03-06-2014, 02:32 PM
[#0000FF]Not all sonars are created equal...or perform the same. My experience has been limited to "low end" units I have selected mainly for showing bottom conditions, temperature and fish locations. Most of these units do not have the wattage, sensitivity or side-finding functions to show more than what I use them for. Whenever I move quickly over bottom that slopes up or down, I see that on the screen okay. But if I mess with the transducer mount...trying to "see ahead"...I just get wierdness on the screen.
I have had a few attempts...while shooting in toward an upward sloping shoreline...that I was able to see some fish between myself and the shore. But trying that out in open water doesn't work well because the systems are designed to ping off the bottom...and not just to show other objects within range.
I have been using "fish finders" on my float tubes for about 30 years...beginning with an old Lowrance flasher. That first machine was big and bulky and I had to balance it on the front of my tube. The power was supplied by two 6 volt lantern batteries rigged in series to put out 12 volts...and they didn't last long. Expensive to operate. Later I graduated to acid-filled motorcycle batteries that had to be kept upright to avoid spillage.
Since then I have tried a whole lot of sonars. The explosion of modern electronics and new sonar options in the past few years has been amazing. I wish I had the money and ability to try them all. But I don't. As long as I get good readouts on bottom conditions, structure, fish and temperature I am good with it. Too many more bells and whistles and I would spend all my time playing with the toys instead of fishing.
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I have had a few attempts...while shooting in toward an upward sloping shoreline...that I was able to see some fish between myself and the shore. But trying that out in open water doesn't work well because the systems are designed to ping off the bottom...and not just to show other objects within range.
I have been using "fish finders" on my float tubes for about 30 years...beginning with an old Lowrance flasher. That first machine was big and bulky and I had to balance it on the front of my tube. The power was supplied by two 6 volt lantern batteries rigged in series to put out 12 volts...and they didn't last long. Expensive to operate. Later I graduated to acid-filled motorcycle batteries that had to be kept upright to avoid spillage.
Since then I have tried a whole lot of sonars. The explosion of modern electronics and new sonar options in the past few years has been amazing. I wish I had the money and ability to try them all. But I don't. As long as I get good readouts on bottom conditions, structure, fish and temperature I am good with it. Too many more bells and whistles and I would spend all my time playing with the toys instead of fishing.
[/#0000FF]
[signature]