Electronics Class ?

[Sore Thumbs]

Ok. Sounds easy enough. When u guys fish vertical do you set upper and lower limits on your graph?

[Feathers and Fins]

When I am verticle fishing I just leave the unit alone. I can see everything i need to unless im drifting then the backseater can see my bait jumping around. Honestly i dont mess with my graph much unless im searching for a specific size of fish then i will play the sensitivity to get it adjusted.... Basically for instance if im after stripers I will set it so i remove smaller fish marks.

[Guest]

Here is a quote from another forum (crappie.com) where a discussion was had for such a request on how to. It's not much but I'm digging into it a bit more.

You basically need to convert your GPS coordinates and then you can translate them into your Google Maps.

Im not talking about conversion between decimal degrees & degrees minutes seconds.

I can manually copy and paste that data into google earth.

I want to dump all my waypoints directly into google earth at one time.

there may be a way to create a KMZ file for lines or routes.

[J-Doc]

Not that I'm aware of. It's a processed task from what I've read. No "easy way". If you find different, please let me know.

As for upper and lower, no I don't. I just use a split screen if needed. If I'm drop shotting and my target is most definitely on the bottom and I want less "bottom" and more graph, yes you can adjust the lower limit. It's not hard. Just take the depth off of auto and set the depth you want. Or you can adjust the actual lower and upper limit but on a small screen, it just looks garbled and junky. If you have an HDS 7, it might benefit you but it doesn't me. I like being able to see the whole graph typically.

[Sore Thumbs]

I've heard setting upper and lower limits gives a clearer pic than just zooming in. I watch these guys video game fishing with amazement. They set hook before they feel the bite. I want to able to do this. If I can learn how to catch deep fish my confidence will be sky high. Right now if shallow fish aren't biting im in trouble. I feel if im gonna get any better I have to learn how to catch em deep.

[J-Doc]

What you said is true I believe. Hadn't thought about the clearer image. Wouldn't matter on mine. Lol.

Learning to catch them off shore is more important than deep. Drop shot is not dynamite. A great technique no doubt but not a sure thing. Close.....

If you have HDS units, you can get really good sonar images for drop shot. I have not seen someone set the hook before the bite. Must be very confident in their screen and what that are looking at. I can promise Arron Martens and Brent Ehrler got that good out of long hours of use and exploration.

I don't think there is a fast track to learning how to do what you're wanting. It takes a lot of time and a lot of practice and use.if there was I would definitely be looking into it myself.

[J-Doc]

Have you had luck with drop shot before on your boat? Can you tell the difference between a rock and a fish when they're both on the bottom? What I mean is, if you see a blip on the very bottom in 30ft, do you know how to tell if it's a fish, a rock, a catfish, etc? That is where you need to focus on learning (as do we all and myself included). If you have color sonar turned on, you want the sensitivity set to auto, ping speed about 80-90% (sometimes 100% spending on water clarity) and you should see the fish as a different color than the bottom. Lots of bass (including spotted bass) like to hang out on the very bottom. If you see a target, drop your bait to it and just dead stick it. Every so often a very very subtle twitch. If the blip on the bottom comes up to take a look, watch your rod tip!! You can often see the bite before feeling it by watching the rod tip. When in doubt, pop the rod up with an upward hookset and you probably have a fish. The key is keeping your bait within the sonar cone. If not, you're blind and not aware of your bait's action it's immediate surroundings.

[Guest]

I've caught more bass with a drop shot and no fishfinder.

However, I'm not fishing suspended fish.

I'm bottom fishing offshore in places you drag a football jig or deep crank.

Drop shotting is great to fish in between docks and round brush piles.

I've got a hummingbird 788 DI but you only need sonar.

Like you said, it takes hours of practice to interpret your new graph

[J-Doc]

Agreed on hours of use.

My buddy Joe drop shots without the graph as well. True drop shot for vertical presentation uses the graph though.

[Feathers and Fins]

Drop Shotting is nothing more than dropper loop fishing and that has been around forever in salt water fishing. There is some differences but the basic principles are the same. If you want to gain confidence in deep water fishing I have taught people and its simple prospect. Most anglers have a hard time actually knowing or judging lure depth. To help with this I tell people to pull off 50ft of line and mark it ever 10 ft with a sharpie, then mark every 5ft with a different color sharpie drop the line without looking at the colors to what you think is the depth the fish are then reel up and count the colors as you go, do it over and over to the point you are almost perfect with gauging depth with the lures you use.

Next use a spoon and learn the yo,yo action basically lift the rod and drop it, then the hard jerk where you give the lure a hard pop and let it flutter and the final action is the light twitch where you are constantly bouncing the tip of the rod. That will help you with spoons and with drop-shots. After that add a Carolina rig and toss it out but go up to a 1.5oz weight and a bobber instead of a worm. You want it to settle then reel in till you feel the swivel hit the weight. It will take time but you can train yourself to feel that little tick when they touch and that will help you feel even the most subtle of bites.

These are all practice and learning and not fishing and will help you learn deep fishing. Most guys want to go fishing but fail to put in the practice.

As for the fish finder; the name says what it is, it is a "fish finder" I use it for the tool it is by getting to an area and making patterned runs over that area. For instance if im on a flat I will have the up and down on and the side scan and as I find fish I mark them, it might take from a half hour to an hour for me to cover the area properly but when im done I can pull up the map and see a clear pattern of where the fish are. Then its a matter of using past knowledge to select the lure.

If the fish don't bite switch lures till I find the right lure " fly-fisherman mentality" of switching out often till I find what works. After finding it if the fish are off graph then repattern them with the fish finder and get back on them. The confidence you want will come over time, I am not the best with a drop-shot because I haven't practiced with it enough and that's a "my bad" I know I need to park my boat and practice its finesse more than I have and not worry about catching fish on it till I have practiced more.