What Do I Look For On My Lowrance In Summer

[Felix77]

I have a Lowrance 4x on my Yak. I am not sure what to look for during the summertime besides humps and deep ledges. Anything else I should be on the lookout for?

[Kevin22]

Fish

[Felix77]

Fish

Ha!   Very funny.  

[Kevin22]

 

In all seriousness, look for suspended fish. 

[slonezp]

You should be able to see the thermocline if there is one 

[Daniel My Brother]

I have a cheap Humminbird 561, and if I turn the sensitivity up to about 90% I can see the thermocline. Right now it's at about 25 feet where I fish. You won't find bass deeper than that, but you'll find a lot of bass right at or above it. If you find structure on a point at that depth, you'll have a good chance finding fish, but If you don't get bit after ten minutes, move around on the point and look for anything different on your depthfinder, a treetop, a ledge, a pile of rocks, anything and try again. Keep moving 'til you find the bass. I use the gps anchor on my trolling motor to hold my position. If I was in a kayak I would invest in marker buoys.

 

I know a lot of fishermen don't like the Fish ID on their depthfinder, I'm not one of them. I not only turn on the Fish ID, I turn on the fish alarm as well. It's nice to hear that beep-beep when you're line watching, then you can glance at the depthfinder, see how deep the fish are marking and determine for yourself if they're bass or not.

 

A final thought, don't be afraid to change tactics. Just because you think the bass should be deep on points, doesn't mean they always will be. If you ain't catching, try something different.

[ClackerBuzz]

the lakes in my area aren't deep enough to have a thermocline so I start by looking for the deepest water in the area...preferable the original creek channel. then i start working my way uphill from the deep to shallow. i usually catch fish very close to the creek channel (vs shoreline).  this season i've tied together 2 different things Catt has spoken about in posts:  the first 'step' or ledge out of the creek channel; and the depth at which weeds stop growing in a lake.  i've always fished weeds but traditionally the beds that break surface or you can still see with polarized glasses (or even deeper ones that i discovered b/c weeds came back on my jig). but i never focused on the deepest weeds in the lake (the area at which they stop growing b/c lack of light penetration; Catt was saying this is the magic weed depth that you want to identify on ur lake and fish for lunkers). tying it all together is sediment.  i usually hate muck/sediment and keep moving till i find rocks or weeds. but now i've been locating the deep flat water with sonar and casting into the sediment deep abyss. then dragging/hopping my shaky head or jig very fast uphill till i feel the first rocky ledge out of the creek channel....or hit the first deep weed patch.  that's when i slow down and work the area. it's been working amazing for catching quality and quantity.  if it's a deep weed bed i'll cast back with a big weightless worm and slow stitch the weeds for big girls. i like slowly working the deep weed beds much better than trying to 'punch' them.  if the area is all rocky i stick with a shaky or jig. it's been a great summer tactic and I owe Catt a cold beer  

[BuckMaxx]

felix I don't get too caught up in finding fish anywhere. I have a much better chance of finding large bait balls. On the lakes I fish there are tons of them but the ones that seem to produce are the ones related to cover somehow. Rather it be on a brushpile a rock pile or point. Those are the ones I fish vs the ones that are just out suspended. While there are fish with them they are likely hard to locate. Catching a fish or two is likely more luck then skill.  If you can corral them by using the structure you know the fish are likely hiding on the cover and swiping at the bait that comes by. Now if I go over a bait ball and see a bunch of lines running up into it. I am likely to fall in the lake during the chaos of trying to get my dropshot rod untangled while I am dropping the trolling motor in.