Understanding Your Electronics for Florida Guys, Teach & Learn

[FD]

We have a few "holes" like that in Lake Okeechobee as well. Old dynamite blast mines. It's also where you'll fund some good Specks at.

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If you pay attention to your electronics you can find bass under the specks...


If you don't have pieces leftover, you didn't put it back together right...

[Capt. BassinLou]

Since this topic has begun to gain some traction, its now a sticky thread.

[Deadeye]

Since this topic has begun to gain some traction, its now a sticky thread.

Thanks.

[Deadeye]

Going Back to Colors on 2D and what they mean,

I know now that Red means a Hard Bottom (most likely Sand) and the Thickness of the Red shows how much Thickness there is to that Hard Bottom.

What do the other colors mean when/if there is no Red?

I see Yellow a lot as the Top Layer, what is that? Is it showing a Soft Bottom such as Mud or Muck?

Sometimes see others as well like thing layer of Green or Blue? Anyone know why?

Lastly what does a Rocky Bottom color show as? Is it also Red or show as something different?

[big g]

That is a belief that is simply not true.

Harris has depths of 20+ that I've found on just the few times I've been there.

The St Johns River from Sanford to the mouth in Jacksonville has a old shipping channel that runs from 10 to 20 plus feet.

I've found what I believe to be Spring Holes with depths of 64+ feet.

Even with a 4-10 ft depths the more I'm learning the better I understand just what it is I'm seeing. Bottom compounds, and why that matters. Drops and Contours. Valleys within the lake bottom that lead to productive feeding areas. Areas that I knew of and fished because I  caught fish there and now understand WHY and what to look for to duplicate that elsewhere.

I'm like a kid with a New Bike that just had a whole new world open up to me, got my mind whirling now processing the data I've been feeding it.


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Those spring holes can be magical if the water temps are high or low here in Florida   The Springs pump out 72* water in summer when w/t is in the 90's*, and winter when the surrounding W/T are in the low 50's*.  Bass hang close, just like the Manatees in winter.

[Deadeye]

Well other than what does the Red Color Mean, no replies as to what the others have come, So:

What do Fish look like on Standard Sonar vs CHIRP vs DI vs SI?

From what I have learned on 2d Fish are more Bars or Lines with bigger/longer lines meaning bigger fish.

On DI they seem to be more like Ovals.

On SI they are more like Dots.

The Ovals and Dots are the same as the lines in that the bigger they are the bigger the fish.


What say you?

[Deadeye]

The next topic is:

How to understand what the spacing between the lines means?

From what I have learned the Tighter Together the Lines, the Steeper the Drop/Rise.

Wider Spaced Lines show a Flat Area.

Each Line indicates a Depth Change.

What say you?

[WTodd]

On my sonar I have a fish ID turned on so it shows me fish in different sizes; some systems you can select that will only show you large fish or all fish.

Pretty sure my DI & SI show the same as what you're seeing


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[Deadeye]

On my sonar I have a fish ID turned on so it shows me fish in different sizes; some systems you can select that will only show you large fish or all fish.

Pretty sure my DI & SI show the same as what you're seeing


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Aha, I've had units with the Fish ID on them, A Tip, with the unit set on that it will show a Large Group of Small Fish packed together as one Big Fish on the Screen. The system doesn't see the difference. But without Fish ID on it will show multiple small lines so that you know what is actually there.

So it's a preference deal.

[WTodd]

My HDS Carbon will show each fish so depending on how big the school is it can get a little muddy


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[Bassinkorea]

What do Fish look like on Standard Sonar vs CHIRP vs DI vs SI?

From what I have learned on 2d Fish are more Bars or Lines with bigger/longer lines meaning bigger fish.

What say you?

That would all depend on the speed you are travelling. If the boat is stationary and there's fish directly below the transducer, then that fish will appear as a long line and will be bright yellow. If it is off to the side it will appear as a long purple/blue line. If the boat is moving then the fish appear on the screen as arches. Again the color of the arch will determine if the fish is directly below the transducer or off to the side somewhat.

On DI the same fish(es) will appear as white dots and are more defined as individual, and on SI they can appear as white dots or even white fish shapes.

[FD]

Fish ID and fish alarms are both off for me.

They get in the way of interpreting the info the way I want to.


If you don't have pieces leftover, you didn't put it back together right...

[Deadeye]

My HDS Carbon will show each fish so depending on how big the school is it can get a little muddy


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Got ya.


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[Deadeye]

That would all depend on the speed you are travelling. If the boat is stationary and there's fish directly below the transducer, then that fish will appear as a long line and will be bright yellow. If it is off to the side it will appear as a long purple/blue line. If the boat is moving then the fish appear on the screen as arches. Again the color of the arch will determine if the fish is directly below the transducer or off to the side somewhat.

On DI the same fish(es) will appear as white dots and are more defined as individual, and on SI they can appear as white dots or even white fish shapes.

Good Points. Stable vs Traveling will make a difference in what the same fish shows as.


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[Deadeye]

Good Thoughts, Keep them coming. Remember there really is No Wrong Answer here, just learning how each person uses their Electronics and sharing their thoughts for Everyone's gain.

Next up:

How to adjust or set-up your units?



I personally do a few adjustments to mine. I start with everything set on Auto then define as needed.

Screen Color we already discussed and it is a purely Personal Deal, what you see the best with is the one to use.

Sensitivity. I adjust it IF NEEDED to eliminate any clutter that shows on the screen. On my old Humminbird Lower Dollar units like the Piranha Series, I had to keep it pretty low or the Greyscale would get cluttered pretty fast. On my now Garmin Echomaps I really haven't had to take it out of Auto, it really seems to do a great job.

Contrast. FD mentioned that he turns his up a bit to produce a better clearer image. I have not messed with mine yet, but I will now after hearing how FD does his. Once again on my old units I did turn them up some as well.

Range. There are two lines of thought here: Auto and Manual. Each has their place from what I can see. If I'm scanning an area looking for more detail or certain things, I believe that setting the Range to a specific ft allows you to read the screen without it jumping around or changing the view. However if I'm scanning an unknown area I will let it run on Auto to gauge just how much the Depth Changes. The Deeper the Depth the Wider the Range on really all three Sonars, but really shines on SI.


At least these are my thoughts. Do you do anything different with yours?

[Deadeye]

Why to learn more about Understanding your Electronics.

I used to be that Guy that figured as shallow as we fish most of the time, all I needed to know was the Depth and Water Temp. Oh and having the GPS to lay a track was helpful in getting back as I started to venture out on larger lakes.

Then I started playing, messing, trying however you want to say it, with my Units to see what I could learn.

I was amazed.

On a Lake near to me that I have fished more times than I could count, I thought I knew it pretty good. I knew the areas where I usually caught fish and those I did not. I could see the ring of Spatterdock or Stem Pads as I call them and use them as the available cover to fish.

One thing I could never figure out on this lake was the Spawn. I had only ever found One Bed and that was only One Year. I talked with others that I saw fishing that lake (one boat ramp) they also said they could never figure it out either.

So one day I decided to start actually Using the Electronics that I bought. In one area in particular the bottom had a black slime coating on it and I just couldn't see Bass would bed there. The Pad Line ran in water Depth of 3-4 to 6-7 ft, plenty of water for any Bass.

So I started making Passes on the edge of the Pad Line going further out each time. On my Garmin Echomaps I can make a Custom Map of lakes that are not on the Garmin Maps and this one isn't. So I was saving the Bottom Contours as well, in effect making my own Map of the Lake.

Then in about 8-10 feet of Water it started. I started seeing Beds Showing up on my SI. Clear as could be there they were Beds pocked marked all over that One Area. Now were they Bass-Bluegill-Gar-Mudfish-Tilapia Beds, that is yet to be proven but Clear As Day they were there. This started showing up about 40-75 Yards AWAY from the Pad Line.

In any case I Marked it and Labeled It for easy to find another day.

And I continued to do the same all around the Lake. I found more Pock Marked Bottoms and Marked them too.

I also found a unique feature of an Underwater Valley. This started at a Shallow Flat that was Hit or Miss as getting bites go. From there I found a Clearly Defined Trench that started at 4 ft and grew to 8 ft, then had an Abrupt Drop into 13 ft. It continued to drop on a slow decline out to 15+ ft. And YES there were Fish Markings all along that Drop Line.

The Point is: I never would of found this had I not decided to take some time and actually USE my Electronics. This is a Natural Lake and not Man Made in any way.

On another area that has Proven Time and Again to be a Producer of Bass I found another Drop Away, not as severe but definitely there. A Bass Highway to and from Deep Water to Feeding Zone.

A 3rd Area I knew held Underwater Grass, the ONLY SPOT in fact I knew of, and sure enough there too was the Travel Corridor out to Deeper Water.

All of this was learned in a few hours on a Lake I thought I knew, really, really Good.


So whether or not you Bought the Electronics you have, they Came with the Boat installed by the previous owner, or you Bought Them in the Boat Package when you bought it new I ENCOURAGE you to try and Learn More about your Units and you just might be amazed at what you'll find.


This Thread has been a Big Help to me so far in learning more about the Units I have and how to tweek them to give me even more. Thank You to ALL that have contributed so far and those that will going Forward.

Let's see some Pics of Cool Things you have found while Scanning!

[Deadeye]

Guess this would be the best place for this.

I have been loosing bottom after 30+/- mph. Was pretty sure that wasn't the case before.

I got into the Blinge Area and undid the two screws that's hold mine to the Base. It's a lot different than the Factory one was.

First off it has two parts, a Base and a Transducer unit. The Base gets secured to the hull then they suggest you use Antifreeze or an 50-50 Antifreeze Mix to fill the Base. Then the Top gets screwed into place.

Why it's done this way is two fold. Transducers do better when they are in contact with liquid. The actual Transducer is set at an Angle to the top. This allows you to twist it 360* to get the best Bottom Contact per your boat's ride.

I raised the bow up as high as the jack would take it and after filling the Base I set the top on and used a level to get it as close to level bow up as I could. Then it was screwed down.

It must of worked.

Today I was on a smaller lake and really couldn't open it up, but up to 50 mph I never lost Bottom Contact. That's a whole lot better!!

I'll see what I get on a larger lake and see if it holds up to 58.2-59 mph. That's my average and best Top Speed.


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[FD]

Speed, Depth, and bottom composition have a lot to do with how strong a signal is coming back to the transducer. 

[Deadeye]

Speed, Depth, and bottom composition have a lot to do with how strong a signal is coming back to the transducer.

Exactly. A Hard Sand Bottom it was holding longer as it was, but get over a Soft or Mucky Bottom I could lose it at 20 MPH or Less.

The Liquid (the Antifreeze Mix) was low. I guess some must of evaporated over time the last 4-5 years. In any case it sure is reading better.

[Deadeye]

Summer Time and Water Depths.

Just throwing out a Thought learned from yesterday's M&G. They have lowered the lakes in the K-Chain in prep for Hurricane Season.

What happened was the Depths shown on my Mapping was off by 3-4 ft in most places.

If the Map showed 6 ft of water, I was actually in 2-3 ft. It is something to keep in mind while running on a Lake you do not know really well. You could be cutting across a Point that is showing 4 ft and be hitting bottom--- which could cause you some Boat or Motor Damage.

[Deadeye]

Some Interesting Videos on Reading and Using your Electronics.


How to Read what your Seeing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=724&v=4m808qYb3Q0&feature=emb_logo

Sonar Explained (done on a deeper water lake but the principles are the same)



Sonar, Tackle, and Areas explained (Mostly about Drop Shot, but does a great job explaining how to understand Fish in relation to your TM Transducer)

[FD]

Anyone know what this is?

Hint; he was 7 foot long and had big teeth.

[WTodd]

An NBA center?


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[FD]

Massive bluegill beds in 8 fow.

[WTodd]

How slow were you going over those to pick them up?


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