locator questions...

[jay83196]

I couldn't find a forum just for this topic and I know on Mille lacs most guys use depth finders/locators a lot. I am wondering how reliable they are and the best way to use/set them up to find fish. I have 6 year old lowrance nothing too fancy. How high do you typically have sensitivity, grey line, ping speed etc turned up. And are you actually assuming all the fish symbols are fish or do you just look at clutter/debris as fish? Im sure there are a few hundred books I could buy and I lost my manual years ago, I would appreciate some opinions from guys that rely on them and can give some suggestions for best use.

You hear guys say look for the fish I just wonder how well they work.

thank you.

[Red Miller]

Well personally, when fishing Mille Lacs, we rarely see actual blips that I would attributed to being "fish". I use my GPS and locater to find structure that supports a good opportunity to make contact. I guess some people have super awesome equipment that can pick out a mayfly but not on this budget.

[jay83196]

Yeah thats what I currently do I use gps and structure and locator for my depth. I dont know the limitations from low to medium quality unit to high end. I hear people say move a lot look for fish, I see objects on bottom or fish symbol if I have the fish symbol on just not sure how much to trust it. And if I move sensitivity up or down things change, is it a fish or do I have the sensitivity up too high and its nuttin but a false readin..

[jay83196]

Yeah thats what I currently do I use gps and structure and locator for my depth. I dont know the limitations from low to medium quality unit to high end. I hear people say move a lot look for fish, I see objects on bottom or fish symbol if I have the fish symbol on just not sure how much to trust it. And if I move sensitivity up or down things change, is it a fish or do I have the sensitivity up too high and its nuttin but a false readin...but I would like to use unit for more than just depth.

[gunner55]

Usually I have the sensitivity set between 65-75% & ping speed around 50% unless moving quickly,5-10mph,looking for fish.That is what the manual on our 6 or 7 yr old Lowrance(520c) recommends.You can often go to the company's webite & download a manual or at least look up what they suggest.

[Kyhl]

I don't know much about the units of that age but generally, the cheapest units out there are good for finding bottom but not real good for ID'ing fish or telling the type of bottom. "Nothing fancy" could mean anything less than top of the line. That's a lot of leeway.

That said, turn off the fish ID for starters. ID thinks everything is a fish. Then get used to not seeing things on your screen very often and learn to read what does show up on the screen.

Next, I've almost always have my settings on auto with a tweak up or down depending where I am or what I'm doing. Usually err on the bland side. Too much information will hide the details.

[Red Miller]

yep....+1

[walleye18]

No matter what lake I'm on, I do not wet a line unless I'm seeing and marking fish.

I have fished with Lowrance flasher (still have on on my boat) and the new liquid units. The units (all of them on the market) if used properly will mark fish for you.

Best of luck.

[aanderud]

Turn off the fish-ID and look for the telltale arches down toward the bottom. These finders are worth their weight in gold, literally. I got a $78 unit with a 3.5 inch screen and color (lowrance X67c) -- google it and click on the shopping link for the nerd site if you want it. I think they were around $130 when i bought like 5 years back. Super cheap and it shows fish MUCH better than my older eagle claw unit that came with the boat. It's SOOO worth it to at least get something reasonably capable of seeing fish.

Those mud flats are HUGE. I would never just start fishing one until I was marking fish. For one thing, you don't know if they're at the top of the shelf, the bottom of the shelf, or on the transition. Furthermore, even if you're in the right depth (say the top edge of the flats), you can go hundreds of yards between schools, not marking a single fish, and then find them stacked up in one section 100 feet long. I speed up in between the fish (I generally run spinners and can run upwards of 2 mph in between schools), then slow down (at times as low as .7 mph with spinners, or if they're not eating those, even slower with a lindy rig) when I start marking fish again. Make passes back and forth over those schools and you'll keep pulling fish out of them. Move on when the school disperses.