Thread: Enid/Grenada 7-17/7-23

Originally Posted by Nutbush

Can you explain what we are looking at on the finder?

Baitfish and crappie/bass/drum/etc. 9-15'
Bigger fish-Catfish, big carp, buffalo, from 15-17'
Thermocline or mud line-- 17'-bottom.

Originally Posted by BigRiverMarine

Baitfish and crappie/bass/drum/etc. 9-15'
Bigger fish-Catfish, big carp, buffalo, from 15-17'
Thermocline or mud line-- 17'-bottom.

Ok now my next question may sound stupid, but please you are talking with a novice on these devices. How do you know that? What should I look at to understand that that is catfish around 15' and crappie above? All I see is a lot of colors. I do see a red color on the top part of them and do see where that can be fish.

Originally Posted by Nutbush

Ok now my next question may sound stupid, but please you are talking with a novice on these devices. How do you know that? What should I look at to understand that that is catfish around 15' and crappie above? All I see is a lot of colors. I do see a red color on the top part of them and do see where that can be fish.

Start at the top. From the top of your screen to 9' there isn't a single mark in the graph. The baitfish show up as clouds, or balls around 9'. The crappie and smaller game or trash fish show up as different size spots or groups of spots around the bait. The bigger fish show up as long arches farther down in the column, but can also be up near the bait. They show up as an arch more than crappie do. Crappie tend to stack in groups or schools in a more vertical pattern of spots. The thermocline is easy to see. It's the fuzzy stuff from 17' to the bottom. Not many fish will be in this area as its low in oxygen.

The different colors on the bait balls shows how dense the bait ball is, or how hard the bottom is. The more red, the harder the echo is. Kinda like weather radar where it's raining.

Just a tidbit. The bigger fish like catfish can tolerate lower oxygen levels in the water so they seem to get closer to the thermocline. I've seen this same type pattern near the bottom with mud in the water, so in different times of the year when the thermocline isn't around like it is in the summer months, I figure this is mud settling to the bottom, or being carried near the bottom by some sort of current.

Im no expert by a long shot, and other people interpret what they see on their graph differently, some much better than I do. The key is to fish above, or near the bait. If you start catching fish, repeat the depth that worked. When you don't see these images on your graph, it's time to move!!!!!

Well said BRM. I am by far not an expert at reading them and you don't have to be to find fish. You can key in on a few things that will help you find fish this time of the year. For me I spend more time looking for bait then I do fish. When I find the bait I want to know how deep it is. Then I will do some side imagine to see if I can find any schools of fish. If I do find some I will mark them and hopefully set up an a few way points then start pulling.

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Great pics & report- Grenada will be ready soon.