Depth Finder

[crankitup]

So I have been trying to fish deeper water here recently. Typically 15-25'. So I troll around looking for bottom structure with my depth finder chart speed set to 100% and come across what looks like a stump. At that point I do not know how far the stump is from were I am at. I assume it is directly below me but am not sure. I hear some of the pro's saying they can see the fish coming and going around there lure???. I took one of these locations and saved it to my handheld gps. Also how would you approach fishing this?

[Bender]

I'm not sure what the lag time is from the real time. The few times I have done this I used my first cast to try to hit the spot exactly. If there was nothing there then I casted all around it. All with a dropshot and using a round ball weight so that it drops straight.

[carolina-rig-01]

when the pros are talking about seeing their bait on the graph it is usually with a drop shot. this is done by tinkering a lot with sensativity settings among other things until you get the right settings. if you are seeing what looks like a stump it may be a stump. or it could be a rock, or even a tree for that matter. just spend time learning your graph and what it is telling you and you will be amazed at how valuable they can be. as for attacking the spot you described, i like benders idea of a dropshot if the water conditions allow. also don't overlook a texas rigged worm, jig, or even running a deep diving crankbait into whatever is down there. just fish it out as best you can.

[Jigger]

To me the ideal set up is to have on the console a flasher and a graph. The flasher is "real time" and you can read it at pretty high speeds. So if you run over a hump or drop off or brush pile you can go back and graph it in detail at slow speed with the graph. Real-time is the major complaint I have with graphs. You've got to slow way down to read them. Not so with a good flasher. And to complete the perfect set up, a good graph on the bow with the transducer attached to the bottom of a trolling motor.

[crankitup]

Okay makes sense. So when you find this spot how do you approach fishing it? Do you boat right over it and jig straight down or do you park 5', 10' away and try to fish over it? My main problem is not knowing exactly where it is and thinking I am wasint my time when it could be 10-15' in any given direction.

[Jigger]

Originally Posted by crankitup

My main problem is not knowing exactly where it is and thinking I am wasint my time when it could be 10-15' in any given direction.

This statement is a little confusing to me but I'll try and explain. As I stated, the ideal set up is a flasher and graph on the console with a graph on the bow with the transducer on the bottom of the trolling motor. So, if you've got all that or even some of it, here's what might be a scenario: You're traveling down the lake at say, 30mph watching your flasher in about 30 ft of water when you come up on a 10 to 15 ft hump or long point. You stop, turn around and slow way down. You turn off the flasher and turn on the graph on the console to check it out more thoroughly. You've got 3 or 4 or more marker buoys next to you. You motor around until you think you understand the dimensions of the hump or point. Then you can go back over the edges of the hump/point and drop marker buoys to show you the dimensions. (If you're worried about spooking the fish, cut the big motor and check the hump or point out with the trolling motor down and use the bow mounted graph which is going to show you what is directly under you.) Note that the deeper the hump/point is the less likely the big motor is to spook fish and most reservoir fish are very used to outboard motors traveling over them on mid-lake humps/points. Also note that the transducer on the flasher and graph on the console will be mounted on the transom or shooting through the fiberglass on the transom so keep that in mind.

Now that you know the layout of the hump, point, flat, drop off, creek channel, weed bed, or whatever off shore structure you intend to fish, your question is how to fish it. Let's stick with my hump/point example. I would start with a Carolina rig probably. A C rig talks to you more than any other set up about what's on the bottom. Rocks, stumps, weeds, mud etc. The C rig will tell you if you pay attention. Crankbaits are good also to fish offshore humps and points. Or, drag a jig which is a lot like dragging a C rig. Once I had backed off and fished the point or hump (you know where it is because of the marker buoys, remember?) then I'd move in with the trolling motor and see if I could find anything remarkable on it with the bow mounted graph such as a rock pile, stumps or brush pile (a spot on a spot) for future reference.

[crankitup]

Great expalination. I can definitly do this and find my spot. Do you know where I can get the marker bouy's? I have been visually trying to mark the spot.... not so easy. I will let you know though. Thans for the great advice.

[Fishnngolfn]

This is going to sound like a very stupid question because I have never used one. When using a fish/depth finder what part of the water is shown on the screen? Since the screen is 2 dimensional, is it front to back along the boat or side to side?

[Bender]

It goes out in a 3D cone under the boat:

Unless you have the side imagine unit from Hummingbird. The cone angles vary depending upon the model.

[stevomac59]

See if the sensor of the depth finder is at the back of the boat, if so, the depth finder is showing what you have already passed. SO, after you find a hot spot or structure, turn back and head out about 10-15ft out. This should solve your problemos....

-stevo

[Jigger]

Originally Posted by crankitup

Do you know where I can get the marker bouy's?

Bass Pro Shop, Cabelas, Sportsmans Wearhouse, Academy, Wal Mart, almost anywhere fishing tackle is sold. I like the ones shaped like an "H" with string wrapped around the middle and a weight tied on the end. They're usually bright orange or yellow. If you want to be sneaky and not let others know exactly what you're fishing, tie some mono and a sinker on to a small plastic bottle or something small and obscure that can't be easily seen. I don't bother but I've seen some guys that do this.

[Jigger]

Originally Posted by Bender

It goes out in a 3D cone under the boat:

Unless you have the side imagine unit from Hummingbird. The cone angles vary depending upon the model.

Also note how the cone spreads out the farther it is from the boat/transducer which means that the deeper the water is the more of the bottom you are looking at and the shallower the water the less bottom you see. Also there are different transducers, some being more "wide angle" than others.

[Fishnngolfn]

Originally Posted by Jigger

Also note how the cone spreads out the farther it is from the boat/transducer which means that the deeper the water is the more of the bottom you are looking at and the shallower the water the less bottom you see. Also there are different transducers, some being more "wide angle" than others.

I understand a bit more with the picture. The screen is two dimensional. The 'Y' axis is up and down (depth).
Is the 'X' axis parallel (front to back) with the boat or perpendicular (left and right) with the boat?

[Jigger]

Originally Posted by Fishnngolfn

I understand a bit more with the picture. The screen is two dimensional. The 'Y' axis is up and down (depth).
Is the 'X' axis parallel (front to back) with the boat or perpendicular (left and right) with the boat?

If I understand your question, the cone is circular.

[Fishnngolfn]

Originally Posted by Jigger

If I understand your question, the cone is circular.

But how does the screen show a circular reading along with the depth. Does the screen show 3D? The screens that I have seen or see in on the boxes in stores are not 3D and show a flat cone shape with blotches (fish) and then the bottom structure. Looking at the screen left to right, is that left to right of the boat or front to back? Meaning if I see something on the left side of the screen, is that going to be on the left side of the boat?

[3dkicker]

Think of it this way. You are seeing a front to back 2D slice of the object you cross over. Kind of like an MRI. Don't worry about the 3D to 2D thing. If your transom is on the back of the boat and you go across the object then stop, drop the marker, turn the boat around and you know pretty much that the object is one boat length away from the marker. Cast away until you find the object.

[Fishnngolfn]

Originally Posted by 3dkicker

Think of it this way. You are seeing a front to back 2D slice of the object you cross over. Kind of like an MRI. Don't worry about the 3D to 2D thing. If your transom is on the back of the boat and you go across the object then stop, drop the marker, turn the boat around and you know pretty much that the object is one boat length away from the marker. Cast away until you find the object.

Let me see if I can get this straight. If something appears on the left side of the screen when I pass over it, then it would be on the left side of the boat? If I am still wrong, I am just going to have to get on a boat with one of you guys and have you explain it to me that way.

[Bender]

That is a tricky question. Think of it like 3d said though like an MRI. Left to right on the screen is front to back of the boat (if it is moving). Left to right on the boat is not really shown on screen I don't think, it is jut determined by your cone angle and water depth. Here is a tutorial on how sonar works:
http://www.lowrance.com/Support/Tips...onar-Tutorial/

[Fishnngolfn]

Originally Posted by Bender

That is a tricky question. Think of it like 3d said though like an MRI. Left to right on the screen is front to back of the boat (if it is moving). Left to right on the boat is not really shown on screen I don't think, it is jut determined by your cone angle and water depth. Here is a tutorial on how sonar works:
http://www.lowrance.com/Support/Tips...onar-Tutorial/

I gotcha now (I think). I am asking this because I am think of getting one when I get my pontoon boat. What I should probably do is ask a sales person to visually show me or go some place where I know what the bottom is and go over it with a finder.

I might wait because, Rule #1: You must be smart enough to operate the equipment you are using. From my questions in this thread, it is painfully obvious I am clueless when it comes to depth/fish finders.

[Fishnngolfn]

The left side of the screen is what you have already passed (if moving). The right side of the screen is what is just under the sensor.

[3dkicker]

Ahhhhh, very good grasshopper!!!

Here's another way to think about it. This time the transom is under the trolling motor. I'm moving the front of the boat from left to right across a stump. On my depth finder I will see the left side of the stump first and the right side last.
Now to pass the test and gain monk status answer the following. What happens if I reverse directions and go back over the stump?

[crankitup]

You see the right side of the stump first and the left side last

[3dkicker]

Well done!!! You've passed the exam young Dahli Basser. Now grab the red hot cast iron pot with your forearms and move it to the other side of the room without dropping it or passing out.