Electronics Help?

[bferg]

Ok so I realize this image sucks- I also realize that my Lowrance X-96 is kinda old school but I think I should be getting better images out of it than I am. I am not getting any real "arch" on the images. For the most part everything looks like a line....

(I also realize this image sucks but I was holding the tiller and a rod and trying to help 2 kids fish while I took this). Anyway- by looking at this image- any idea what kind of settings I should look at tweeking? I have turned up the sensitivity all the way but that just adds more noise to the screen and doesn't make the fish or structure look any more like an arch.

Any help or advice would be much appreciated...

[Dutch]

You are getting some arches. The image shows some bait along with game fish. You can't get a full arch unless the whole fish is in the cone when you pass over it. That is as good of a screen shot as I have ever seen on that model unit.

[zarraspook]

Like Dutch said you NEVER get a perfect arch unless the fish is not or almost not moving and you pass directly over it... the slanted lines in your photo shows "active" fish moving ( most likely feeding on the bait fish above them ).... As you learned a higher sensitivity only means clutter on the screen...

One thing I have found when seeing feeding fish and I can't get a hit on a couple of passes... I try about 1/2 mph slower and if that don't work a 1/2 mph faster; some times you have to match the speed of the bait movement to get a strike....

And ONE BIG ATABOY for getting your girls out of doors and instilling a love for our great "mother nature" .....

[bferg]

Thanks guys- appreciate the feedback. This is really my first sonar and it came with my boat....hope to upgrade next year and will move this one to front deck (now I just flip it around when I am on the front deck and can still see it fairly well). I am just trying to learn how to operate and read it and get the most out of it. Getting some input on what I am seeing and should see is really hepful. I read the entire manual and spent a lot of time in the garage in simulation mode and messing with it on the water earlier this spring. I might have it dialed in about as well as I can. I use it along with the Navionics app on my phone which is worth every penny of the $10 I paid for it since I don't have maps/gps in the sonar.

Hoping to upgrade to something like a Lowrance Elite 5HDI next spring.

[Feathers and Fins]

Brett, your unit is showing a very clear pic best I have seen out of the that model. Its whites / hybrids / stripers based on your info of where you were. they have been there all week at that depth with the bait at the same depth you are showing. the streaking arches appear to be active fish. Zarra is dead on with playing with boat speed to trigger a bite and if it doesn't work when I see active fish like that I would pull a spoon out fast they will hit it.

Here is a few I took earlier from the same area first is a sidescan then and up and down. I verified the species by catching them and the aquavu. I would say you have your unit dialed in great I wouldn't mess with it.

[J-Doc]

I agree. This was a good image.

Learn sonar basics and general understanding of what sonar is and how it works on a boat and you will clearly see what your graph is telling you.

YouTube search basics of sonar or fish finders. Also see the sticky in the General Discussion forum here at OAF .

[J-Doc]

http://doctorsonar.com/blogs/educational-articles/12381817-what-do-bait-fish-look-like-on-a-fish-finder-a-k-a-bait-balls

[bfishn]

Sonar arches.

Simply put, sonar measures distance. Hold that thought for later.

Assuming you're stting at a chair in your home reading this, look up and pick out the spot on the nearest wall directly in front of you. Measure or estimate the distance (from your nose). Let's say it's 5 feet. Now, facing that spot directly, raise your arms toward the wall and spread them to approximate a 20 degree angle. Mark a spot that either arm points to and measure that. Let's say it's 5 1/2 feet, a difference of 6 inches.

Now turn and do the same for the farthest wall, and note that the difference in distance between straight on and 10 degrees off is greater than the near wall. Imagine the scenario out to greater distances of 20 and 40 feet, and the difference grows even more.

Now translate that into a sonar beam on the lake. As your boat approaches a fish at the edge of the cone the sonar marks a distance on the display. As you move directly over the fish it continues to update that distance, which is not only some measure closer, but reflects a stronger signal as well. Then, as you move past the fish, the signal gets further away and weaker at the trailing edge of the cone.

The distance difference for shallow fish is small, rendering little or no discernable arch. The deeper the fish, the greater the distance difference, and the greater the arch. You can manipulate it a bit with your zoom. Say your screen is set to display 40 feet. A distance difference of 6 inches doesn't make much of a showing there. Zoom in to a 5 foot window, and 6 inches is pretty obvious.

Now factor in all the variables where a fish might not be sitting still, or directly under the xdcr. It's still all a matter of distance at a frozen moment in time.

Added

It's important to note that if your xdcr isn't pointing down exactly at 90 degrees from the surface this all goes out the window pretty fast. If you're marking fish that all appear as angled straight lines, you need to re-aim your xdcr. If the marks angle upward, move the xdcr back and vice versa.

[J-Doc]

^^

My head just popped.....

[bfishn]

^^

My head just popped.....

Sorry about that, I was hoping merely for a light to come on... :-)