Help me understand these fish finder readings (pictures)

[StrikePrince]

Hi all-

 

I had my first day with a fish finder yesterday and had a lot of fun.  It was so cool passing over spots that I never would have thought twice of in the past, and seeing so many signs of life.  I was able to pick up a few small bass casting deeper running cranks to these active spots which was very cool.

 

I did have a few questions about things that I saw that I'm hoping you can help with.  Pictures available through this link.

 

https://imgur.com/a/ZhRRkOu

 

The first picture- I'm not quite sure what those diagonal lines are.  Could they be wind blown stalks of thin weeds?  And are those schools of small baitfish towards the top of the water column?

 

The second pic- what is going on there?  I initially thought I might have had the gain set too high, but I didn't see that level of splotchiness for the rest of the day.  It looks like they are all fish arches intermixed with those bulbous yellow splotches (what could those be?).

 

The last picture again- are those baitfish clouds?

 

[Troy85]

I'm no offshore expert, but i'd say you're correct with first picture.  I'm not sure what those diagonal lines are either.  I don't think they are weeds because they aren't really showing up on the down scan. 2nd pic, I'd say small bait balls with other larger fish nearby.  3rd picture, I would say that is a bait cloud for sure.  I remember when I started trying fishing structure for the first time, and I saw something similar to your 3rd picture(except I saw bigger arches below them as well).  I thought, this has got to be what these offshore guys talk about when they say you locate bait clouds with fish under them.  I threw a crank bait, and I ended up catching several nice bass.

[mattkenzer]

40 minutes ago, Troy1985s said:

I thought, this has got to be what these offshore guys talk about when they say you locate bait clouds with fish under them.  I threw a crank bait, and I ended up catching several nice bass.

 

Absolutely, finished third in a tournament last weekend by following the offshore food ....

[Team9nine]

1st pic - most likely air bubbles rising to the surface...very common on some waters and at certain timesof the year. And yes, most likely bait balls of some sort to left.

 

2nd pic - mostly all small fish and baitfish pods scattered throughout the water column. Could be picking up some scattered detritus in the water depending on exact lake and conditions. Things (fish) at the top of the water column will naturally arch smaller because the cone is smaller closer to the transducer. This is where it is good to have DI also to help interpret 2D. The fact that they are yellow suggests they were directly underneath you, whereas sone of the bluish colored marks suggests weaker returns from the edges of the cone.

 

3rd pic - baitfish clouds

[TnRiver46]

Diagonal lines are bubbles 

[StrikePrince]

6 hours ago, Team9nine said:

1st pic - most likely air bubbles rising to the surface...very common on some waters and at certain timesof the year. And yes, most likely bait balls of some sort to left.

 

2nd pic - mostly all small fish and baitfish pods scattered throughout the water column. Could be picking up some scattered detritus in the water depending on exact lake and conditions. Things (fish) at the top of the water column will naturally arch smaller because the cone is smaller closer to the transducer. This is where it is good to have DI also to help interpret 2D. The fact that they are yellow suggests they were directly underneath you, whereas sone of the bluish colored marks suggests weaker returns from the edges of the cone.

 

3rd pic - baitfish clouds

Thank you.  I didnt know that the color could indicate the position of the object in relation to the cone.  Thanks for the insight.