How do you use your high-end sonar?

[livemusic]

Those of you who have a high end sonar unit, how do you use it? I have a Humminbird 1199ci Hd Si Combo, not installed yet. Please describe how you use it to increase your catch rate. Could you describe a day's use, what, exactly, you do with sonar? The technology is awesome. For instance, do you scout for fish? Thanks.

[boydn1]

I've  had a 698ci HD on the front and a 998 on the console for a while now.  Never have been able to tell what I'm looking at.

[Wayne P.]

I scan to find fish and then try to catch them. I only use the 2D sonar for the FishID so I can tell if I want to try to catch the fish I find. Refer to the posted screen shots.

That way I am not trying to fish where there are no fish.

I rarely use the DI view for fishing, just demo teaching screen shots.

[Jig Man]

I use the down scan to look in deep submerged trees for schooling crappie in the fall and winter.  I also record banks as I drive past them then pull of and look at the recording vis the simulator.   That way I can have 2d, down, side and the chart all visible while I am sitting still.  I look at stuff and determine if or not I want to mark a wpt.

[Ohio Archer]

You're going to have to work with the unit to get the most out of it.  You can't just put it in the water and expect to catch fish.  Go over an area you already know and see if anything new shows up on the display.  Change the settings to find out what works best.  Go over areas you have always gone past and see if you are missing anything.  Practicing with the units will show you what settings work best in different conditions and types of water.  Once you pinpoint where the fish are holding find other places that are similar.  But no matter how good these units are you still have to entice the fish to bite...all technology can do is point the way.  You have to do the rest.

[slonezp]

The default settings are pretty good, you can tweak as necessary. Important-to get the best images, you want to set the scroll speed to the boat speed. Idle around and look for stuff. If you can't see stuff, don't be discouraged because it's not there. Most of the lakes I fish in northern IL and southern WI are soup bowls with little to no noticeable structure. On one small lake I was scanning today, the only deep water fish I was able to locate were on a sunken boat in 15fow, the rest of the bottom was just flat with no vegetation deeper than 8ft    

[basscatcher8]

On ‎4‎/‎15‎/‎2016 at 8:14 PM, Jig Man said:

 I also record banks as I drive past them then pull of and look at the recording vis the simulator.   That way I can have 2d, down, side and the chart all visible while I am sitting still.  I look at stuff and determine if or not I want to mark a wpt.

That's a good idea I am going to start doing that. I've always found more stuff when I'm home looking at the recording than when I'm actively scanning.

[desmobob]

I start off my day with my Garmin showing side imaging on one half of the screen, and 2D and down imaging stacked on the other half.

If I'm searching for structure, I'll motor around with the side imaging on the whole screen.  The side and down imaging give great detailed views of the structure, but I find I still use 2D a lot for finding fish in open water.

I also keep it in mind not to let the sonar tell me where NOT to fish...  I caught most of my fish this weekend in an area that showed no structure and was too shallow to motor over to look for fish without spooking them.

Tight lines,

Bob

[Wayne P.]

53 minutes ago, desmobob said:

I start off my day with my Garmin showing side imaging on one half of the screen, and 2D and down imaging stacked on the other half.

If I'm searching for structure, I'll motor around with the side imaging on the whole screen.  The side and down imaging give great detailed views of the structure, but I find I still use 2D a lot for finding fish in open water.

I also keep it in mind not to let the sonar tell me where NOT to fish...  I caught most of my fish this weekend in an area that showed no structure and was too shallow to motor over to look for fish without spooking them.

Tight lines,

Bob

Didn't you use the SideVu to show the fish "over there" and not spook them?

[desmobob]

28 minutes ago, Wayne P. said:

Didn't you use the SideVu to show the fish "over there" and not spook them?

About half the time...   My transducer is mounted one step up on the starboard of my keel line, so it doesn't look to the port side too well in shallow water.  Depending on the wind, I may be fishing/viewing with the shallows to port.

Tight lines,

Bob

[Further North]

On 4/14/2016 at 10:13 AM, boydn1 said:

I've  had a 698ci HD on the front and a 998 on the console for a while now.  Never have been able to tell what I'm looking at.

Here's a picture from my old 997 (upgraded to an 1198 since then):

You need to think of the image as in inverted "T" with the dark part (the water column) as the vertical part and the rest as the flat part.

The image above clearly shows a bunch of fish cribs...and if you look in the upper right, straight below the "126" and all the way across from the clouds on the left...you'll see a sunken boat. Yeah, you can count the seats...

It's pretty easy, for me...

How do I use my electronics...

1. I use side imaging as I am moving around scouting for structure.  If I see something I like, I mark it and come back to it later...or if it looks really promising, go back and fish it right away...to mark, you move the cursor over what you want to locate...and that will show up on your mad in the right place.
2. I use down imaging and regular sonar (the old color screen 2D stuff) to see what's right under me while I'm fishing...either while sitting still or moving.
3. I use 360° to see all the way around me as I'm sitting still or moving slowly...but with a bigger hunk of the lake bottom than down imaging can provide...it will give an idea of what is ahead of you and how you might want to approach a piece of structure.  After you get used to it for a while...you'll be able to tell what is likely a fish.