Fish Finder Protectant and Question - Kayak Fishing Adventures on Big Water’s Edge

Croaker Dave · 04-26-2011, 11:51 AM

For proper protection of your new fishfinder from the elements, a liberal coating of fish slime is recommended on every outing.

Seriously, this one is about 4 years old and just had it's first problem. The power is stuck on, so it turns on as soon as I connect the battery. If I try to turn it off with the on/off button, it shuts down, then starts itself right up. Kind of a PITA to have to go into the front hatch to turn it on after paddling out. First sign that I might need a new one soon.

FF Question: The dual-beam shows black fish symbols for fish that are straight under, and outlined fish symbols for fish that are farther off to the sides in the wide beam. Or I guess they could also be to the front or back? What do you guys do to decide if the fish on the sides are to the port or starboard? Turn left and right? Not so easy to do if trolling.

Iceman · 04-26-2011, 11:58 AM

Dave, I would recommend turning off the fish id and reading raw sonar to see what is really going on. There is no way to determine where fish are horizontally with a basic sonar as it is just telling you their depth from above.

I am sure someone could give a much more detailed analysis of the sonar function for you.

buttchaser · 04-26-2011, 12:00 PM

Dave ,
Check out pg 9

http://webpages.charter.net/abshire5...20tutorial.pdf

flydigital · 04-26-2011, 02:36 PM

Good stuff, read up guys, there are lots of good resources out there on the internet.

Seriously get rid of those fish symbols though, you will miss so much with this turned on.

And remember, SonaR indicates RANGE not depth. If a fish is not directly under you, depth is just a guess since you don't know the BEARING and angle from center. I guess it could be said that the narrow beam is much more "depth accurate", but only at shallow depths.

Trying to navigate to a target on the wide beam, I make figure eights until I find it (shows on the narrow beam). Good to practice this with known targets like kelp stringers. There's no way to tell the bearing so pick a direction and try it, if it falls off the wide beam you went the wrong way, go back and try another direction.

bus kid · 04-27-2011, 07:52 AM

get it working, clean it off, and put a plastic bag over it with a rubber band at the base.

check out page 6 http://www.bigwatersedge.com/bwevb/s...?t=6394&page=6

04-26-2011, 11:58 AM	#2
Iceman Administrator Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: 1-2 miles off the point Posts: 6,948	Dave, I would recommend turning off the fish id and reading raw sonar to see what is really going on. There is no way to determine where fish are horizontally with a basic sonar as it is just telling you their depth from above. I am sure someone could give a much more detailed analysis of the sonar function for you. __________________

04-27-2011, 07:52 AM	#5
bus kid Team Keine Zugehörigkeit Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Way out there Posts: 2,854	get it working, clean it off, and put a plastic bag over it with a rubber band at the base. check out page 6 http://www.bigwatersedge.com/bwevb/s...?t=6394&page=6 __________________ Não alimente os trolls------------Don't feed the trolls---------------インタネット荒らしを無視しろ

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04-26-2011, 12:00 PM	#3
buttchaser Float Tuber Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 243	Dave , Check out pg 9 http://webpages.charter.net/abshire5...20tutorial.pdf

04-26-2011, 02:36 PM	#4
flydigital Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 192	Good stuff, read up guys, there are lots of good resources out there on the internet. Seriously get rid of those fish symbols though, you will miss so much with this turned on. And remember, SonaR indicates RANGE not depth. If a fish is not directly under you, depth is just a guess since you don't know the BEARING and angle from center. I guess it could be said that the narrow beam is much more "depth accurate", but only at shallow depths. Trying to navigate to a target on the wide beam, I make figure eights until I find it (shows on the narrow beam). Good to practice this with known targets like kelp stringers. There's no way to tell the bearing so pick a direction and try it, if it falls off the wide beam you went the wrong way, go back and try another direction.