Graphs

[jglassguy]

I haven't heard any boaters in this group discuss
depth finders, flashers , and graphs, along with GPS units.
Now I know alot of you probably have one of the above, but are you utilizing it? Other than finding the bottom to help manuver the boat, has anyone a tale of how you've locate bass ?
We started out with Lowrance flashers and also graphs that had paper readouts.
Many a boater up at Lake Eric depended on finding the area reefs and hot spots by thier graph info, and this
was long before GPS hit the scene.
What a nightmare those early GPS units were to figure out
I have seen many a angler trying to go through the menu to mark a location and then call it back up lol
Since then the market has made it super easy to read the bottom, and the cost has come down from that elusive 600 dollar range to a much more affordable price.
[img] http://www.fish307.com/images/Lowran...arge_small.jpg [/img] FLASHER

[zman]

What does a flasher give you that a depth finder does not?

[jglassguy]

Depending on the bounce it gets off the bottom it can show brush, what type of bottom, etc
It was a technology that was popular before todays graph shows everything to a tee, but yet many boaters have both flashers and depthfinders on the boat.
I always had one to the right of the dash on the Ranger, and then another up front by the trolling motor plug in, where it was easy to look down as your fish or footpedal the trolling motor, esp. nice when your comming up fast on shallow water of 1 foot or less ..from the bottom of the trolling motor where most sensors are located...

[Rich]

I've got 2 graphs-one on the console and one on the bow with a TM transducer mount. I very rarely use them to locate fish. What I do use them for is to find the structure the fish will be relating to-drop offs, humps, weedlines, etc. If I see fish,especially balls of baitfish so much the better-find the bait and you find the fish.

[zman]

To take this thing in a little different direction, I need to replace my little hummingbird depth finder cause it hardly works anymore. I want to upgrade a little, maybe with a maximum of 300 bucks....what features should I look for? I know very little about using depth finders to locate bass. Is color a useful feature?

[Bassin_Dude]

i wouldnt use a depth finder to locate bass. because when yopu do locate them, they will be right under you. and what are you gunna do? drop something straint down and hope for the best? and if you move and cast to it, whats telling you the bass are still there? i think depth finders are only good for structure, depth, and water temp. but this is all MO.

[Rich]

WTL, I'd stay away from color. If it is anything like a color palm or color cell phone screen, which it probably is, it is difficult to see in direct sunlight.

[jglassguy]

I think if your searching for bait fish ,it will give you an idea that there could be bass nearby ready to feed
Some lakes are so full of shad there everywhere, but at least if your searching an never see bait fish, whats the chance of a bass nearby?

[jeffman]

WTL,

Stick with the units that have around 600 watts of power. That is all you need for inland fishing. The 3000 watt units are for ocean fishing at great depths. If you try to use the high power units in shallw lkes, they will give too strong of a signal and give you all kinds of problems.
Lowrance and Bottom line are good units. I know that some people like Hummingbird, but I am not among them. Eagle is a lower priced model of Lowrance and is handled by Wal-Mart. It is a pretty good unit for the money.
As far as features go, you get what you pay for. Like the monkey said when he pee'd in the ocean, "every little bit helps."

JackL