Name that Return

[Denis_Ruso]

Originally Posted by GregAndrew

I am going to go with YT on Denis Ruso pic. (because of the quick 10' descent in the middle of the pic and the depth changes on the last high arch).

I am going with school of Bonito or smaller grade YT on the bottom pic from TJones (at that depth I would expect to see more solid and hard returns from anything larger). Although they could be nicer fish that just never made it into the main cone angle? Not sure about the top pics though, not much information there.

I see what you mean by descent but keep in mind that a FF signal is a cone. Therefore it may look like they're descending but they're just getting further from the signal or turning. Also the thickness of the marks is signature of WSB because of their air bladder I believe.

Also note the depth is 50' and kelp.

I guess a hint would have helped that it's in Malibu.

[TCS]

Definitely an interesting thread. I'm not sure I'm getting the most out of may fancy Lowrance sonar unit though. Anybody care to share settings that work well for LJ?

[YakDout]

Originally Posted by TCS

Definitely an interesting thread. I'm not sure I'm getting the most out of may fancy Lowrance sonar unit though. Anybody care to share settings that work well for LJ?

Which unit do you have? Which transducer? I’d try running your gain/sensitivity around high 70’s to 80’s. Colorline about the same maybe a little less. Turn off surface clarity and noise rejection. Play around with it a little. Drop a heavy jig while you’re drifting and see how long you can watch it on your screen. If you don’t see it for very long, start turning up the gain. You might get a little clutter or feedback from other transducers in the area, but that’s ok. You will also see more fish.

The goal is to have the gain up just high enough to still be able to see what’s going on but not so high that you can’t see through it. Run over the kelp beds and note how that looks. Softer bottom and softer returns will look reddish/purple, solid or harder returns will look more yellowish. Once you have it dialed it, you should only need to make very minor adjustments from there. Good luck and report back.

[GregAndrew]

Originally Posted by YakDout

A hooked 35 LB worm?

You really had the drag buttoned down. Hahaha

The entire screen there is less than 3 minutes of duration. So the WSB rising is about the last 1.5 minutes of around a 7 minute fight ("at the end of the fight").

Originally Posted by Denis_Ruso

I see what you mean by descent but keep in mind that a FF signal is a cone. Therefore it may look like they're descending but they're just getting further from the signal or turning. Also the thickness of the marks is signature of WSB because of their air bladder I believe.

Even on the widest of cone angles, you would not see that type of range change from your transducer at those depths without vertical movement. Turning will make no change for your FF, only distance from the transducer. Thickness of the mark is based on how much (vertically) of the object returns a signal. The two signatures of WSB are the color (strength of signal) and elongated marks with not much vertical movement (worm like).
Although color can be the most difficult to interpret based on distance, thickness can be quite interesting too (just look at my last pic again, that is the same fish at the bottom as at the top).

Also note the depth is 50' and kelp.

At that depth scale, and with the fish between 15 and 35' away, it would be hard to guess the species, but easy to tell that they were large. Especially not knowing how you have your sensitivity and colorline set.

I guess a hint would have helped that it's in Malibu.

IDK, there has been some very good YT fishing there at times?

[YakDout]

Originally Posted by GregAndrew

The entire screen there is less than 3 minutes of duration. So the WSB rising is about the last 1.5 minutes of around a 7 minute fight ("at the end of the fight").

Interesting so do you have your scroll speed turned down to less than normal speed? I feel like if my unit is set to normal that mark would be long gone off the screen during that duration.

[GregAndrew]

I want to change my mind on TJones 2nd pic now. Being sideways, I did not notice the jagged bottom, just the jagged fish arches. Apparently there was some decent swell, which not only makes the fish look more erratic, it can cause the marks to appear less defined (as the cone angle rocks the fish in and out of view). I would bet on something larger than most of the local Bonito.

[surfisher]

Here's a couple for you guys. Lowrance elite 7 chirp. All surface, noise clarity etc... turned off. Sensitivity 63% colorline 78% ... I found it marks pretty good and i can decipher what type of fish is under the boat but I'm thinking of switching to medium chirp or 200hz vs. 83hz so I have a better understanding of what is directly under me. Thoughts?
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[YakDout]

Originally Posted by surfisher

Here's a couple for you guys. Lowrance elite 7 chirp. All surface, noise clarity etc... turned off. Sensitivity 63% colorline 78% ... I found it marks pretty good and i can decipher what type of fish is under the boat but I'm thinking of switching to medium chirp or 200hz vs. 83hz so I have a better understanding of what is directly under me. Thoughts?

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Judging by the pictures in your graph I wouldn’t change many settings. Those are some great images

[GregAndrew]

Originally Posted by surfisher

Here's a couple for you guys. Lowrance elite 7 chirp. All surface, noise clarity etc... turned off. Sensitivity 63% colorline 78% ... I found it marks pretty good and i can decipher what type of fish is under the boat but I'm thinking of switching to medium chirp or 200hz vs. 83hz so I have a better understanding of what is directly under me. Thoughts?
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I have not found chirp settings that I like yet, but I am new to them. I like both high and low sonar frequencies, but for different reasons. The low frequencies (and their associated larger cone angles) are better for finding areas of fish and structure. You are scanning about 4 times the area, with double the cone angle. Knowing what is right underneath you is overrated, unless you are a Lobster fisherman or fish pretty deep structure.

The high frequency is better at indicating what you are looking at (based on the colors), assuming that both your sensitivity and colorline are not too high nor too low. If all of the targets (including bait schools) return the hardest color of your chosen pallet, then you are probably too high in one or both (in either frequency type). But, in my experience, the high frequency can be better fine tuned to return color differences between species. As with all other marks, the size of (and distance to) the target are going to play a part in what you see on the screen for any particular settings.