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Advancement in Sonar
Flasher - Hard bottom was differentiated by the double echo. Soft bottom didn’t have a double echo.
Paper graph - Essentially printed the same data that you were seeing with the flasher, and that's all
- It was nice because you could look back at the graph rolls and look at all the fish, which was really useful because you couldn't look back on a flasher.
- The flasher also didn’t represent what the fish looked like and the paper graph changed everything. You could see the different fish sizes and multiple fish on paper became a game changer
GPS - was the next big advancement. So all of a sudden now you can see your boat on a lake. Mapping technology hadn’t been fully developed and we relied on our DNR for maps, before GPS.
- Without GPS, how do you find your fishing spot?
- You lined up holes with a tree and a cabin and then you could drive on that line until you found the right depth of the spot you wanted to fish
And how do you remember that from all the fishing spots?
- You had two notebooks to document and triangulate the fishing spots
- One of which was a duplicate in case you needed a backup
- Today we have waypoints and make sure to back them up as well!
- Now you look at the map before you get to the lake and boat right to the fishing spot
Minnesota has the best maps in the world because this is where mapping started
- Navionics and Lake Master had a mapping battle to get the most lakes so they could sell the most chips and make money
- They finished Minnesota first and then branched out to other states
- Doc created his own maps before this technology became available and utilized this to his advantage tournament fishing. It was an awfully complicated process
2D Sonar – Eliminated the need for paper by utilizing digital images
- You don't have to constantly look at your sonar because you've got memory now. You can scroll back in history right on your screen.
- Integrated lake maps, GPS, waypoints, added color and improved bottom identification
Down imaging – use primarily to observe fish on the bottom in the weeds, or the trees
Side Imaging – Use it for finding fish and structure, identify weed edges, rocks, inside turns and points
- 120 foot range in each direction – great for identifying structure
- Set your distance at 60 feet to scan for fish, will give you clearer image
- Trim up your motor to reduce interference from the motor
- Fish in the rocks are difficult to identify, they both are colored white and blend together
- Fish shadows stand out better than the fish at times
- Bigger fish make bigger shadows. The distance between the fish and the shadow relates to how far the fish is off the bottom
- Doc uses separate screen just for Side Imaging because it has a narrow beam and it doesn't have a cone like 2D Sonar. He can really tune in on the frequency and target separation
Spot Lock - One of the major advances in fishing technology
- Eliminates the need to anchor or become an expert to anchor
- On windy days try running your kicker while you spot lock
- Add weight to the front of your boat for better spot lock performance and better riding experience overall. Bags of Shotgun lead shot work really well for adding weight to the bow. Doc has added 150lbs to the front of his boat. This is especially relevant with the shift to lightweight lithium batteries
Live Imaging
- Mounting is best on an Ultrex, which gives you a hands free setup
- All other pole systems work, but you need to manually lift and more importantly not forget to lift them before moving to the next spot
- Live imaging will pinpoint fish and give you a target to cast at. Doc loves to cast but without a target you are just guessing
- You can follow and or troll to the fish
- You won’t see every fish on Live Imaging, if it looks good, throw some casts
- You can scan for fish 360 by rotating the transducer
Fishing tips
Fishing a New Lake
- First check your maps to help narrow your search
- Use your 2D sonar to locate your destination and scan for fish
- Find out what depth the fish are and what structure or bait they are relating too
- Mark your fish waypoints – always mark them on the fish
- Utilize your Forward Facing, Side and Down imaging to further examine the structure you are fishing and find the spot on the spot
- Always map when fishing on the new lake. You will never fill up the space on the card and you will have a more accurate view of the depth and structure
Understanding fish on your graph
- The true depth of the fish is the top of the fish arch
- The thickness of the fish arch determines the size of the fish
- The length of a fish arch is just an image of how long it was under the transducer and has nothing to do with its true size
General Tips
- Cast to the fish when they're in clear, shallow water
- Walleyes won’t give you a look in calm clear water 12 feet deep or more
- Key on old roads in reservoirs such as Devils lake. The gravel roads provide a lot of great structure, hard bottom, ditches and flats
- Google Earth provides unique information on lakes you can view. You can mark waypoints on good looking fish locations and add them to your sonar
You found fish but they won’t bite?
- Use the next technology Aqua View Camera. Often you’ll find out that they are Suckers, Blue Gills or something else
- Try going back to these fish before dark, and that's the most likely time they will bite
Special thanks to Bruce for joining our club to talk fishing. We had an amazing meeting and appreciate all the Sonar walleye fishing tips along with the different techniques and presentations you shared.
Remember,
if you love fishing, pursue it. You may have bad days, but you'll always learn something.
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