How large a part do electronics play in your fishing?

[StrikePrince]

2 minutes ago, WRB said:

Anyone who bass fishes from a boat knowing what is underwater, how deep it is, what the underwater terrian looks like, how deep the fish are, including bait and bass, helps you to determine where to fish and what use.

Thanks @WRB.  If you are able to find depth of batifish, how do the bass relate?  Will they generally be located on structure/cover in that same depth range?

[WRB]

4 hours ago, StrikePrince said:

Thanks @WRB.  If you are able to find depth of batifish, how do the bass relate?  Will they generally be located on structure/cover in that same depth range?

I like to call the depth the majority baitfish and bass are located in the "life zone" and that is the depth bass anglers should focus their efforts at. The very first thing I do after launching my boat is survey the marina are to deterime the life zone to help me decide where to start and want to use.

Active bass are always near prey hunting food, the predominate prey type usually dictates if bass are using structure or a combination of structure and cover depends on the specific lake, pond or River.

Bass neutralize their weight in the water with the airbladder at a specific depth zone and that depth is the life zone. If they are at 20' or 3', 3' is usually more cover related and 20' would be more structure related, both need abundant prey to attract bass.

Tom

 

[190 Tracker TX]

I purchased my boat 5 years ago this past July, so I do not consider myself a “superior fisherman”, but I am able to share why I think fish finders are important equipment to have on a boat.

 

My boat came equipped with a Lowrence X-4 Pro fish finder, and being eager to get on the water I realized a few things:

1.     Fish finders provide you with information about how shallow you can operate your specific boat without a hydraulic jack plate.
2.     They also show you as you begin to move away from skinny water were the drop off begins as fish like to travel this ridge for a number of reasons
3.     And, as has been mentioned you now know the water temperature

 

So, I started taking my boat to lakes that I have never been on and bigger than the last one, and that is when I realized that my Lowarance X-4 Pro located at the helm was not adequate for a specific issue:

1.        The bigger the lake the more I could explore and the farther I went from where I launched my boat.  When it came time to head back to the dock and daylight gave way to evening and I turned to head back to the dock, particularly on new and big lakes,  I didn’t always recognize exactly where I was on the lake much let alone how to get back to the dock. So, I upgraded to a fish finder with a chart plotter and it came with down scan imaging; now I can go where I please and if concerned about where I am or how to get back to the dock I can have my fish finder plot a course back to my dock even in the dark.

 

Now with all this information at the helm I thought I was set except I don’t fish at the helm.  I fish at the bow and that information on depth, water temperature, contour lines, boat orientation I no longer have access to unless I want to rearrange the unit at the helm, so I added a second and larger screen at the bow.

 

Now some of these guys and ladies have systems with side scan imaging and the ability to communicate waypoints and mark structure to multiple units, but they are expensive and may be suitable for your second upgrade.

[grub_man]

On 7/31/2018 at 6:10 PM, StrikePrince said:

1. How crucial are your fish finders to your typical fishing day?

 

2. So I want to ask the superior fisherman here- how important are your FF to you?

 

3. Did you find that your skill as a fisherman increased significantly when you were able to visualize what was under/around your boat?

 

4. Am I limiting my own growth as a fisherman by not having a FF?

 

5. FYI, I fish mostly smaller lakes (up to about 600 acres) that don't have much in the way of structure.  But, having a FF would make some non local lakes that are a bit more structure oriented to me.

1. On my home lakes, not that crucial.  On a new or big body of water, much more crucial.  I use them to see at what depth most fish/bait are suspended to get an idea of where to start looking for fish.  I use them to keep myself in the proper depth zone.  If I venture offshore a bit, then they become very important in helping me stay on a structure or spot on that structure.

 

2. I'm far from a superior fisherman.  When I upgraded to a small screen unit with the bells and whistles of GPS, Navionics Maps, and SI, I had an eye opening experience.  It's incredible how much is down there and easily missed.  Using the GPS and maps have proven instrumental in improving my confidence as I venture offshore.  Spending a year on Lake Norman taught me the importance of finding the spot on a spot.  There are some pretty big structures on that lake and the fish tended to group up around shell beds, rock piles, brush, etc.  If you didn't have a good way of finding those spots a lot of time could be wasted thinking there were no fish in the area.

 

3. My ability to aid in eliminating unproductive water and start honing in on finding fish improved a bit with the addition of electronics.  The challenge still is pulling myself away from places I've caught a few in the past and trying new areas. If you learn how to use them for the tool that they are, then electronics will definitely help.

 

4. Time on the water and learning something every time out is still key.  Buck Perry, the father of structure fishing located offshore structure, the spots on the spot, and how to catch them without electronics.  It's a tougher challenge and time consuming to say the least, but it can be done.

 

5. My home lakes are in the 1000-3000 acre range, and you would be surprised at how much is out there.

[BassNJake]

Here's an article that details why a FLW tour pro decided not to use a fish finder for an entire season.

He ended up finishing 2nd in points for the Angler of the Year title.

He does indicate he used GPS for navigational purposes.

 

https://www.flwfishing.com/tips/2015-06-06-shallow-running

 

 

[Wurming67]

On 8/1/2018 at 1:49 PM, geo g said:

Not much, most of my waters are 3 or 4 feet deep in the swamp.  I get water temp, the thermocline in the canals, and occasional cruising fish in the canals.  Not much the cone can tell you when your in 3 feet of water and full of weeds.  I use old fashion detection by looking for happy water, weeds moving not from wind and waves, bird activity, boils on the surface, isolated clumps of weeds, funnel points from wind blown current, clear sand patches, and that inner feeling you get when out fishing.

We fish same body of water ,I don't even turn my on.

[geo g]

1 minute ago, Wurming67 said:

We fish same body of water ,I don't even turn my on.

Lol, I turn it off as soon as I'm ready fish.  These reservoir guys don't have a clue of fishing the swamp.

[190 Tracker TX]

https://www.bassresource.com/fishing/fishfinder-buying.html

[haggard]

Quote

How crucial are your fish finders to your typical fishing day?

For me not crucial; I can do without it especially on the home lake I'm somewhat familiar with, but when I bring the finder I do find it helpful, glad to have it. I just use a basic model with small 4 inch screen (plug GPS). The features I rely on most, in order of importance, are

 

- bottom type (ex: mud vs vegetation)

- water depth / locating bottom transitions (humps, slopes)

- GPS coordinates (logging location when I land a fish)

- GPS & contours (boat's current location relative to where I want to be)

 

I fish purely for recreation; tournament/pro anglers of course may consider the finder one of the most basic and indispensable tools in the box.

 

Even with the finder, I tend to find spots first by scanning visible features with my eyes, then use the finder (secondary) to hone in on the spot. Not saying it's the best approach; I still don't catch a lot of fish

 

I love the finder, but if I had to do without it, it would still be a great day.

 

 

 

[Wurming67]

23 minutes ago, geo g said:

Lol, I turn it off as soon as I'm ready fish.  These reservoir guys don't have a clue of fishing the swamp.

No electronics are going to help you in that slop.

[WRB]

If you target shoreline shallow visual cover or structure like rip rap, retaining walls, trees, docks etc, you don't need to know what you can't see below the surface....unless it's foggy or night.

Tom

[Logan S]

11 hours ago, geo g said:

Lol, I turn it off as soon as I'm ready fish.  These reservoir guys don't have a clue of fishing the swamp.

The Potomac and Bay are shallow/grassy also, similar to FL waters in many ways (I lived in FL previously)...90% of the fish I catch there are in 4' or less (with a good chunk of them coming from 2' or less).  I still use electronics pretty heavily...

 

Side imaging can map out the grass edges and find isolated clumps that don't reach the surface.  I also use it to locate rock/ballast piles and wrecks that don't uncover at low tide.  Since the grass changes season to season you can mark productive areas, hard bottoms, or other things so that you can find them quickly even if the visual identifiers are gone.  While fishing shallow like this I sometimes turn the sonar off, but I always have my map/GPS on.  Mapping and location are just as important overall as sonar.  

 

Not saying you're wrong or anything...Just pointing out that electronics aren't useless in shallow, swampy water if you decide to take advantage of them .

[geo g]

Where we fish there are few grass edges because grass is everywhere.  Not like Florida lakes, this is in the Florida swamps.  Edges are only where there are canals.  I will not pay big money for side imaging when it will not help me fishing.  You are a believer and that’s good, but for me a waste of money, in the swamp.

[J Francho]

What I learn from scanning deeper areas determines where I will fish shallow.

[Catt]

My earliest experience with "electronics" was during early 60s with paper graphs. 

 

Compared to today's down/side imaging, GPS mapping it's almost like cheating!

 

When my prop hits water, I start the outboard, & turn the electronics on. When my bow hits the trailer I turned the electronics off & kill the outboard.

 

Everytime I catch & before I leave the area I idle over & graph that area.

[Catt]

On 8/2/2018 at 8:00 PM, geo g said:

Lol, I turn it off as soon as I'm ready fish.  These reservoir guys don't have a clue of fishing the swamp.

 

Wanna bet? ?

[sully420]

On 8/3/2018 at 11:40 AM, Catt said:

My earliest experience with "electronics" was during early 60s with paper graphs. 

 

Compared to today's down/side imaging, GPS mapping it's almost like cheating!

 

When my prop hits water, I start the outboard, & turn the electronics on. When my bow hits the trailer I turned the electronics off & kill the outboard.

 

Everytime I catch & before I leave the area I idle over & graph that area.

Same here, I'm still learning but graphing is improving my fishing every day.

[flyfisher]

On 8/2/2018 at 4:59 PM, BassNJake said:

Here's an article that details why a FLW tour pro decided not to use a fish finder for an entire season.

He ended up finishing 2nd in points for the Angler of the Year title.

He does indicate he used GPS for navigational purposes.

 

https://www.flwfishing.com/tips/2015-06-06-shallow-running

 

 

he decided not to use it so he wouldn't be tempted to use it offshore which was not his strength of fishing.  He also ran an aluminum boat to maximize his shallow water fishing too.  Slightly different situation to me.

[Krux5506]

If I fished more bodies of water I'd be using them a lot more carefully. Typically I'm fishing the same bay/lake every weekend so they aren't absolutely crucial but I've gotten pretty attached to the bow mount unit. At the end of last year I shorted the transducer cable for it so I didn't turn it on at all during late fall, and I just felt like I was kind of missing something...

 

Like many of our modern day electronics, it's easy to become dependent on them even when we don't need them....unfortunately.