Fish Finders Again....

[J-Doc]

1 hour ago, nomolites said:

The more you use the better you read.  If I am actually searching I run full screen SI and flip over to map periodically to make sure I am where I want to be relative to structure - I can see much more detail that way.  Once I see what I am looking for I switch to half 2D and half map on the next pass to get more detail and drop electronic markers.  You learn to identify fish by the color and shape of their returns on 2D and their relative position in the water column. 100%, no, but most of the time you can make a good ID.  I normally have just 2D and map up on screen when fishing unless I am after striper/hybrids and want to keep an eye on the schools while trolling and will flip back and forth.  Shortcut buttons are set to full SI, half map and 2D, and the last to map -DI-2D split 3 ways.  This works for me.

Plug, once you run one of these newer units you can’t go back...they are truly great.  Do I have to have? No, but I don’t really need a boat either to catch fish...but searching for and dialing in on them is half the fun.

Mike

 

In 3yrs of using side scan........finding a large school of crappie under a dock has not happened for me yet.

But I do rarely use 1 side only.  Typically when I'm scanning a bank, dock, or shoreline.  You do see much clearer as the fully screen is projected.  I have some great shots of the amphitheater in Monte Ne using 1 side only.

And I agree......you have to know what you're looking for.  I have more often than not, thought I saw fish and it turned out to be something else.  THe more you use them, the better you get at determining "spots" that stand out.  Typically a fish will project a shadow.  The bigger the fish, the bigger the shadow.  I have some awesome spoonbill sidescan screenshots I posted under the Sonar Training thread under the General Discussions forum.

[J-Doc]

Check page 15 in this thread for some nice screenshots I posted.   Clearly shows shadows of the spoonbills. 
You only see this kind of clarity on larger fish and in shallower water.  The deeper the water, the bigger the fish needs to be to show up.  So in 50-100ft, it's harder to see a 10lb striper vs. a +50lb state record tickler.  Especially if they are moving quickly as it will show as a streak or long line/arch. 

 

[nomolites]

Agreed, stripers are on the move...I look more for “busted” shad schools and streaks than individual returns when chasing them.  On LOZ there is absolutely no question when you scan a good crappie dock ...it will be shotgun sprayed with white dots.

Mike

[Old plug]

I have always thought there is three critical sides to fishing right place right time and right way. Only thing you may get from a fish finder of value is right place. But if the other two not there you will frustrate yourself causing a distraction from the other two. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Gavin]

You can get some great information from a good finder. Won't make them eat, but at least you know that you are not fishing in a structure less/fish less waste land.

[Basfis]

35 minutes ago, Gavin said:

You can get some great information from a good finder. Won't make them eat, but at least you know that you are not fishing in a structure less/fish less waste land.

Last post spawn on Stockton If we didn’t see a fish, we never got a bite. Conversely we caught some fish on every point we marked fish. 

Truly eliminated water for us. My kid became a believer as did I. First year with si/di helixes. The nav with open water brush piles is invaluable. Really helps keep a bait in brush. 

[Gavin]

Became a believer in Canada this year. New lake every day, it really helped to find patch reefs humps and bait.

[fishinwrench]

6 hours ago, Gavin said:

You can get some great information from a good finder. Won't make them eat, but at least you know that you are not fishing in a structure less/fish less waste land.

As far as whether there are fish there or not....it will tell you the same thing that making a dozen casts will. 

After quite a few years of extensive study I can, with 100% honesty, report that sonar equipment has caused more wasted time, than it has caused time saved.   Sure I can claim that it has allowed me to be lazy and find numerous brushpiles and dropoffs, but the truth of the matter is that I would have fished those areas even if no brushpiles or dropoffs had shown up, and I'm sure I would have found them.  

On the flip side, ultra advanced sonar causes you to spend hours upon hours of unwarranted time fishing "things" because it just looks SO TEXTBOOK AWESOME on that screen..... but at the end of the day, 99%of the time, you would have done better fishing blind and covering more water.  

Year before last I went out with a buddy in an area that neither of us had fishing in years. As we were running down the lake his console unit went blank.  He had me crawl under the console and try to figure out what was wrong, but power was getting to the unit so there wasn't anything I could do.  He starts in with... "Well, we're f#@&ed now"!    

Nope, it turned out that we had a fine day, caught some nice ones.  But still he didn't take his boat out again for 3 weeks because his sonar shot craps and it just wasn't the same for him going fishing without it.   To be such a slave to that Gizmo is a shame.   

[Old plug]

8 hours ago, fishinwrench said:

As far as whether there are fish there or not....it will tell you the same thing that making a dozen casts will. 

After quite a few years of extensive study I can, with 100% honesty, report that sonar equipment has caused more wasted time, than it has caused time saved.   Sure I can claim that it has allowed me to be lazy and find numerous brushpiles and dropoffs, but the truth of the matter is that I would have fished those areas even if no brushpiles or dropoffs had shown up, and I'm sure I would have found them.  

On the flip side, ultra advanced sonar causes you to spend hours upon hours of unwarranted time fishing "things" because it just looks SO TEXTBOOK AWESOME on that screen..... but at the end of the day, 99%of the time, you would have done better fishing blind and covering more water.  

Year before last I went out with a buddy in an area that neither of us had fishing in years. As we were running down the lake his console unit went blank.  He had me crawl under the console and try to figure out what was wrong, but power was getting to the unit so there wasn't anything I could do.  He starts in with... "Well, we're f#@&ed now"!    

Nope, it turned out that we had a fine day, caught some nice ones.  But still he didn't take his boat out again for 3 weeks because his sonar shot craps and it just wasn't the same for him going fishing without it.   To be such a slave to that Gizmo is a shame.   

It only answers one thing right place and that is just plain MAYBE. Then if the fish are not in the feeding cycle then your out of wack the the other two sides.They are called RIGHT TIME even then you can be off. Then you can have those two right  and still be off on  the RIGHT WAY. Chunking lure, etc does not mean much if the retrieve is wrong. like how fast your bait is moving ,falling or rising  How hard it is hugging the bottom or brush, What kind action you are imparting if any, then the sub categories of those three to understand. Only place I have ever seen all the questions SOMETIMES is with the whites, stripers and hybrids. 

[Stump bumper]

I guess the point that Cabela's had this at $200 under list price was not any interest to anyone. How people use fish finders are as different and varied as to how many colors and sizes a plastic worm comes in, but how someone scoots across a lake at 50mph at night without a good GPS track to follow is beyond my skill set.

Also if you troll on a lake like Beaver in 75-150 of water there are trees that stick up to within 15 feet of the top and watching my fishfinder is the ONLY way I know how to keep from loosing an umbrella rig when I am after deep fish.

To each his own, but I started this thread about the how Lowrance had lowered prices on a NEW unit for 2018 instead of raising prices that had been the norm. This was in response to the Helix and now I am wondering which is the better per dollar spent.

I am buying a new bigger unit mostly for the color mapping but would also like side scan just to know what is on each side of me without having to run over the area and watch it on my down scan all the time.