I can see 'em but I can't catch 'em!!
Hi all
Headed out yesterday from The Cut for a long overdue fishing session....Saturday was a better day but I had some family commitments.
Anyway, decided to check out a couple of regular spots as well as sounding over some new ground I chose from the charts.
I have posted a couple of pics I took of the images I was seeing on my sounder (Furuno FCV-620) and I'll give you my interpretation of what I was seeing. Your comments are greatly appreciated, especially as I'm pretty new to this.
1st image:
High Frequency Zoom
Bottom Lock set to 5m
Manual range set to 90m
Bottom lock didn't pick up the line of 'fish' that's 10m above the bottom but it's showing 'something' on the bottom. The bottom is pretty sandy as there's not much colour below the red 'bottom'. I don't know how to interpret the 2nd echo but i noticed Tony Halliday mentioned it on a recent thread.
2nd image:
Different location but with similar settings to the 1st image, except whatever's hovering above the bottom on the right side image is showing about 4m above the bottom on the bottom lock screen. Again, this is a pretty sandy bottom and I was pretty impressed with the red showing on the screen, because to me, this is real evidence of fish under the boat....however, they weren't biting.
This scenario repeated itself at several spots I drifted over and if it wasn't for a flathead taking pity on my empty esky, I would have nothing to put in the pan.
Are these images of schooling fish or more likely bait fish? If you guys think they are fish, is it possible to identify them, size wise, I mean? I get pretty excited when I see these sorts of things show up on the sounder, because to me, they're fish, but the fact that they aren't biting isn't new.
I had fun out there yesterday and it's a pretty steep learning curve but a whole lot of fun all the same. Who knows, next time I could bag out in 2 drops.
Thanks in advance of your comments.
regards
rusty...
PS. Sorry about my reflection in the sounder images.
If life is boring, you must be doing it wrong!
grayzeee
Posts: 2283
Date Joined: 09/07/09
i'd be pretty excited about
i'd be pretty excited about that show on the bottom lock.
as you said though , sometimes they're not hungry or agressive. early sat morn had the same thing, fish showing but none on the chew.
If I spent half as long fishing , as I do reading this bloody forum , I'd be twice the fisherman I am.
Lucky Tim
Posts: 2536
Date Joined: 28/11/07
for pic 1 your bottom lock
for pic 1 your bottom lock won't pick up tjhe fish showing around the 30m mark on the RH screen as it is only set to show 5m from the bottom. I'd also read the bottom as harder than sand as you are getting a pretty strong second echo there.
As for not getting any fish from them, just remember they don't always bite. It may pay to try it again around the top of the tide or the last of the run in. Also fish don't always show like the instruction manuals, I've pulled good fish off lousy screen shots and got nothing on what looked awesome.
Bodie
Posts: 3758
Date Joined: 05/11/07
couple of suggestions (just
couple of suggestions (just my opinion)
Expand your bottom lock, i usually show bottom 8-10 metres in metro waters.
With manual range, i would only be showing the 60m range max in 40m depth. This will show you greater definition of the bottom, and give a better indication of what your fishing, especially if its coral. it magnifies the lumps for you, in some cases you wouldnt even see a lump 1-2m high, which can quite commonly hold fish.
I dont use a furuno, but i would have thought princaples are the same?
First pic sitting up in the water column could possibly be sambo's. Unles fishing with correct baits or jigs they may not bite. Could also be sweep.
Seaquest
Posts: 1140
Date Joined: 22/10/09
I would personally leave the
I would personally leave the bottom lock as it is. I run mine at 3m. It is more of a tool for find ground than fish. I don't think a lot of people really understand bottom lock its not just the last few metres zoomed in.
I would also run your range on the normal reading at around 20m and manually shift up and down. Unless your looking for tuna or sambos the bottom few metres is all you should worry about.
Bodie
Posts: 3758
Date Joined: 05/11/07
i only use the zoom once ive
i only use the zoom once ive found something worth looking at, usually highlighted by fish or a rise in the reef or coral.
Seaquest
Posts: 1140
Date Joined: 22/10/09
Whats your gain set on? Looks
Whats your gain set on? Looks to be on auto. Don't run your gain too high in those sort of depths as you start seeing things that aren't worth dropping a line on. Leave your gain between 3 - 4 and don't change it. Keep things consistent and you will soon have a better idea of whats what.
The ground on your pics looks pretty flat to me and I be guessing that the fish above are bait fish but you never know. Bottom lock will show lots of red spikes attached to the bottom when you go over any reasonable ground. As the ecos from your sounder change depth over a short distance they show up as a spike on your bottom lock. So when you go over sand the depth is consistent and your bottom lock is flat and when you go over coral/reef the depth changes creating spikes on your bottom lock.
r.gates
Posts: 573
Date Joined: 15/11/10
Sounder settings
Thanks for your comments.
I usually run the sounder's range on Auto until I'm nearing my chosen fishing spot, then I go to Manual and zoom in between 3 - 10m, which gives me a better look at the bottom.
Calm days will give a truer reading when zoomed in, than rough days because the bobbing of the boat will make the bottom look lumpier than it might really be.
The gain is normally on Auto, but I'll try switching it to Manual and having a tweak, for better definition.
Heading out from The Cut you run over the 3 mile reef, which comes up from 14m to 11m and it's rocky/weedy area with sand either side, and I use that to check out different sounder readings....you can see the sandy bottom change to weed/rock/reef and compare the sounder images.
Finding those small ledges is the key to some fishing spots....just knowing how they 'look' on the sounder is the key!
regards
rusty...
If life is boring, you must be doing it wrong!
grayzeee
Posts: 2283
Date Joined: 09/07/09
i tried having the range set
i tried having the range set double depth to get second echo last week when trolling about 3 mile .
i found when leaving gain untouched , that sand got a second echo , but going over reef reef made second echo disappear.
thought it'd be the other way round but there you go.
If I spent half as long fishing , as I do reading this bloody forum , I'd be twice the fisherman I am.