How To Find Fish Without A Fish Finder/ Depth Finder

[Kfreker]

So the boats i go in to fish (when not bank fishing) they dont have depth/ fish finders. I know what to look for when trying to find them such as logs, trees, grass, etc...but what about if your in the open water then what do you do? What lures or tips should you use when this happens? Any thoughts

[Crestliner2008]

We use to do this all the time back in the 60's & 70's. What you do is first off find a good map or draw one yourself (like we did). Then make yourself a "depth line". Tie a 6 or 8 oz. sinker on a length of parachute cord. Then tie an overhand knot 10' up and every 10' thereafter. You can weave various colored ribbons at each depth to let you know what depth you are sounding. Then when you approach an area that looks like a good structure, start dropping the line overboard (sounding) paying attention to the depth. Then mark the map at approx. where you are, what the depth is. After a time, you can map out a good structure in no time.

 

It wasn't until the early 80's that I got my first "Green Box" - a Lowrance flasher. What a fabulous device it was back then. We could actually "see" structure and fish....and even bait fish. Now a days, most folks don't even know what a Green Box is or was!

[OntarioFishingGuy]

That's what I used to do, except to tell the depth I would put a dot of white paint every 1' on the cord.

[Catch and Grease]

Try using a heavy jig or Carolina rig to feel whats on the bottom.

Just drag it along feeling all the ticks and bumps, you'll get used to what each different type of cover feels like.

[RoLo]

It wasn't until the early 80's that I got my first "Green Box" - a Lowrance flasher. What a fabulous device it was back then. We could actually "see" structure and fish....and even bait fish. Now a days, most folks don't even know what a Green Box is or was!

 

To me, the Lowrance 'green box' was the Pot of Gold at the end of the rainbow.

I always carried two spare 6v lantern batteries so I'd never be caught without my flasher.

When I got heavy into saltwater fishing, I jumped from a flasher sounder to a graph recorder using a paper roll & stylus 

 

Roger

[Catt]

A depth finder is that little electronic device on your console.

A fish finder is tied on the end of your rod!

[Kfreker]

touche catt

[RoLo]

 A fish finder is tied on the end of your rod!

 

I tried tying my fish finder to the end of my line, but it wasn't waterproof and got destroyed.

So now I keep my fish finder between my ears   

I have a depth sounder too  

 

Roger

[WRB]

Be aware of the lake bottom terrain,it doesn't change because it is covered with water.

Tom

[Catt]

I tried tying my fish finder to the end of my line, but it wasn't waterproof and got destroyed.

So now I keep my fish finder between my ears

I have a depth sounder too

I pretty sure even your little green box was waterproof!

Roger

[K_Mac]

I have a break somewhere in the circuitry for my electronics that has caused my to be without for the last couple of trips. I haven't taken time to dig into it, but it is amazing to me how much more I'm focused on getting a mental image of the bottom in my head when I don't have the electronics to rely on. I'm not saying they are not an important tool, just that RoLo and Catt are right that circuitry in our heads is far more important. 

[Felix77]

FWIW ... When I fished from my canoe I had no type of fishfinder.  What I used to do is tie on a 1/2oz T-Rig plastic of some kind and toss it out in deeper waters looking for weed edges.  If I came up with weeds I wasn't at the edge yet.  Once I came up with no weeds I found the edge and began fishing the area.  Caught a few this way but it definitely is time consuming.

 

Now with my Yak I have a Lowrance and it makes finding things like that much easier.

[Big Fish Rice]

Cover water with reaction baits. I've fished most of my life without sonar and it never fails. Crankbaits and jerkbaits work well to find fish. If I get tapped, or get bit, I then follow up with a jig and a dropshot.

 

[Choporoz]

Fishin Buddy.  One of the best $100 investments I made as a boat renter.  Get the carrying case, too.  Mine is four years old and works like it did the day I bought it.  Like Catt's, it is much more a depth finder than a fish finder, but learning the contours is huge.

 

http://www.humminbird.com/Freshwater/Product-Category/Fishin-Buddy/

[WRB]

So the boats i go in to fish (when not bank fishing) they dont have depth/ fish finders. I know what to look for when trying to find them such as logs, trees, grass, etc...but what about if your in the open water then what do you do? What lures or tips should you use when this happens? Any thoughts

There are several types of bass boat anglers, the majority never fish further away from the shore line than a long casting distance and focus on visual structure and cover, I call them bank pounders.

The bank pounder may have sonar/GPS units and use them to keep in a specific depth range or find there way to or from the fishing area. The sonar/GPS is more of a status symbol and under utilized with bank pounders.

Another class of boater is always looking for bass and tends to run and gun all over the lakes, 15 minutes here, 10 minutes there, may use the sonar unit or may not and make a few dozen casts then move on. I will call these anglers weekend warriors.

The boaters that know the lake and have a handle on what's is going on tend to fish slower and use their sonar/GPS units to locate baitfish, isolate small structure areas and stay on spots longer. These anglers fish anywhere the bass are located, near or off shore and are aware of the topography of the lake, use both electronic and paper maps. I will call these skilled bass anglers, often tournament anglers.

The boaters that have and use sonar/GPS, don't move around often and camp out waiting for bass to become active in a high percentage area are different then the tournament angler, these are trophy bass anglers.

The type of angler your boater is will dictate where and how you fish. if you are the boater and want to learn how to use sonar/GPS units, then you need to study maps and learn how to use your electronics. You can save a lot of time by hiring a skilled bass guide who teaches using sonar units. Like everything else in bass fishing time on the water is the best teacher.

Bottom structure elements, abrupt depth changes and baitfish presence are things that can be found using simple sonar in combination with a map. The easiest structure element to find is a point of land that runs under water out into the lake, you simply follow the point ridge and fish the top and sides until you find bass.

Depth where the bass are active feeding becomes very important because you can fish that same depth anywhere a point is located on the lake. Be aware of there are other factors at that depth like rocks, brush, aquatic vegetation, wind direction etc.

If you go to a swimming pool that has 8 to 10 feet of water, stand at the shallow end and cast your C-rig or a jig to the deep end and count down the seconds it take to hit bottom, the line going slack. Do this several times until you have it memorized. This will help you know how deep the water is when a bass strikes, without having a sonar unit.

Tom

[Steveo-1969]

Fishin Buddy.  One of the best $100 investments I made as a boat renter.  Get the carrying case, too.  Mine is four years old and works like it did the day I bought it.  Like Catt's, it is much more a depth finder than a fish finder, but learning the contours is huge.

 

http://www.humminbird.com/Freshwater/Product-Category/Fishin-Buddy/

 

X2.  I bought one 3 years ago to use on a boat rental during my annual fishing vacation at Kentucky Lake (I don't own a boat) and it still works great.  As already stated, not a great "fish" finder but invaluable as a "depth" finder.  It will show depth change, weeds, brushpiles, hard bottom, and even the occasional fish...  And 6 AA batteries lasts me all week.

[gulfcaptain]

Tom's post(both of them) state it all.  Look at the shore, you can get a good idea of the bottom from the terrain around the bank.  But a crankbait or something you can use to feel the bottom when looking for underwater structure are good tools.  But Tom pretty much summed it all up in those two posts.

[FrankW]

I fished a lot of rivers in my younger days and used one of my fishing rods to judge the water depth. You know the length of the rod and it will tell you the depth up to the length of the rod or that it is deeper than the rod. Never damaged a rod tip doing this.

Frank