| Author |
Message |
    
Woodlander
Senior Member
Username: Woodlander
Post Number: 2156
Registered: 02-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, July 30, 2009 - 06:22 pm: | 
|
I appreciate all the kind words and the emails about my sonar posts. I talked to Mike at the Animal Shelter ski event and he’s going to help me with doing a direct link to an article I’m planning to write on depth finders
I‘m sorry and I know it sounds tacky, but I fish alone for several reasons. The main one is my wife and I work together and are very close but we need our time apart. I guess my fishing alone and her shopping alone gives us a chance to be by ourselves and recharge our batteries. Being out on the lake alone is like meditating to me. Hopefully, this article will make up for not fishing with more people.
I did take a buddy out a couple of times this month. He’s on the Animal Shelter board with me and we’ve all become very close with our struggles to get the Shelter up and running. He bought a Lowrance 510c on my recommendation about a year ago but told me several times that he wasn’t seeing what I was. Sure enough, his transducer was not working. Working with him has given me some insight to the struggles and questions a new user of sonar faces. I still remember him saying, “Now, how do you know these are fish? - OH, I GOT ONE!” lol
I’m going to use the forum as a trial run. I’m going to divide the article into a few sections to keep my focus and make sure I covered the topics thoroughly enough that most will understand. I’m going to include a lot of labeled sonar pictures in each section. I will have to do it over a period of time. Feel free to ask questions that pertain to that section and that might help me. I imagine I’ll be tweaking some things and then putting everything together in a more organized manor. For some it will be boring and drawn out but I don’t want to lose the ones new to sonar which are the ones I really want to reach.
The sections might include among others, “why use a depth finder”, “how sonar works”, “what to look for in purchasing a depth finder“, “how to adjust a depth finder“, “how to read an lcr - liquid crystal recorder”, “where to look for crappie”, where to look for bass”.
The first part is going to be “Why use a depth finder?” That sounds silly but most fishermen don’t do anything with their depth finders but look at the bottom depth and check the temperature. Some continue to fish the year around pretty much the same way they do in the spring. It’s their comfort and confidence zone. Most just quit after the spring spawn and go to the house. It’s always nice to get to the ramp in mid-May and see all the traffic gone. The bass and crappie have moved off the banks and the fishing died for most.
With a good understanding of a depth finder, you can catch fish - lots of fish - the year around.
I’ve read where some say the fish get lethargic in the heat of the summer and just won’t eat well until the water cools in the fall. That’s just not true. The fish have moved. These people are just fishing in the wrong places and the fish don’t come back to those places until the water cools.
A conservative estimate to me would be that 95% of the fish at any one time from mid-May until mid-September are located in 15 to 25 feet of water. They’ll come to the surface to chase shad but most won’t stay there very long. They can’t go much below 30 feet because the water doesn’t contain enough oxygen. Don’t think of 25 feet as fishing deep because it’s really not much deeper than the length of a lot of bass boats and motors.
Here are a couple of pictures from this month. The first one is a Humminbird side imaging and vertical sonar picture. You don’t have to have one of these units to find fish and I’m sure it’s not going to make sense to some, but for a quick interpretation. The right side is the side imaging picture and it's showing 100 feet out to either side of the boat - or 2/3rds of a football field together. Most of what it's showing is a wide place in a creek channel. The dark blue is the wide place and the lighter areas are part of the old creek banks. All those blotches and dashes are fish - predators and prey. The left side of the picture shows a conventional sonar picture. Some creek bottoms are just full of fish. It’s a question of finding the right ones and then the active fish - and anybody can do it with sonar!
This next one is from the same place the same day. This was taken from my 520c after I put my trolling motor down. The fish are everywhere.
These pictures were taken on my digital camera in October of 2007 before Lowrance had added the snap shot feature to their software. My pictures this fall will be a lot better. Those are bass chasing and feeding on shad. Fall is a great time! These fish are so easy to catch. This is exactly what happens when bass chase shad to the surface except there’s 10 to 15 feet of water above them. I’ll bet from what I’ve seen over the years, for every school of bass that you see chasing shad to the surface they’ll be ten schools below the surface.
I hate to think of the mornings I spent sitting in my boat with rod in hand waiting on the fish to surface. I’d troll over to some breaking fish and get there about the time they quit to turn around and see some coming up right where I left! lol I can’t imagine all the fish that were just 10 feet right under me that I never knew were there!
Hopefully, when I finish this article, you should be able to read everything on the screen and go out and find fish to catch like those.
The second part is going to be “how sonar works”. It sounds silly because you don’t have to know how a computer or a television works to use them but a good understanding of how sonar works will make reading them much easier.
I’m working on it! lol |
Rommel
Senior Member
Username: Rommel
Post Number: 75
Registered: 05-2009
| | Posted on Thursday, July 30, 2009 - 06:35 pm: |
|
Outstanding! I for one want you to know I sincerely appreciate the effort you are putting forth to teach those of us without the experience/know how you have what is going on underneath our boats. I also really appreciate the fact your are starting from the basics - thanks, Woodlander - I'll read each one of your posts about 15 times, trust me.... |
Outdrlover
Senior Member
Username: Outdrlover
Post Number: 634
Registered: 07-2006
| | Posted on Thursday, July 30, 2009 - 07:11 pm: |
|
Awesome awesome awesome when the book comes out I want a signed copy lol
Great job
Tommy |
Bassaholic
Senior Member
Username: Bassaholic
Post Number: 348
Registered: 12-2007
| | Posted on Friday, July 31, 2009 - 07:33 am: |
|
Great post Woodlander. Thanks for taking the time and sharing a wealth of knowledge. I thought I knew how to set up my sonar until Lowrance's own Wilson Frazier, showed me how at a championship tourney a few years ago. As good as he is, I have learned more about how to read it from your posts. Again, thanks a bunch. |
Terryk
Member
Username: Terryk
Post Number: 28
Registered: 08-2003
| | Posted on Friday, July 31, 2009 - 09:46 am: |
|
Great post and I also am grateful for the info. I don't own an expensive sonar (cuda 168) but I am planning to in the future. One question,are there many days that you find the fish but they aren't feeding or can you find feeding bass every day if you keep searching and what is your ratio between feeding fish days and non-feeding days if that is the case? Sorry two questions in one long sentence. Terry Farmer |
Barryc
Senior Member
Username: Barryc
Post Number: 136
Registered: 04-2003
| | Posted on Friday, July 31, 2009 - 01:19 pm: |
|
Woodlander, I can't say enough about what a True Sportsman you are. You have always been a wealth of knowledge with your posts and have always shared information that most would not dare share with others. I love the idea of the "Training Site" you are developing for everyone learn more from you! Thanks!
Barry |
Cityslicker
New member
Username: Cityslicker
Post Number: 2
Registered: 07-2009
| | Posted on Friday, July 31, 2009 - 02:05 pm: |
|
I'm new to the post. This is great info and quite educational. I to would like to thank you! |
Woodlander
Senior Member
Username: Woodlander
Post Number: 2157
Registered: 02-2003
| | Posted on Friday, July 31, 2009 - 08:52 pm: |
|
Thanks you very much for the kind words. Having friends is more important than fish or money! You can't take your money with you but hopefully you'll take your friends at some point! lol
Thanks Mike. I don't know about this Dr. stuff! lol
Terry, those are good questions. I've got about 15 places that I've found over the years where I've caught a lot of fish at one time or another. I've also kept a small journal over the last 10 years. I'll rotate through them depending on where I last caught fish and the time of the year. I'll usually target crappie in the summer and it's unusual to find them very active but they're so schooled up that I can caught a few here and a few there to make a nice limit.
I'll target bass in the fall and winter. Sometimes it takes a little more looking but when you find them they're much easier to catch.
I'll have to think on the active to inactive percents. The nice thing about fishing you happen to remember the good catches and dismiss the time wading through inactive fish.
This is the time of the year when the shad start to school up and so do the bass but it's still to early to expect to automatically find some. I fished a couple of hours Thursday before the rain came in and these bass sucked me in.
It can be frustrating to fish right over fish and not have them bite. I finally snagged one in the side and that's why it looks so funny. In a week or two y'all will be able to reading this picture like the back of your hand!
|
Ace17
New member
Username: Ace17
Post Number: 4
Registered: 07-2009
| | Posted on Saturday, August 01, 2009 - 11:04 am: |
|
Thank you for taking time to help other anglers out Woodlander. I greatly appreciate it. |
Lakota
Senior Member
Username: Lakota
Post Number: 116
Registered: 04-2004
| | Posted on Saturday, August 01, 2009 - 09:57 pm: |
|
WOW! is an understatement. These threads will by far be the most informative, educational, and useful threads to ever hit the forums. Anyone that can become familiar and learn to read a depth/fish finder will easily triple their chances to catch fish.
I have a decent understanding of depth finders and what I see on them, but I have rarely came across as many fish as Woodlander has in many of the still shots he has posted. I have my fingers crossed that after reading all he has to offer that I WILL see more shots like those on MY depth finder!
Many, many thanks to Woodlander. We'll all be watching for more. |
Sonnyb
Senior Member
Username: Sonnyb
Post Number: 332
Registered: 04-2003
| | Posted on Monday, August 03, 2009 - 07:12 am: |
|
Kenny is a good friend of mine and I doubt his business will falter. Woodlander thanks for your time and for just being you. I am a crusty old fisherman that has been around for a long time and have enjoyed each and every post you have made over the years. I have gained much knowledge of sonar now I just need to apply a little of what you have so graciously taught us. |
Gambler_dog
Senior Member
Username: Gambler_dog
Post Number: 82
Registered: 03-2008
| | Posted on Monday, August 03, 2009 - 10:15 am: |
|
Very Good, plenty of useful info, enjoy very much, I am interested in the setup to come. ping speed etc. and how long it takes for the info to pass across screen from start to gone! Thanks again |
