Marker Buoys - How Do You Use Them?

[Mumpy]

Ok, so the Topic is a little misleading, obviously you throw them out of the boat to mark something.

My question is this... How do you use them to mark your spot? Do you go over the spot you're going to fish and place it at that spot? Or...

Do you mark the spot where you are going to position the boat to cast to THAT spot?

Or...

<Leave your Comment on how you fish them, here...>

Just purchased mine tonight and I can tell you, I thought that the iPilot would eliminate the need for these things, I was wrong. I thought the installation of a 4000 LGC External Antenae connected to my Lowrance would eliminate the need for these... I was wrong

I have been finding SOOOOOOO Many places to fish since I got my Lowrance HDS Gen2 Structure Scan package but I'm having a huge problem of staying on the structure. I THINK the Buoys is going to finally put me where I want to be or at least allow me to visually focus on where I WANT to be, hehe.

[Gatorbassman]

I'm a marker buoy freak. I have two in the front of the boat, two beside the driver seat and two more under the seat. I don't like to use them to mark the spot I'm going to cast to because that means I have to motor over the fish. I will if the fish are over 20ft deep though.

I have the two in the front of the boat set up so when I catch a fish I can kick one of the overboard and mark where the boat was when I got the bite. I have to two beside the driver seat and two under the seat to mark the outline of a hump or the two ends of a ridge or the top and end of a point. I will use one as a visual marker so I can keep a picture in my head of what part of the structure I've covered and where I haven't.

[K_Mac]

Marker buoys are a necessary part of structure fishing IMO, even with good electronics. Like Fluke, in shallower water I try to use the trolling motor. With buoys in position I can focus on presentation. I don't leave home without them.

[Fishing Rhino]

I use them to mark the outlines of shoals, the shoulders of dropoffs, and the outline of emerging lily pad beds.

Most of the shoals I fish are fairly small. One in particular rises steeply from thirty feet of water surrounding it to a depth of less than ten feet. I'll motor across it from east to west, dropping a buoy at 12 or 13 feet at the opposite shoulders. Then, I'll cross it east to west midway between the first two buoys. North to south it's about a hundred fifty feet long. About 70 feet across east to west.

The fish tend to be at different areas of the shoal on different days. When I find the sweet spot, the buoys allow me to return to that area of the shoal without having to move the boat into position on the GPS display.

The same with marking contour lines and the outlines of weed beds or developing pads.

[grampa1114]

Find the spot you want to fish and drop a bouy at the start and finish of the structure as reference and maybe a side bouy if you must......keep in mind if it's tournament day, that it takes time to pick them up.

[00 mod]

When offshore fishing, I like to mark a hump with one buoy at the base of one side and one at the base of the other. That way I know the top of the hump is somewhere in between those two and pick it apart thoroughly.

If I am fishing a ledge, I like to drop the buoy right on the edge. Then cast to the shallower part and see if the fish are feeding in that direction, and if not, switch to casting deep and bringing it up.

At my club lake, I pretty much know where everything is based on the "land markers" I have established, but sometimes will drop a buoy near an underwater stump or downed tree to back off and fish it.

Many times I will motor over a spot and drop a buoy, then come back 30+ minuets later to fish it.

Jeff

[Wayne P.]

SInce I got Humminibird Side Imaging, I have no need for marker bouys. I see where I am fishing, what I am fishing for, while I am fishing.

Yes, I use that technology at the bow with a trolling motor mounted SI transducer.

[.ghoti.]

Piece o' cake. Find your spot and drop your bouy. Then make a lousy cast and tangle your crankbait in the rope. Four out of six hook-points will be embedded in the rope. By the time you get those unhooked you'll have one point in your thumb and another in your pant's leg. By the time you get those undone you will have drifted to the other side of the lake.

Might as well fish there.

[Lund Explorer]

Piece o' cake. Find your spot and drop your bouy. Then make a lousy cast and tangle your crankbait in the rope. Four out of six hook-points will be embedded in the rope. By the time you get those unhooked you'll have one point in your thumb and another in your pant's leg. By the time you get those undone you will have drifted to the other side of the lake.

Might as well fish there.

LOL!!! There's got to be a story connected with that description. From a roadtrip maybe?

[Mumpy]

Lots of excellent posts here, thank you. I like the idea of marking the ends of the structure so you can visually see what and how you're casting at it.

[Nitrofreak]

Piece o' cake. Find your spot and drop your bouy. Then make a lousy cast and tangle your crankbait in the rope. Four out of six hook-points will be embedded in the rope. By the time you get those unhooked you'll have one point in your thumb and another in your pant's leg. By the time you get those undone you will have drifted to the other side of the lake.

Might as well fish there.

LMAO !!!

You crack me up dude LOL, i'm with lund whats the story here.

[Broke bass fisherman]

Piece o' cake. Find your spot and drop your bouy. Then make a lousy cast and tangle your crankbait in the rope. Four out of six hook-points will be embedded in the rope. By the time you get those unhooked you'll have one point in your thumb and another in your pant's leg. By the time you get those undone you will have drifted to the other side of the lake.

Might as well fish there.

Seems like my luck there

[slonezp]

I rarely use them, but when I do, I'll mark 2 sides of where I want to fish and cast inbetween.

[JunkYard814]

I don't usually use them. Maybe if I fished competitively I would, but i fish in a high pressured area, where to many people, there is no such thing as etiquette. To me it seems like your just throwing up a red flag saying there's fish here.

[Long Mike]

I rarely use them, but when I do ....

Like you, I rarely use them, but when I do, I use Dos Equis buoys.

[cody161]

Like you, I rarely use them, but when I do, I use Dos Equis buoys.

I'm dying laughing at this right now!!!

[WRB]

Fished, outside deep structure using markers for about 40 years. Rarely use more than 1 marker, occasionally 2. I always toss markers about 25' to the right side of any fish or structure element I planned to fish, keeps the anchor line away from where I am casting.

Fast forward to 2005 when I finally got my first sonar/GPS Map Lowrance LCX-19C unit. It didn't take long to learn GPS way points are far better than markers. Learn to use your electronics, Navonics maps and GPS way points and icons, no reason to have a marker floating on the water to try and find

In windy conditions and loosing site of it trying to fish and control the boat. GPS way points don!t move and you can return whenever you want back to the exact point. Use the split screen feature sonar and GPS, stay on whatever way point or icon you marked...easy with a little practice.

Tom

[slonezp]

Like you, I rarely use them, but when I do, I use Dos Equis buoys.

You ARE the most interesting man in the world