Forget the GPS. Teach me to....

[jcd]

Hi Haugboss,

That seems to be pretty good idea..But, still need to figure out the differences between weeds, brushpiles etc...I want to know what I am looking at..


Jeremy
Thanks
Bye

[Cane Pole]

Go to Lowrance web and download a sonar emulator. You can practice using the sonar on your computer. Practice with the emulator and you will become more comfortable with the "knobs" when you do use the real thing. The more you use these emulators, the less you are dependant on the manuals. Get familiar with the your unit, but the best place to learn is on the water. Nothing replaces experience.

[jcd]

Hi,

I love to fish and I try to often as possible..But, sometimes just get flustrated trying to figure out the fish finder/gps....It supposed to be relaxing and fun...I guess I don't make it fun for myself when I fighting to figure out the fish finder and gps...I think I have the gps figured out pretty well...Just have to figure what I am looking at on the fish finder/ what part of the section of the water the fish finder is picking up...


Jeremy
Thanks
Bye

[Darryl Morris]

The article from Eagle is a good one. Sometimes you've gotta know how or why something works before you can understand it's final result. Bottomline, the unit is painting a picture of what it's sonar is bouncing off of. There is a bottom (the darker black line at the bottom of the screen, thin and solid for a hard bottom, sometime thicker for a soft bottom, either way it's still the bottom) and then there is stuff sitting on top of the bottom (look different depending on direction and speed of your boat.) If you don't see these kind of pictures it can only be one of two things -- you're not pinging the cover because you're not on it or your sensitivity is set way too high. Or maybe one more thing -- you're seeing these things and don't realize it. You will. Stay on the water and put two and two together for what works. Remember too, the rule of thumb for the size of your sonar cone at the bottom is only about 1/3 of the overall depth. So if you're in 12ft. of water you're only seeing a 4ft. circle at the bottom. If you mark a fish at 4ft. then that fish swam directly through your cone that was only covering a 1ft. circle. This becomes important when you're fishing a brushpile and need to know where on the brushpile the fish are holding. Just because you're fishing the pile doesn't mean your in the dinning room.

[anchorpuller]

Wow. I was kinda being a smart aleck. But I've gotten a LOT of good info from y'all as usual.
Skip, thanks I will watch for the stuff coming up from the bottom. Problem I have is by the time I see it, alot of times I've moved over it and can't seem to find it again!
JCD,
Good information you got, but tells me more about HOW it works than what I'm looking at.
Darryl, If I was your sister, I'd guilt trip you into coming to NC to show me! I do think I've found what you describe and can identify.... it's just the finding it again I'm having difficulty with! :D
Haug, Very good suggestion. In fact, I've played with it over some COE brushpiles and I've actually found a couple that weren't COE..or at least not marked ones.
Cane Pole, Thanks. I will indeed go look. Mine is a Lowrance...maybe I can get some knowledge working on it there. But, you are right, experience is what I need. Gotta play more with the gadgets and fish less! :D

[jcd]

Hi Darryl,

What's up?..I guess I'm slow or just not that smart?...I just want to know what section of the water or somewhat area the fish finder picks up with the transducer in the back of the boat....If I see the brushpile on the fish finder?...How do I do where it is in the water?...


Jeremy
Thanks
Bye

[Darryl Morris]

Hey Laura, use a marker bouy. Having a close up physical reference on the water is a great help. Take into account where your transducer is on your boat and then adjust your throw from there. Example, if it's on the front of the boat, by the time it paints a good picture of the brush it'll be a the back of the boat physically. If your transducer is on the transom, then it will be even further behind the boat once you get a good full picture. Eventually, you'll get to the point where you recognize cover right when it first starts painting the picture and you'll throw your marker right in the middle of it. Fish around it or throw it up wind and you'll find the pile on the down wind side of the marker. You can do the same thing with a gps making a weighpoint, go back and find the pile and then throw a marker, if you still need it, once you find where on the pile the fish are holding and feeding. I use markers alot and especially in windy conditions. Use two, one up wind and another in front of your for triangulation.

[anchorpuller]

Hey Laura, use a marker bouy. Having a close up physical reference on the water is a great help. Take into account where your transducer is on your boat and then adjust your throw from there. Example, if it's on the front of the boat, by the time it paints a good picture of the brush it'll be a the back of the boat physically. If your transducer is on the transom, then it will be even further behind the boat once you get a good full picture. Eventually, you'll get to the point where you recognize cover right when it first starts painting the picture and you'll throw your marker right in the middle of it. Fish around it or throw it up wind and you'll find the pile on the down wind side of the marker. You can do the same thing with a gps making a weighpoint, go back and find the pile and then throw a marker, if you still need it, once you find where on the pile the fish are holding and feeding. I use markers alot and especially in windy conditions.

Duh... (as I slap my forehead). That's EXACTLY what I need to do! Thanks!

[CrappiePappy]

Hi Darryl,

What's up?..I guess I'm slow or just not that smart?...I just want to know what section of the water or somewhat area the fish finder picks up with the transducer in the back of the boat....If I see the brushpile on the fish finder?...How do I do where it is in the water?...


Jeremy
Thanks
Bye

The "cone angle" of your transducer makes a big difference in what you see, and how much area of the water below you that's being shown. If you have a transducer that has a 20deg cone angle ... then you can tell how big a circle of bottom that you are seeing. The diameter (width) of the circle of bottom, will be 1/3 as wide as the depth of water you're in. So, if you are in 21ft of water ... and your cone angle is 20deg ... then you are seeing a circle of bottom that is 7ft wide. That would be 3.5ft to either side of the center of the transducer, wherever you had it placed. Deeper water = wider circle of bottom being shown .... shallower water = smaller circle of bottom.

If you happen to have a 60deg cone angle transducer ... then you are seeing the same width of circle as the depth -- in 21ft of water, your bottom circle would be 21ft wide (10.5ft distance from the center of the tranducer, in any direction).

If you have the tranducer on the transom (back end of the boat) ... and you started seeing "stuff" on your screen ... then you are probably right over top of it, and have already passed over it with the front end of the boat. What is displayed on your screen is whatever comes into your "cone". The sound (signal) is sent away from the transducer, and gets bigger (wider, but in a cone shape) as it gets deeper. Anything that interrupts that signal, will show on your screen. The bottom of the lake will show as the bottom of your screen picture ... cover (obstacles) will show as something coming off the bottom ... fish will show as arches, lines, partial arches, or fish shaped symbols (depending on how you have your unit set).

Read thru this tutorial, and see if it clears things up for you : http://www.lowrance.com/Tutorials/So...utorial_01.asp

.......... luck2ya ... cp

[chaunc]

I learned how to interpet what i was seeing on my locator by putting a 1/2 oz bell sinker on 20# test line and dropping it down and tapping bottom to tell what i was seeing. Dont put a hook on it or you'll snag up often. I would see a rise in the bottom, drop the sinker down to it. If its a rock pile, brushpile, or stump, i could feel it. If it was weeds, my sinker would just glide thru. I would see the bottom line go from thick to thin and i'd drop that sinker down to tap the bottom. I could tell mud from rock and shells as the shells would crunch and the sinker would stick in the mud but just bounce on the rock. I started out with a set that only had 128 pixels and didn't show much detail. It would show tree branches as fish most times. If the (fish) stayed stationary for a period of time, i'd drop that sinker down and try to tap the (fish) with it. Thats how i found out it was a branch. I've had quite a few diffrent sets since then and i've gotten better with each one. I now have 2 units on my boat. A 320 on my trolling motor and a 480 on my transom. Both eagles. I dont need the sinker anymore as with my experience over the years and these models showing such great detail, i can interpet what i see very easily now. Take your time, use this method, and you'll learn to use that locator really good.