Bad news after humminbird update

[Ray Clark]

Going to be honest....I bought the electronics more for the use of the guests I rent my boat out to for fishing than myself.
I use the electronics for depth and to find weedlines and structure....but I have yet to see a fish on it.
I've caught a whole lot of fish....but not because of seeing them on the locator. Simulator makes it look easy. ...not really

True dat.

My previous finder could show underwater structure, and I don't think I ever really "saw" a fish on it.

I'm learning to find the signatures that indicate the presence of fish, or catchable fish targets. The last time I went out was the first time I really noticed individual fish interacting with schools of shad/baitfish.

 

[thill]

That is curious. IF there are fish there, you should be able to see them. Knowing what you are looking at on that particular unit's screen is the key.

Also, if looking on side scan or down scan, fish don't show up very much, just a shadow or little light spot. Using the traditional fishfinder mode definitely shows fish much better.

Use the structure or side scan, then switch over to fishfinder when over the structure, and you may suddenly be seeing many more fish. Then go back to the other scans and see if you can figure out what fish look like in those modes. That will help you learn that particular unit.

 

[Still Afloat]

Honestly, I caught more fish before I upgraded the electronics. Too much fiddling around to try to make the crap work as advertised.

So far the side scan is basically worthless. Some pretty pictures when passing by structure but, not so helpful for finding Trout in a lake. Hope to justify the crapload of cash that I spent on this stuff when I start Bass fishing again.

 

[Ray Clark]

I use the side scan as thill discussed. I can cover a fair amount of water quickly looking for submerged features in the deeper portions of the lake where the fish are hanging out at this time of year. Once I've found that, then I'm back to 2D sonar on and around the submerged feature.

What I have not seen on my 2D sonar are those big arced returns like you see in so many demos or pictures. I can see fish moving up or down, and I will get the system flagging fish with an icon.

 

[FuzzyGrub]

I saw the latest craze was pros hanging over the boat, using a cone to view deep water smallmouth spawning beds. They would jig and watch at the same time.

 

[LDUBS]

I saw the latest craze was pros hanging over the boat, using a cone to view deep water smallmouth spawning beds. They would jig and watch at the same time.

Funny. I was just recently reading something about banning floggers from bass tournament fishing. I had no idea what a flogger was until I looked it up. It is that cone thing you are talking about.

 

[LDUBS]

Honestly, I caught more fish before I upgraded the electronics. Too much fiddling around to try to make the crap work as advertised.

So far the side scan is basically worthless. Some pretty pictures when passing by structure but, not so helpful for finding Trout in a lake. Hope to justify the crapload of cash that I spent on this stuff when I start Bass fishing again.

Sometimes I think I'm overthinking things because of the fish finder. I don't have sidescan but I do feel the same way about down scan. I never use it.

I use the side scan as thill discussed. I can cover a fair amount of water quickly looking for submerged features in the deeper portions of the lake where the fish are hanging out at this time of year. Once I've found that, then I'm back to 2D sonar on and around the submerged feature.

What I have not seen on my 2D sonar are those big arced returns like you see in so many demos or pictures. I can see fish moving up or down, and I will get the system flagging fish with an icon.

I see the big arches when in deep water. And I can see my downriver weights. I see a lot of other marks that I have no idea what they are. In shallow water it is kind of a jumble of things. I hate to admit it but half the time I'm not sure what I'm seeing. Lol. I think I get more info from the Navionics map contours where I can see underwater banks, holes, etc.

 

[Still Afloat]

I saw a lot of arches today but, the arches weren’t bitting.

 

[Ray Clark]

I saw a lot of arches today but, the arches weren’t bitting.

I had a similar problem on Monday.

I pulled up to the boat ramp just as the hail came down. It quit a few minutes later and I was able to launch. I could see schools of shad, and the finder flagged fish with the icon. But they weren't havin' any of what I was sellin'!

 

[thill]

I use the side scan as thill discussed. I can cover a fair amount of water quickly looking for submerged features in the deeper portions of the lake where the fish are hanging out at this time of year. Once I've found that, then I'm back to 2D sonar on and around the submerged feature.

What I have not seen on my 2D sonar are those big arced returns like you see in so many demos or pictures. I can see fish moving up or down, and I will get the system flagging fish with an icon.

You need to turn the fish ID with icons off. That way, you can see the raw data. That will help you learn, and eventually it will enable you to pick out fish when the auto ID misses it. Or be able to tell what are fish and what is debris floating by.

 

[KevinWI]

You need to turn the fish ID with icons off. That way, you can see the raw data. That will help you learn, and eventually it will enable you to pick out fish when the auto ID misses it. Or be able to tell what are fish and what is debris floating by.

probably a good idea...fish Id just gets it wrong .... a lot and confuses the screen.

 

[LDUBS]

When I have the fish ID on it shows a line of fish following my down rigger weights. What a coincidence! At other times I see these textbook looking arches but no fish ID icon.

I was recently looking at the Humminbird site. They seemed to be talking about an improved fish ID (fish ID plus) that uses some improved algorithms to ID fish. Looks like it has been around a few years. I have no idea if it really is an improved version or not.

 

[KevinWI]

When I have the fish ID on it shows a line of fish following my down rigger weights. What a coincidence! At other times I see these textbook looking arches but no fish ID icon.

I was recently looking at the Humminbird site. They seemed to be talking about an improved fish ID (fish ID plus) that uses some improved algorithms to ID fish. Looks like it has been around a few years. I have no idea if it really is an improved version or not.

My units are a year old...so I'm guessing brand new G4N Helix