning. TrophyFishR gave me my first unit which doesn't do a whole lot more than tell me how deep the water is - or so I thought. Then I got into vertical jigging in 140 feet of water for winter schools of fish suspended 100 feet down. That was the first time I got to watch a jigging spoon fall on the screen, and it was the first time it "clicked."

So on my new trout boat, I have a unit I need mounted. I don't remember what it is - a hummingbird 5 something something HDI? It's the HD plus GPS. I was told that if I wanted to have down-scan, I couldn't shoot the transducer through the hull. This boat spends a lot of its life beating against rocks and running through shallow water as it's a jet. So I really want to mount the transducer inside the hull. More importantly, I want the ergonomic option of being able to move the unit from the back of the boat where I drive to the front of the boat where I occasionally fish. One transducer - two locations to mount the screen. Is that possible? Is there an economical way to do this (whether it's purchasing another transducer and moving the unit from A to B, or purchasing some extra wire and being able to just carry the unit to the front of the boat? Is there anyone in NWA who would be willing to help out with this project?

This is a trout and creek boat at its heart so I don't want a trolling motor transducer, or even a second unit if I can avoid it. But it's big heavy and wide and has a 90 jet on it plus a big TM, so it will suffice for beaver and some of the other lakes I like to fish as well as any flatbottom out there.

[J-Doc]

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.

[Feathers and Fins]

the transducer cord if long enough should reach the bow I would think. Outside the Lowrance system im not sure there is another unit that has the capability to read all multiple transducers from different points on the boat. could be wrong though but think that's patented by Lawrance with the structure scan.

[bfishn]

A Johnny Ray quick-release swivel mount and an extra base will let you swap locations easily. A transducer extension cable and an extra power cable will get you hooked up. Unplug at the back and connect the extension and you're ready to move.

You can temporarily test for a thru-hull shot by making a ~6" "pond" out of Mortite rope caulk at the spot. Weight the xdcr in it and fill it with water to eliminate air between the face and the hull. If you like it, break out the epoxy, if not, no loss.

[nathanhooper]

Ok, went out Wednesday night. Got some more shots. I'll try to give a little bit of description and all for each one, but still leave it up for general interpretation. It was a 3 1/2 hour trip or so, and the shots are in order of that. It was daylight when I started and dark when I finished.

I was using downriggers. So most of the shots will show my ball line. Although I did not catch one fish, I did learn how much blowback my balls have and now can set them to the right depth that I want and all. It was a productive trip in the sense that I got some good practice with the equipment. (thinking positive here)

Average trolling speed for the trip was 2.5 - 3 mph. There is one time when I tried the electric and I'll point that out later.

Here is the first shot. Fish, bait? I am thinking these fish were not real big, when you compare them to some of the other ones I saw. But interesting how they relate to the structure eh.

Here is another shot not too long after. I'll leave this one open for general dissection, but I am seeing bait and fish going after bait?

Another. But I have noticed sometimes how the arches are different. Notice the one in the middle of the shot. This might lead us to discuss just exactly how the arches show up and all? And why it is important to take precaution when installing the transducer and do so to the T.

I wondered if anyone could tell me if those long arches were fish suspended in those tree tops and coming up to check out what noise just went overhead. I have hear, and I have seen(not recorded yet), in real time, fish coming up to the ball and then going back down. It was on another guys boat, but very clearly evident.

This is when it starts to get dark. I have noticed this several times now with this unit. Junk shows up in a thick line when the sun sets down. I am thinking, based on this and another shot I'll show later, that I need to tweak the settings some. Just not sure how. I play with the sensitivity and all, but I don't want to drop it too far down do I? This line shows up even when I have the sensitivity down in the middle 70's.

Fish shot.

Here I turned up the sensitivity on the Sonar Viewer Program. The thick line of stuff is really thick so its hard to pick out stuff inside of it. This is also where I trolled with the electric motor. Are the arches showing up fish? Or could it be junk and stuff? I know I get a lot longer arches when I slow down for sure.

This shot made me start thinking. Look at how the surface clutter goes away when I get over deeper water. Very interesting. I need to tweak the sonar, just don't know how yet.

Another shot of it. Notice the big rock. Shows up different with the sonar on the boat and the mode I run on it. What do you recon those fish hanging off the side are? This is on the edge of the main channel near the dam.

Thoughts?

[bfishn]

... I did learn how much blowback my balls have...

That alone made the trip worthwhile.

At least it did for me... :-)

[J-Doc]

That alone made the trip worthwhile.

At least it did for me... :-)

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

[nathanhooper]

That alone made the trip worthwhile.

At least it did for me... :-)

Yea, yea. There could be some bad insinuation associated with that statement, but its true none the less. They blow back 7' at that speed. I'm sure the deeper or shallower I go would effect that also, but I bet its pretty close for the range I will run them in normally.

That helps though, because when your running them by yourself its hard to set them in motion. I can set them while still and then know when I get underway where they will run. One of them does not have a line counter(they are homemade) so I have to use my sonar. I can come close without it, but it helps.