fish i.d.

[toolpush]

How many of you use the fish i.d. feature on your depthfinders. I usually don't but am not real proficient on interpreting my electronic signals. I have a highend lowrance (lms680) black and white. and a eagle on the trolling motor. Anyway was just wondering how many use this feature. I think it probably shows a lot of fake fish signals.

[Jig Man]

I never turn it on.  It will show anything as fish (air bubbles, leaves, etc.)

[cart7t]

In virtually every graph manufacturers instruction manual comes the disclaimer that the fish ID feature cannot actually make the distinction between a fish and just about anything else underwater.

That alone should tell you to just turn the thing off all the time.  

[moloch16]

I'm not 100% sure but I think turning on Fish ID increases the filtering provided by the unit such that only the things the unit really thinks may possibly be a fish are displayed as fish symbols.   I turned it on one time just to see what happened and all the crud usually displayed (bubbles, leaves, sticks, weeds, etc) went away and only the really strong returns turned into fish symbols.

But the other crud is usually more important than the fish arches so yeah...don't use Fish ID

[Grey Wolf]

I think you're thinking right.

[Matt 825]

I always have the fish ID turned off.  You have to learn to interpet things on the sonar yourself instead of letting the unit do it for you.  A tree or brush pile in say 30ft of water will come up as a group of fish when fish ID is turned on, but with it off you can usaully see that it is a tree or brush and then you might also be able to see an arch or arches above or to the side of the tree.  

[J Francho]

I leave it off.  As long as your transducer is properly installed and you gain adjusted properly, you will be able to see clear arches where there are fish.