Fish Finder Shallow Lakes

[LWD]

Hope y'all had some good fishing today. I'm out there on the lake using my $50 fish finder to locate the bass. I'm trying to float over some of them. Nothing shows up. Do I drop my line right over top where I located the fish on the finder, meaning I don't have to cast out 15ft just drop it where I located them? Hard to know which direction to cast and how far. If you have any insight it may be really helpful. I thank y'all for reading and have a good evening.

LWD

[Fishing Rhino]

There's no way to answer your question with any degree of accuracy. First, the bottom image on the screen is a history of where the transducer passed. Where that "fish" echo you saw was depends on the direction of your boat travel. Are you drifting sideways, forward, backward, or, are you under power.

Let's assume you are under power to keep it as simple as possible. The distance behind the boat where the fish you saw are located, depends on two factors, boat speed, and graph speed. The faster the boat speed, the further back it is. The faster the chart/graph speed the closer that target will be.

You'll have to perform some "trial runs" to arrive at an answer that is reasonbly close for stationary objects. Fish are not stationary, they can be moving along any of 360 degrees. So, let's work with something stationary, like a rock or other bottom landmark you can recognize.

Mark the spot of your landmark with a marker buoy. Then travel over the landmark. When it appears on the screen, drop another buoy, and you'll get an acceptably close idea of the distance. This will only work when you maintain that same speed. If you travel at various speeds while hunting your quarry, the distances will be different. Same if you adjust your chart speed.

As I mentioned earlier, fish are not fixed objects. You can return to the precise spot where the sounder marked the fish, and it may no longer be there.

[LWD]

Ok thanks fishing rhino for shedding a bit of light on the subject. I didn't know accurately what I wanted to ask but was curious about thinking with the fish finder. I use a kayak and I don't have marker buoys. So if I am paddling forward and receive an echo I should cast behind me? thanx

[Fishing Rhino]

Ok thanks fishing rhino for shedding a bit of light on the subject. I didn't know accurately what I wanted to ask but was curious about thinking with the fish finder. I use a kayak and I don't have marker buoys. So if I am paddling forward and receive an echo I should cast behind me? thanx

Yes, it will be behind you. Marker buoys are cheap, about seven bucks for two, or you can make your own with a bobber, plastic bottle, piece of wood and a sinker or any type of weight. They are invaluable whether you are in a kayak, canoe or bass boat. You can use them to mark edges of weed beds, bottom contour features such as bottom composition or depth changes. It enables you to accurately and thoroughly fish a particular piece of bottom. They provide a visual reference, just like navigation buoys indicate channels or hazards.

If you're fishing away from shore, and hook a fish, drop a marker buoy. Go back to it for your next cast and cast in the same direction as before. Make note of an obvious landmark such as a house, boulder, tree, point or whatever. There will be times when fish hold up on a small patch of bottom. A few feet one way or the other can determine whether or not you catch another. The buoy enables you to return to that precise position.

You can use the buoy as a reference to which you can cast, or a boat position from which you cast.

[vegas679]

Yes, it will be behind you. Marker buoys are cheap, about seven bucks for two, or you can make your own with a bobber, plastic bottle, piece of wood and a sinker or any type of weight. They are invaluable whether you are in a kayak, canoe or bass boat. You can use them to mark edges of weed beds, bottom contour features such as bottom composition or depth changes. It enables you to accurately and thoroughly fish a particular piece of bottom. They provide a visual reference, just like navigation buoys indicate channels or hazards.

If you're fishing away from shore, and hook a fish, drop a marker buoy. Go back to it for your next cast and cast in the same direction as before. Make note of an obvious landmark such as a house, boulder, tree, point or whatever. There will be times when fish hold up on a small patch of bottom. A few feet one way or the other can determine whether or not you catch another. The buoy enables you to return to that precise position.

You can use the buoy as a reference to which you can cast, or a boat position from which you cast.

Thanks for the tips. I'm new to fishing from a boat. Bought my first small jon boat a few months ago, but have only been out a few times. I'm pretty good fishing from the shore, but put me on the boat, and it's like I forgot how to fish. I Never tried using markers before, but it makes complete sense. Thanks for the advice, I have a 4 day fishing trip planned at Lake Gaston in VA, this weekend. I'm gonna try it.

[trophykayaker]

Great topic and helpful info from Rhino. I fish from a kayak, and recently bought a Hummingbird PT 160. I am getting used to the readings on the FF and see the structure, but have questions like where to cast when I see fish on the FF. Typically, I stop over drop-offs, or submerged structure when I observe fish, but so far have been unsuccessful on hooking one.