[font "Arial"][#000000][size 2]Hi Folks! [cool] It's been said that any serious fisherman must have a sonar. And for my small boat I finally won an auction and got the Lowrance x126. (Upon the recommendation of one BFT'er with a very fine reputation). [
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Hearing the good reports of white bass at UT Lake recently, I went out to find some last week and take my sonar out on it's maiden voyage. Having never used one before personally, below I put some sonar examples, and I wonder if any of you would be willing to assist me on what they might be telling me, please. I didn't see much that resembled the "arc" that I expected to represent fish - and what made it less clear for me was that I could not get anything to bite all morning... Perhaps there are some adjustments I need to make with the sonar, and I'm sure I need to adjust my fishing tactics! [
] Another thing I didn't know what to make of was that I noticed that what I was looking at changed significantly depending on the speed I was traveling. Here goes:
1 - We started out just after 8 AM at the Lindon ramp and headed toward the bubble up. This is what I saw at first at just above trolling speed. Are those thin lines fish?
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2 - I'm open to suggestion on what this large shape is. Is it a fair guess that the others are fish?
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3 - With no hook ups at the bubble up, we went near the Provo river inlet. These marks are anything but the arcs that are supposed to represent fish. In fact, they look very much like what the manual shows as a transducer that is installed at a wrong angle. Yet, I have it installed level, as directed. Still, no bites, casting for bass and dragging minnows for cats.
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4 - At this point I started experimenting with sensitivity, and some other settings. This one shows as fish symbols, and as you can see, the lower marks like in the previous image disappeared. And it is worth noting that once I spead up to move to a different area (10 mph), these upper layer of fish markings disappeared entirely. Was it just murky water? When the manual says the device is supposed to work even at 70mph, well... that's why I'm asking questions. [blush]
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And lastly, I place my
in my cheek to say that I don't need help interpreting THIS one as we were pulling back to the ramp! [sly]
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I hope that's worth a
, and I'm open to comments and suggestions. And I'll thank you in advance for responses!
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[#008000]Hey Roghet,[/#008000]
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[#008000]Utah Lake would be about my last choice for setting up or testing my fish finder. Actually, I seldom even need one there - except occasionally I like to know what the depth of the water might be or the temp.[/#008000]
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[#008000]When your manual says level, it is refering to being level on your boat in relation to the water level. In other words, your transducer should be on a level plane parallel to the water. Also make sure that the transducer is below the bottom of your boat and not where a strake is that could cause bubbles. [/#008000]
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[#008000]Here's my attempt at interpreting your screen shots.
Photo # 1: Those lines are an end-on view of skinny white bass just peeking into the edge of the cone of your sonar.[]
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[#008000]Photo # 3: Carp hanging out under your boat looking for some shade.[sly][/#008000]
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[#008000]Photo # 4: June suckers following your boat - they like to swim single file.[laugh][/#008000]
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[#008000]Photo # 5: Looks like your boat's mascott swam under the transom.[:p][/#008000]
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Okay, I have few suggestions. First get into some deeper water, until you get into water over 10 feet deep, your sonar is not really covering that much water. Double check your transducer location, if it is in a bad spot you will get quite the interference on the screen. When you are marking fish it should be a distinctive arc, unless it is a big ball of baitfish. Some of the clutter could be attributed to weeds as well. A lake with a good population of trout, without much weed growth, would be a great place to start learning how to use your finder. A side from that the default settings should be a good starting point with fine tuning coming with experance.
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[font "Arial"][#000000][size 2]Thanks for making me chuckle in return Fishound! Mystery solved for photo 2! [img]../../../images/gforum/happy.gif[/img] And I know there are suckers in that lake, they think I'm their mamma since I'm the biggest on around! [sly]
I consider a sonar as another tool in my learning process, as I get to know the sport, and the lakes. And I expect that it will pay for itself by telling me when I'm about to lose another prop to rocks and shallow water! [crazy]
I've wondered about the placement of the transducer and my particular boat, it's right where the manual suggests though. I may have to rethink, but I'm NOT such a big sucker that I'll drill any more holes until I take the other valid suggestion made 'bout getting out in some deeper, clearer water.
PS: I'm workin' of getting a new "mascot"! [:p]
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Rog
When you figure it out let me know. I have 3 finders on my boat and one is factory installed in the hull which should rule out being misinstalled. I hardly ever see an arch and it was the same on my old boat. I know if they are going side to side of you that you might see 1/2 an arch. But I too would love to figure it out. I use mine mostly for depth
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I've got a lowrance fish finder and I will only see arcs if my boat is moving a couple of miles per hour. If I'm moving really slow fish will show up as solid lines. I don't know about your finder, but my lowrance on the right hand side of the depth markings will show what is right below the transducer. Drop your jig right below the transducer and see if a solid line falling appers in the column to the right of the depth markings. That column has been pretty useful to me. When I mark fish, I drop my jig and watch it fall to the depth of the fish. It's helped my catch a few fish in my days.
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Awesome post! Tryin' to keep the furry fellas outa my fish basket as well.[cool]
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If you are really moving, then the transducer will only pick up a minimal amount of the returned signal and the fish will not be marked as fish. When you begin to pick up soundings then slow your speed and cut the main motor and work slowly with your trolling motor. As a general rule, white bass travel in schools of fish that are relatively in the same size range and they show up intermittently but in tight schools, carp frequent flats and have a very distinct signature, and crappie hover over open water this time of year when the barometer is high. There is no doubt in my mind that the small fish suspended near the surface in pic 4 were crappie because they will suspend over open water with high barometric pressure. Normally, they relate to distinct structure when suspended in clear water but they will suspend just underneath the surface over indistinct flats in murky water. The higher water temp means that the water cannot hold as much oxygen and the most oxygen is at the surface. Combine that with the minimal light penetration (crappie are very sensitive to bright light,) and that explains why they will be right at the surface where the most oxygenated water is. They are hard to catch under such conditions because they are in a holding pattern and not actively feeding. Try casting a small chartreuse jig under a small float and work methodically and slowly. By the way, white bass will act very similar to crappy under such conditions but they respond better to an action lure such as a no.2 Mepps spinner with a flashy blade then they do to a finesse presentation.
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[font "Arial"][#000000][size 3]Thanks fishguru73 (and others, including those that have even replied privately), for the suggestions and food for thought. [/size][/#000000][/font][font "Arial"][#000000][size 3][
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Including a trip where I was a guest on Sat., I have learned that I am far from the only one that does not get clear arcs on their sonar. And, as to what I'm sure has been proven to many of you, a sonar is just one piece of the puzzle to assist becoming a good fisherman. [cool]
Having such a knowledgeable group to ask question is definitely helping me in the process. So, don't be surprised if I PM you with a follow up query. [
] THANKS AGAIN!
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Cant offer too much assistance, however, pic 1 looks exactly what it looks like on my buddies lowrance when I bring my Vexilar along for me to use in the front of the boat. In other words.. there is a chance that you were getting some interference from someone else's transducer, or mayb you had your own vexilar that you brought along for the ride?
You can also slow down the "Scroll Speed" on the fishfinder so that it doesn't move across the screen as quickly, this will be helpful when you are moving slower for displaying arcs. Or, you can just do like I do, and assume that if there is something on the screen, that is alone it's probably a fish.
Also, I re-iterate what others have said, you need to get it onto some deeper water then give it a good testing out. Utah lake being so shallow, you would only have a circle of about 2-3' on the ground that it's reading. fish could easily brush the edge of the cone and just not show up right on the screen.
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Here is a good link on how a fishfinders works enjoy. [url "http://www.fishfinder-store.com/howfifiwo.html"][/url]http://www.fishfinder-store.com/howfifiwo.html[/url]
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