depth finder interpretations......

if you have any photos of your depth finder screen showing whats down below and your interpretation of whats being shown, post em. this should help those of you who are not all that familair with what you are seeing down below to understand what you are seeing. any tips on operating finders that may help others, feel free to post em. hopefully it will help others gain more knowledge of those magical instruments that have become a big part of our fishing. i plan on keeping my camera handy and when i see something interesting ill try to get a photo. if you are using flash, dont fire directly into the screen. this will cause a glare. shoot at a little bit of an angle which will cause the flash light to bounce away from the camera lens.

Rango I will post some pics from my sonar memory card just as soon as I find my usb cable. I went fri night and sat night, and I marked one pretty site. Bait above a school of stripers in 24ft up to a hump which was 10 ft. I have one for ya. I have noticed when striper are on the bottom they will not bite! (WATEREE LAKE) Some others say the same thing. One of my good friends told me this months ago and I tried to fish them, and he was right. I cannot get them to bite. Alot of people were at the big rock down at cedar creek,I fished it for a hour with 3 takers. Jet ski,s everywhere:mad: Sometime I think they love just makeing anglers mad.

Way to go Rango, There's something for all of us to learn from them. I'll have to keep the camera in the boat. Just have to remember to use the (stop screen) so we have time to get the picture...

Took this one while anchored on a nitestalk last nite. A little surface clutter mixed with baitfish anywhere from the top to about 8' deep with bigger fish underneath. Horizontal line?!? I am guessing a fish moving from deep to the bait. More horizontal lines last night than normal (usually dont see much of them).

Here's one more while anchored last night. Looks like bait fish from 2'-10' deep with larger fish from 10'-15' deep. A few more horizontal lines....

those lines are interesting. maybe its a fish coming out of the deep to grab a shad. dropping a jig or bait down through the transducer cone will also cause a diaganal line like that. but the line angle will be running the other direction

That’s great, You sure gave me something to think about. I have a x-20 with a 3ft. Hydroglow green light. I think I draw in to much bait and blacks out the screen. I’ll have to try to turn the sensitivity down and see if that helps. I’m a screen watcher but have been turning it off at night. I think you just taught an old dog a new trick… Thanks

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by gabowman

Here's one more while anchored last night. Looks like bait fish from 2'-10' deep with larger fish from 10'-15' deep. A few more horizontal lines....

---

Maybe the anchor rope??

I'm guessing the lines are fish going to the bait. The anchor rope doesnt go straight down. Had 100' of rope out on chene anchors, transducer on the other side of the motor from the back anchor. I fished the front of the boat on 4 rod holders, all tight lines 10-12' deep and one rod casting out in front of me fishing a float at
3' deep. If you notice the two different pics one line comes all the way up to the bait and in the other pic it went out from under the transducer cone at 10' or so, with another fading way before it got near the top.

Anybody else got any pics they can post to show us more? Be sure to carry your cameras along to get a couple on the next trip. I'll do the same. They aint gotta be pics of a night stalk.....a moving boat will help us out alots too.

the lines are interesting to say the least. since the graph records from right to left, whatever the cone is picking up is being recorded on the right side and as the object stays in the cone and not moving fish are gonna show as a long line across the screen. something going down like a bait or jig the angle of the line would be in the opposite direction than your screen shows. as the cone picks up the bait, and the screen moves to the left, then the line would start at the surface and as the screen moves to the left and the bait falls, the line will run in the opposite direction, angling across the screen in the opposite direction than it is showing on your screen. it must be a fish moving into the cone at the bottom and moving up to the bait fish drawing the line as shown. thats how im reading it anyway

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by crip47

That’s great, You sure gave me something to think about. I have a x-20 with a 3ft. Hydroglow green light. I think I draw in to much bait and blacks out the screen. I’ll have to try to turn the sensitivity down and see if that helps. I’m a screen watcher but have been turning it off at night. I think you just taught an old dog a new trick… Thanks

---

Those green lights draw in much more bait, crappie, and striper than those white ones.

Right Rango

very good post rango especially for us learning to use the darn things

Great idea Rango and even though I have been using depth finders for well over 35 years I still have much I could learn. I think it's because I never had anyone tell me exactly what I was looking between the bottom and the surface so primarily I have used it to see the breaks, grass, stumps, brush piles, balls of bait fish, etc. Still much of the stuff on there I am not totally sure what it is.

Interesting them lines are and I had the same lines on mine the other day, even had more than one at a time on a couple of occasions. I was stumped shall we say, LOL!

I will try to take my camera also to see if I can capture some interesting things like this and other images.

Here is one form a Humminbird 987c SI. And its a log. Yes both screens its a log.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...scantree01.jpg
Here is a ball of bait fish and fish around it.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...icklake006.jpg
Here is a nice one of bait and fish. And as a bonus it has the waypoint on it.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...ickwick019.jpg
Pete

I like that!!! looks like a nice fishfinder. How do you like it.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Yank

I like that!!! looks like a nice fishfinder. How do you like it.

---

Its great and allows you to cover so much more water then you could Evey cover with a standard unit in a days time.
Pete

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ShilohRed

Its great and allows you to cover so much more water then you could Evey cover with a standard unit in a days time.
Pete

---

is that a school of crappie in the one photo? this unit certainly gives a different perspective on how and what you seeing down below. I was gonna get some photos on our wateree trip this past weekend but the camera was acting up.

Thats nice but the 2000$ price tag is a little rich for my blood.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Yank

Thats nice but the 2000$ price tag is a little rich for my blood.

---

ouch.. that is sorta steep for most folks, me to... :(

It has been so long since I have been out at night I need a question answered please. I have a Humminbird wide 100 on the stern of my 16' Skiff that I left on Friday night while anchored. I had a steady stream of fish circling the boat down around 20 ' or so with the light hung at 10'. The bait showed up as small clumps and while the finder showed them, the fish I.D. showed more fish lower and displayed the vertical line and depth over each one. I am assuming that the bait fish were not marked because of their size, while the bigger fish (stripes, hybrids, etc) were marked. Does anyone know if this is correct? Or is it possible what was marked was just a thicker clump of bait? The unit did put up a fish symbol each time it did this. I know it is not an expensive unit but all I can really afford. It is like a cats meow to me since I used to use a flasher unit. Any help would be Appreciated.

i use the inverted v signal on my lowrance unit and not the fish id. if you are anchored or moving very slow, the fish will show up as horozinal lines instead of inverted v's. once i get anchored i cut the unit off. i dont need it while im anchored. if your unit is still showing the bait balls and individual fish signals under them, then id say its game fish hung under the bait, preying on the bait.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by gabowman

Here's one more while anchored last night. Looks like bait fish from 2'-10' deep with larger fish from 10'-15' deep. A few more horizontal lines....

---

this past saturday at wateree i had one or two of those lines appear, and dissapear with the same angle, so i figured it was fish coming up and feeding on the bait above em.

Baitfish usually look like a cloud on mine and larger fish get targeted usually under the bait.

Thank you sir. I appreciate the help

Hey Carl, carry along a camera next time and post a pic or two on here so we can see what you're seeing. Some knowledgeable guys here that might can help you right oiut!

ON THE PICTURES OF LOGS ON BOTH SCREENS ---ARE THE LOGS ON THE BANKS OR ON THE BOTTOM ?
HOW CAN YOU TELL THE DISTANCE ?:confused:

one of the fishermen on tv was using one of the humingbird units yesterday. it was neat at the things it was picking up.. It was showing tires on the bottom and there wasnt no doubt about what it was marking.

Rango I believe those were crappie, But we did not catch any fish out of it. That part was my fault. LOL

Frank that log is straight under the boat. The line in the middle is where the boat has traveled. And from there to the left and right blue color is water. Then that log showing on both sides is what you get when going straight over a object.
So if you look at the standard image on the left. That is the standard unit like everyones . But then the right is the same view. The side imaging unit shoots straight down and out So your still looking to the bottom, And then out the side That picture I have the unit set on 56ft out each side.

And Yes when you move the cursor over to mark say a log. at the top of the picture it tells you how many feet to the side it is from the boat. And also how far behind the boat it is.
The marker on this shot is 75ft out from the right side of the boat ( Only shooting out from one side in this one) and when I marked it. The boat was 257 ft past the spot.
This shot is of a hole in the Tn River, AS you can see logs everywhere. And drops and humps. It near the bank and also on a big flat.(Boat is within 20ft of the bank. been running by it for years and did not know its there. Its on an inside bend.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...eWestNorth.jpg

i took this photo showing what electrical interference looks like on a sonar. this unit is hooked up with the transducer on the troller motor. a little bit of a change in the speed cleared it right up, as shown in the second photo

No wonder I couldn't get those things to bite. Thanks

Rango, thanks for this thread. In a few more weeks,I have a spot on my lake where the fish start to stack up,Its 20 FT deep,the school is 10 ft thick, between 5 & 15 feet down,and 100 yards wide.I have turned my sensitivity at its lowest.The last couple years, as I found the spot,I tried every bait known, and caught a couple of the biggest gills that I ever seen on crickets. Its frustrating, cause as the bait drops,you can see the line slacking as it is hitting fish, I assume its probably shad. I have a humminbird, and hope to send some pictures in a few weeks. Thanks to everyone for keeping this going. Mud

i havent contributed much to this thread yet, but hope to do so when we start hunting fish again. its interesting to see the different screens and the guys interpretation of whats on it.

I was out striper fishing and did not have my camera with me. Recorded this on a chip and then put it on my computer and took the picture. The depthfinder was set at 15 ft. upper and 50 ft. lower limits. I also did not let it run long enough since it didn’t fill up the screen. The purple line was my sinkers and bait and the rest were stripers. We had a ball

I havne't got a pic of this, but I saw it happen several times to me last year when striper fishing or catfishing. When fishing downlines for stripes or suspended cats alot of times the baits under your boat will look like a straight line with a squiggly line running through it. This is you sinker(straight line)and the shad(squiggly line). I've seen a school of fish (arches) below the biat and then seen a line shoot up to the bait like that and go back down. Then when you look over, you got a rod doubled over. it's like watching them bite it. I've also done this with jiggind spoons. You can see a spoon on there and watch it fo up and down as you jig it. When you mark fish, you just adjust the spoon to hang right in there face, shake it and bam, fish on. I'll try to get some pics. later!!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by crip47

I was out striper fishing and did not have my camera with me. Recorded this on a chip and then put it on my computer and took the picture. The depthfinder was set at 15 ft. upper and 50 ft. lower limits. I also did not let it run long enough since it didn’t fill up the screen. The purple line was my sinkers and bait and the rest were stripers. We had a ball

---

thats a great photo of schooling fish under your boat. If you running the lake and you suddenly see something like that pop up, get your baits in the water cause things is gonna be poppin :)

I have seen some of the same patterns at Norman when fishing vertical in front of Cowans Ford Dam. Cats and stripers suspended around 38 feet in 100 feet of water. It makes for exciting fishing at certain times of the year.

heres a photo i made of the lowrance last week down at wateree. the zig zag line near the bottom is my lead, where i was working the rod, for the sake of this photo, and the broken line just below the wavy line is my big shiner i had on. the solid black line just below the two lines is a fish, with several fish suspended above the baits.

That's cool Rango. Now I'm gonna have to play with mine to see if I got it set up anywhere like close enough to see that. Thanks for sharing.

At times I have the same trouble as Rango's pictures show. I can usally clear this up by setting the depth of the trolling motor down a little deeper. This work if your transducer is at the back of the boat. I beleive it is air bubbles off the trolling motor prop.

the lowrance give you the option of several different displays. i like the black display option instead of the grayline effect, since it makes it a lot easier for me to see the bottom. the wide black band at the top is surface clutter, which usually shows up as light gray, but with this setting it is black.