fish finder

[fisherman_craig]

hey guys
when using a fish finder. do you look at the screen and see what is directly beneath you? if so, they do you just move to a location a bit away and then cast to what you saw on the depth finder? sorry for the lame question guys, im a fish finder novice. can yall give me some tips on how to get the most out of my depth finder?
:-/

[Bassin_Dude]

depends on where u put the transducer thing, if u put it on the back of the boat near the bottom ur gunna see what is behind u on the screen. if u put it under the boat u will see what is under the boat. i would guess thats wat u do, go and cast into the spot? i dont have one so i have no idea.

[profishermenkid16]

FatCat,I use the fishfinder alot for holding in a certain dept.Mine has a deep alarm and a shallow alarm on it .If I catch more than one fish in a certain dept, I lock the 2 alarms so I don't get far away from the dept I am fishing or go too shallow.I also use it for finding hard bottom or uneven bottom contours, creek channels, humps. and steep drop off areas.I hope this helps. P N J

[fisherman_craig]

so, you want to find where there is a drop off or a hump on the bottom of the lake to fish on?

[profishermenkid16]

You want to find an area that is different than its surrounding area.I like to find small shelf flats, or ditches or old creek channels that are close to deep water.but anything that has something different than whats around the area and has deep water nearby for safety.I hope this helps.P N J

[Rich]

fdc, the term "fishfinder" is a little misleading. Like PnJ, I use mine mainly to find fish holding structure like a hump or dropoff rather than fish as such. Occasionally you will see fish, but most of the time if you find the structure you will find the fish.

As far as what you are seeing, if the transducer is mounted on the stern of the boat and the depthfinder is on the console what you are seeing is behind you. What I do when I see a good looking feature is to toss a marker bouy behind the boat to keep a frame of reference.

One other thing to keep in mind the shallower the water, the smaller the area you are seeing. The transducer sends out a cone shaped signal that that increases or decreases the area depending on the depth.

Something that helped me get better with a depthfinder-and I still have a looooong way to go-is to run over areas where you know what the bottom is like and see how it shows up. That way, when you see a similar signal you know what the bottom is.

[Big_Drew]

I use mine for the structure layout, finding brushpiles, rockpiles, unseen laydowns, and forage fish in the area. But still pound the bank and concentrate on fishing water 15' and less. Bassically looking for routes bass may take into a feeding or spawning area, and or good breaks they may hold on or move back and forth to.