Do you count on your fishfinder ?

[wannalearn]

Do you only fish when you see fishese on your FF and just take off to a different spot when you see none ?

[J White]

Good question - I at least on my home lakes, I have in my head leaving the
boat ramp several places in order that I'm gonna try, I won't just pass over
one because I don't see fish, but if I make a trolling pass and don't hook up,
I might move to the next one quicker, where as if it is showing a bunch of
baitfish, I might give it another 30 minutes to produce. I kind of regard seeing
the bigger fish on the screen as entertainment, makes me feel good to see it,
but big wads of shad, or the lack thereof, is what I really pay attention to.
On a strange lake, I'll be looking for brush and at the depth too, marking stuff
of interest on the gps as I troll across it. Strange water, I'd feel totally lost
without it, on some of my spots I've fished for years, I'd hardly miss it.

[ShilohRed]

I do on mine. AS I look for brush and stumps. And bait fish. Then fish. But I don't look for fish only.
Also if you are only using the factory setting your not using your not getting everything your fish finder can do.

Pete

[crappieken]

wannalearn - In summer I use my depthfinder to search for schools of bait fish and suspended fish over deeper water. The other times of the year I use it to find structure and cover. Many times when the fish are holding tight to cover they may not show up on your depthfinder even though they are there. When I find good cover that has produced for me in the past I will fish it for a few minutes even if I don't see any fish over the cover.

[Barnacle Bill]

Do you only fish when you see fishese on your FF and just take off to a different spot when you see none ?

Nah, I count on my fingers. (sorry I had to say that) :D
Seriously, I nomally have the fish symbols turned off and crank up the sensitivity. I'd rather see more detail of the bottom. Fish will still show up as arches if you are moving fast enough.

[SteveJ]

Moose you sure sound like a student of Buck Perry. Breaklines and breaks on the breakline, you got any old spoon plugs in your boat.

[CrappiePappy]

to be much better utilized as "depth finders" or "structure/cover finders" ... than actual "fish" finders. Depth finders can "lie" about there being fish within the limits of the influence of the cone angle put out by the unit ... but, don't lie about the depth or bottom structure (unless they're malfunctioning). I've caught fish from underneath the transducer's cone ... and never saw a "fish" on the screen -- and there have been times when I've caught nothing, when the screen was lit up with "fish" -- and I've caught fish at or near the spot/depth that the unit showed fish. But, since I am, more often than not, casting to a "spot" that is way outside the influence of the unit ... it is much better utilized, by me, to stay at a certain depth - find a certain depth - find structure & cover at a certain depth - boat control - and locating "potential" spots that are submerged &/or out of sight. I rely on the "bait" & "method/technique" I use, to be my "fish finder" ... and, the Sonar Unit, to find where to conduct my search "with" that particular bait & method.

Use the unit as another "tool" ... not as the "primary" method of locating "fish" ... and use the knowledge & experiences of yourself and others as another "tool", to put you where the fish should be; at that time & place. That's what people used to use - BEFORE there was such a thing as a "depth/fish finder" ... knowledge of the habits and habitats of the fish they were after - & experiences under varying conditions. We still depend on those things, today. We've just added the "conveniences" of technological tools - to aid us in our pursuit. If those units were actually "fish finders" ... we wouldn't need maps, this board, knowledge of the fish or its prey, or any of the other "tools" - we'd just turn on the unit and run around any lake, "finding" fish.

I don't mean to imply that the units are useless ... even at "finding" fish (although that is, generally, a secondary byproduct result while searching for structure/cover). I'm just saying that it may be a mistake to "depend", or become dependent on them - to find fish for you. Use the technology of these tools, along with your other tools and knowledge & experiences gained, to fine tune your approach & to put YOU in the position to know where to "find" those fish you seek.

They say that 90% of the fish are in 10% of the water - meaning that most fish are schooling fish, and not evenly dispersed throughout the confines of any given body of water. Fish use cover, for their own safety and as ambush sites. Cover is found on structure. Structure is the varying contours of the bottom of a body of water. If you "know" what structure has the cover, that the fish you seek will be using at "that" time, & under "those" conditions ... and use your depth finder to "find" the cover, that is on that structure -- then you will "find" fish ... eventually.

addendum -
I don't discount the fact that Crappie will suspend under or near a school of baitfish, in open water. In that case - the "structure" is the depth, and the "cover" is the low light conditions of that depth. The Thermocline, water temps, & oxygen levels of that depth are other "factors" in the mix ... but, mostly as limits. If those "factors" were not favorable - the baitfish would not be there, and subsequently - neither would the Crappie.

But - that's just "my" opinion ... for what it's worth. ..... luck2ya ....cp

[Eager Beaver]

Do you only fish when you see fishese on your FF and just take off to a different spot when you see none ?

When I am ice fishing and using a flasher unit I will check a hole and see if I see any fish with the flasher and if I don't I will move to another hole and check for fish and will do this until I see fish on the unit.
In the spring and summer I use my Depth finder to locate, structure and ledges, more than fish. I fish more aggressively when I see fish on the locator though. I don't spend as much time on a spot where I didn't see any fish on my unit, but will fish each one for awhile until I determine that the fish aren't there.

[Mike Sutton]

What does a spoonplug look like?

[SteveJ]

http://buckperry.com/