Thread: depth finder interpretations......

Thanks for info. Ive seen the ball of bait come in and out but never seen it so thick that it created a false bottom reading.

How sensitive sould I set the ff? If I float a jig in the cone it makes a thick line, is that to sensitive? I was going to take some pix last night but I was missing batteries for nearly everything, even flashlights.

Originally Posted by sccamper

Thanks for info. Ive seen the ball of bait come in and out but never seen it so thick that it created a false bottom reading.

How sensitive sould I set the ff? If I float a jig in the cone it makes a thick line, is that to sensitive? I was going to take some pix last night but I was missing batteries for nearly everything, even flashlights.

Ive seen schools of perch on Norman do that.

Originally Posted by sccamper

Thanks for info. Ive seen the ball of bait come in and out but never seen it so thick that it created a false bottom reading.

How sensitive sould I set the ff? If I float a jig in the cone it makes a thick line, is that to sensitive? I was going to take some pix last night but I was missing batteries for nearly everything, even flashlights.

I think all the sensitivity setting are different on different units. Ex: on my Hummingbird 727 I set it about 90% and on the Eagle 480 I usually run it about 77% with the big motor running. I'll turn the Eagle down to about 70% while anchored. I dont want to see clutter on the screen once everything is settled. Once anchored I'll lower the sensitivity about 5-10% so I dont pick up EVERYTHING and then I can pretty much believe what I see on the finder as bait and fish. And yes, I believe you should still be able to see your jig on the screen. I wouldnt back off the sensitivity to the point where I didnt see it.
One problem I have is I have 8 rod holders out each end of my boat so when two are fishing we have lines down inside the cone of the ff. You'll spot those as steady lines coming across the screen if the sensitivity is up on the unit. If you dont want to see 'em you can lighten up on the sensitivity till they are gone but I usually dont. It's cool to see a fish move up to your minnow (that line) and go back down taking the rod down with it.

bait ball I think.On a ledge in laneir

looks like bait ball to me too

is that a fish to the left of the ball or just more bait you think?

Originally Posted by gabowman

Been catching crappie in this spot at with my lines set around 25' deep. In this pic you see the bait down from the surface to around 8' and several crappie ranging from 25 to 30 feet deep.

How can you tell those are crappie?

Unfortunately, the finder just shows stuff underneath the boat that it didnt show when I first dropped anchors but it doesnt tell you exactly WHAT youre seeing. Wished it did, but I dont know of a unit that does. It's mostly up to each individual to try determining what youre seeing on your unit that wasnt there an hour ago when you havent moved during that time. The more you study it while out fishing the more I believe you learn. For me atleast, when I see a pattern of lines appearing and disappearing at a same steady depth underneath the shad I try dropping a few lines to within a foot or show shy of that depth as see if there's any takers. If I tend to catch crappie off them rods then I feel most of the lines I'm seeing are crappie......but who knows?!? If there's enough "lines" appearing in one depth more so than at any other depths and I catch some fish at those depths, I'll move most all my lines to that depth.