What is this?

[gabowman]

Here's a pic of the sonar while anchored night stalking the other nite. Since I'm new to depth finders so what do you guys think I'm seeing on the screen? BTW, I was set up on a clean botton and did have threadfin coming to the top while fishing. We were catching most of our a couple feet from the bottom and a few @ 14 foot deep.

[gabowman]

Here's another view. I kept the sensitivity set at 70% withy the fish ID cut off.

[Jerry Blake]

The cloud at the top looks like surface clutter and/or shad. Those dark lines that start and stop and change depth levels are probably fish that are swimming into and out of the "cone" or view of your graph (assuming the boat is not moving) at depths from around 15-feet to 25-feet and also close to the bottom.

We've been led to believe that we should be seeing "fish arches" on our depth finders but in order to get a "typical" arch the boat or fish has to be moving at a pretty good clip and the fish must pass completely through the cone from one side to the other in a short period of time. If the fish stays in the cone it will make a dark line. If it stays at the same depth the dark line will go straight across the screen. If the fish changes depth the line will move up or down accordingly.

If you'll watch the screen for a bit while anchored in one spot and note where the fish are hanging out and then turn on your Fish ID you can tell if your Fish ID is really showing fish or not.

If it's showing a few fish symbols where you were seeing lines with the ID off it's probably adjusted pretty well but if you are seeing fish symbols all the way up and down the screen, in the areas that appear to be surface clutter and areas that you weren't seeing fish then you should adjust your fish ID sensitivity down - not the main sensitivity.

Each fish symbol that shows up on your screen isn’t necessarily a different fish. With fish ID on you may see the same fish over and over as long as it stays in the cone and it may move up and down in depth just like the lines do when a fish changes depth.

I use the Fish ID on my Matrix when I am “Hovering” over a brushpile and it shows both the lines and fish symbols. I have the sensitivity adjusted so that I don’t see any fish when I go back over a bamboo bed I just dropped and I know there are no fish there yet.

I can see a 1/16th ounce jig on my screen and see it move up and down as I lift and lower my rod tip. If I turn my Fish ID sensitivity up one or two settings it will show a fish at the peak of the arch if I move the jig up and drop it suddenly. I guess it is picking up on the movement or depth change of the jig. This is another way of checking to see if my Fish ID sensitivity is set about right – if it shows my jig as a fish it’s set too high.

[FisherMike]

You've go baitfish at 5 to 10 feet, larger fish (crappie, bass, northerns) hard to tell, feeding under the school and probibly crappie 25 feet to the bottom.

[410MAN]

could be loch ness monster with some friendas:D
i never can understand my electronics

[slabbandit]

Before reading Jerry's reply it looked to me like shad down to about 10 feet. Crappie or other fish at about 15 to 20 ft. And a few other fish near the bottom.

I knew that while sitting still that fish usually will just mark a straight line while in the cone. I prefer to use my Eagle Ultra Classic with the fish ID off.This is because,until I read Jerry's post,I didn't fully understand how to adjust the sensitivity of the fish ID or the unit in general.

I will be playing with the fish ID more to get the most out of my unit. I really like seeing actual graph pics and I think it helps everyone to understand what they are seeing on their own units.

[bentpole]

Thank you gabowman for the pic's & jerry for explaining the use of it.By any change could we have more pic's & lesson's on there use? I think there would be ALOT of people that could use the info,me for one.:D

[gabowman]

Thank you gabowman for the pic's & jerry for explaining the use of it.By any change could we have more pic's & lesson's on there use? I think there would be ALOT of people that could use the info,me for one.:D

bentpole, that is exactly why I posted a this thread & a couple pictures. We can all sit around talking about our sonar but without pictures and comments with those pictures I feel I aint really learning very much. Hopefully some of the more knowledgable guys that reads and trusts their units will post some pictures explaining what they are seeing so it'll help those like me that are in the beginning stages of trying to relate the pictures to what is actually there. Thanks for all the replys guys and if you can take along a camera and take a couple pictures so we can all learn a few things.

[rango]

the long horizonal lines are fish. at the very top is surface clutter and between the fish and surface clutter looks like a school of shad.when you are sittin still or moving very slow you arent gonna get the inverted v's like you get while moving faster.

[tarheel]

I love this site! Great Posts....................Very informative......... I really lack when it comes to modern electronics and would love to see move pics with analysis.