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I just got my Elite5DSI and have been on the water only 2 times so far. But, I'm wondering, does the boat have to be moving to show fish, or can they be seen if the boat is tied to a tree stump and not moving? Any advice would be appreciated. I am able to see structure, but am having difficulty seeing what I think are fish.
There are some pictures a lots of info on this thread. http://www.crappie.com/crappie/fishi...rtplotter.html
I'll save you a little reading .... well, OK, a whole lot of reading :Rofl (in the thread that Bill posted).
The short answer is yes, it does show fish ... however .... they're not going to be arches or pixel squares like 2d units show, nor are they going to be fish shaped images like a HDS unit will show. They're going to be little colored "spots" :Doh: ... and they're going to be a bit difficult to see, depending on what color pallet you're set on.
As with most any sonar unit, when you're moving you get a "snapshot" pic of whatever comes into the ping spread edge of the transducer signal .... and as you continue to move, it keeps adding to that picture, as each object enters the edge of the signal spread. Now, when you're NOT moving, the objects are going to stay in the signal's view (if they also are not moving) and so you'll get a "line" across the screen ... since the ping is still hitting the object, constantly. You would probably only see something "new" (a fish perhaps) come on the screen, if it happened to swim into the signal spread.
Even in the daytime, I have my color setting on "night" ... and best I can tell, fish are showing up as light blue specks on the black background. Baitfish balls/schools of Shad are very easy to recognize ... and show up as blue/yellow "clouds". I don't really look for the fish, on the screen, as I've become accustomed to the 2d units lying to me :bash and showing "fish" icons when what they were actually seeing wasn't a fish at all :Doh:
I just finished using the unit this weekend, and base what I've said on what I experienced these last couple of days. Occasionally I'd see what I suspected was fish, showing up as the blue spots ... and when I came upon a log or brush, it would show up as more yellow in color, but if there was some blue mixed in, we'd usually catch a fish ..... so :dono take that for what it's worth. All I can tell you "for sure" is that it's not going to show you a fish arch (2d) or be a clear image of a fish (HDS).
... cp :kewl
CP, thanks for saving me a lot of reading!! You confirmed what I was thinking--I just need to find the color pallet that lets me "see" the fish. But I am loving the structure display ! And I totaly agree withe the 2D giving false indications of fish. I am heading out to see if I can input some coords setting in my driveway. I'll let you know how it goes.