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How important do you think they are in your fishing methods?
I would say they are very important I mine especially in learning new water. After spending some time on the water with mine I like em more everyday. They make finding the fish a pleasure and much easier. The side scan is now an everyday use for me lol.
If you are in the market for some I would recommend BRM set em up. He did an outstanding job setting my boat up.
What are y'alls thoughts.
They are as essential as the rod you catch fish with. Especially on new water!
I always say I'd rather have my depth finder than my jig pole. I don't have the side image yet but don't think it will be too long now.
I can't leave home without my 997. I spend a LOT of time looking at it for information....in fact the longer I have owned it the more time I spend with it after learning what it can do and how to use it without looking at the book. That being said.....one of the best Crappie fishermen I know (an ol'timer troller.....in fact the guy that taught both me and Blue Thunder) doesn't even use a depth finder. I guess he commercial fished for so many years that he just instinctively knows what is under the boat and what the fish are doing. Take him to any worthwhile body of water within 50 miles of here and he can draw you a topo map....knows where the channels, creeks, brushtops, ect are all at....like a photographic memory, LOL!!! I've fish beside him in another boat many times when he will tell me the depth and structure at various spots...he ain't never been wrong yet! It gives him a distinct advantage because when I am glancing at the screen for waypoints or whatever, his eyes are glued to those rod tips like a hawk!
I will say this, when I go with JW in his boat it takes us about an hour or two to cover water it would take me all day to cover in my boat. And with side and down imaging there is no speculation as to what's down there. The high end electronics are simply amazing and they maximize your time on the water.
For the infrequent times we fish structure in clearwater lakes we will drop the aquaview color camera and REALLY get a good view of what is down there. If they ain't there we just move on across to the next waypoint.....they can't hide and are bound to be at one of 'em! That's taking no chances and the closest to cheatin' I know, LOL!!! I've made videos of Crappie in Lake Monticello where you can literally count the scales on the fish! BTW, cameras (and binoculars) are outlawed in tourney's and that includes pre-fishin'.
My electronics listed in order of importance to me on my home water
1. Handheld GPS
2. Backup handheld gps that is interfaced to humminbird 718.
3. Humminbird 798
4. Humminbird 718
5. Ipilot on terrova.
6. laptop computer
Electronics in order of importance to me on strange water.
1. Laptop computer.
2. 798
3. 718
4. Ipilot
5. handeld gps #1
6. handheld gps #2
One of my most favorite experiences with the electronics was to make a side imaging recording of the local lake, playing it back on the PC and plugging waypoints into my handheld gps, then going back and catching a limit just off the new waypoints from the recording. I like to play with the electronics, but at the end of the day, you've got to go fishing to catch one. Some people just have the touch to catch fish and will catch whether they are fishing with 50k dollars worth of equipment of 5 dollars worth.
Man I am gonna learn how to do that rcc. I would love to replay the day on the puter. Only problem I would have is finding the time to look at puter. I am gonna back up my waypoints though cause I have a lotta time vested in them and would hate to repeat finding then all over.
Definately more fun to be fishing than looking at the PC. With the 798, the screen is really to small for side imaging on the fly, but it will work in a pinch. With the bigger screens like yours, I would think it may make identifiying things on the water a little easier. It is fun to mess with and it does help with the fishing. The thing that I didn't think I would use is the map screens, but I have found those extemely useful as well.
I guess as far as what has improved my crappie fishing the most is the access to this site. About a zillion years worth of crappie catching experience that a fellow has access to. A living Library of Congress of crappie fishing information. If a guy can't start at page 1 and read 10 pages of posts and not be a better crappie fisherman, he's in a world of hurt.
Quote:
Originally Posted by arkansasbowhunter
Without electronics it would be tougher, even on a lake I've fished for over 40 years.
Proper use of electronics really cuts down time wasted in unproductive areas. On lakes I don't fish very often they are invaluable.
I guess I"m gonna be the odd duck. I wouldn't give two squirts of pee for another fish finder. I've had mine for three years, and had two others before this one, and I don't know what the heck good it does me. I like seeing the water temperature and knowing the depth without having to stick my pole in the water. LOL, but honestly, most places I fish are less than 8 foot deep, usually 2-6 and a fishfinder don't do much good at those depths. Plus, I ain't smart enough to learn how to read one. I've seen fish on them things and try for a day and a half to catch him, and when I do finally catch a fish, I wonder why the humminbird didn't beep. So I'll take a jig pole over a fish finder anyday.
Come fish Lake Ouachita when the water temps are south of 50 degrees and the fish are holding on structure in 40 feet of water and you would change you mind. I'll have to agree though; when the fish are holding shallow my fish finder doesn't do me a whole lot of good other than knowing the depth and water temp.Quote:
Originally Posted by dblevens
I like my GPS/Depth Finder to mark, relocate, and stay on cover and along drop offs first and foremost when im fishing deeper than 5 feet deep, I like it better when im marking fish in the area. Sometimes tho I fish a spot of cover and not see a fish in the graph but i catch fish out of the brush pile, this tells me they are buried in the cover and this most often occurrs in the middle of the sunny days I fish. Allot of times i can tell there are crappie in a area cos I have learned to identify the marks on my graph and the pattern they present on the cover im looking at. This pattern will look like a bunch of dots similar to a shot gun pattern in a medium/small size fish picture on my sonar and if that pattern is around a brush pile or along a drop off I really get excited cos allot of times I feel an immeadiate THUMP!!! when i drop my bait down. And you Know you have FOUND THEM!!! I always have a bouy marker out to help me stay oriented to a brush pile or drop off im fishing when verticle jigging and sometimes even spider rigging. Always throw your bouy marker just far enough to stay out of your way as ur working a piece of cover but close enough to be a help and keep you oriented to the cover your fishing. Verticle Jigging 101...LOL
My primary methods/styles of fishing right now are longlining and dock shooting. Been spending more time doing DS than LL but that's true with any new "thing" you're learning. Time will tell on which side of the fence I fall on, or if I fall to one side at all. DF/FF are more important when LL in this style to me as I can see what's below the boat and make adjustments accordingly. For DS, I think you need the SI to be "productive" as some have said. SI can help in the productivy when LL as well because you can find the fish quicker, when they are 50 feet to the left or right. Guess I will find out if the SI/SS will help in either of my styles right now as the "install" begins. :biggrin
Attachment 92032
If productivity does not increase, well, I've got another toy to play with when the fish ain't bitin' or I can't find 'em. LOL
I wish I didn't have to depend on them so much, Have just recently started taking pics(screen capture on Lowrance), and downloading them to sd card for later use. Didn't have much use for sidescan at first, but it sure is easy to mark with cursor at 40 ft to one side and make w/p to check out later, or go by a good stump, fence row etc. and save them. I need all the help I can get.
I use a HB 898 di si. The thing that I like is that you can mark waypoints from any screen and you dont have to be over it. Take cuts down on a lot of search time
Jimp I are gonna love that unit. I don't use bouys just use the wypt. Bouys get hung up in my lines too easy. Now with the spot lock it makes fishing a wypt very easy.
I haven't used mine at all on 2 lakes this year, but I know the depths and they are under 6 ft deep in the deepest holes, but I sure have pulled a bunh of crappie and bluegills out of those 2 lakes. The fish stay near the smae cover all year long there. No need for a depth finder on these lakes. Otherwise, I only use mine to check depth. Not a great DF, but good enough to tell me its 9.6 fow and structure is 3' high.
i am old school i learned to fish before all these electronics came out so i dont depend on them to catch fish!!!!!
Gotta have good electronics. AND a Navionics card!!! Being primarily a trawler, I'm looking for contours, drops, humps, and cover on this structure. I also need to know the speed I'm moving, so my GPS is my most important piece of gear. DI, and SI are much more detailed than 2D sonar, so I don't depend on that as much anymore other than the temp, and depth, which I can overlay on the SI and DI screens, eliminating 2D all together.
Big River Marine
Bill Burnett
870-635-0202
Wouldnt go fishing without 'em.:rolleyes:
X2!Quote:
Originally Posted by BigRiverMarine
Sent from my HTC EVO 3D using Tapatalk 2
If you used fancy electronics, you could catch twice as many fish, but then again, you can't keep 2 limits:biggrinQuote:
Originally Posted by MEATGETTER
Lmbo RCC.