Finding bass on fishfinder

jamesmyers14

Eight Pointer
Got a garmin striker 4 for my lowe 1860. I have never really used any fishfinders/gps. I fish falls. I was wondering when I get the fishfinder installed what I should look for on it. Are the bass moving deep yet for the summer? From the fishing I have done on falls there isn't much Lilly pads or anything. I was thinking bass fishing on falls this summer I will be fishing them deep. What do I look for on my graphs to find structure and fish deep. Any help is appreciated thanks



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nccatfisher

nccatfisher

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
That 4 had a small screen, for someone just learning a depthfinder it won't be extremely user friendly. Make sure you have your transducer set perfectly and still you mostly aren't going to get perfect arches. With it set on hi-def you shouldn't have any trouble finding structure but you will only get feedback from
large fish on that setting. I just bought one for my small boat but I primarily only wanted bottom depth. A Helix 5 would have been much easier to learn. They have a bigger screen and are half price to what they were a year ago.

And yes the bass are moving deeper but they are going to come up shallow to forage, especially early in the morning and evenings. Learn what bait looks like in deep water and you will find bass when it gets hot.
 
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GSOHunter

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
http://www.theshadtaxi.com/content/sonar.html

I've done a couple trips with this guy and he has taught me a lot about sonars. I mostly do precision trolling now. I look for suspended fish or bait and then troll specific crankbaits with a specific amount of line out to get them to the proper depth. If you are fishing a lake with contour maps available then I would purchase that as well. You can usually use that to find drop-offs and other structure.

Precision Trolling has an app on the various app stores and you can subscribe to everything or buy specific depth charts for different lures.
 

jamesmyers14

Eight Pointer
GSOHunter said:
http://www.theshadtaxi.com/content/sonar.html

I've done a couple trips with this guy and he has taught me a lot about sonars. I mostly do precision trolling now. I look for suspended fish or bait and then troll specific crankbaits with a specific amount of line out to get them to the proper depth. If you are fishing a lake with contour maps available then I would purchase that as well. You can usually use that to find drop-offs and other structure.

Precision Trolling has an app on the various app stores and you can subscribe to everything or buy specific depth charts for different lures.
Click to expand...

Yah I'm gonna try and get better with my bass fishing and find suspended fish on structure and throw cranks and Carolina rigs.


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jamesmyers14

Eight Pointer
nccatfisher said:
That 4 had a small screen, for someone just learning a depthfinder it won't be extremely user friendly. Make sure you have your transducer set perfectly and still you mostly aren't going to get perfect arches. With it set on hi-def you shouldn't have any trouble finding structure but you will only get feedback from
large fish on that setting. I just bought one for my small boat but I primarily only wanted bottom depth. A Helix 5 would have been much easier to learn. They have a bigger screen and are half price to what they were a year ago.

And yes the bass are moving deeper but they are going to come up shallow to forage, especially early in the morning and evenings. Learn what bait looks like in deep water and you will find bass when it gets hot.
Click to expand...

No going back on now I can't afford anything nicer than the striker. I figured I may as well go with the striker at least because is has gps. I'll prolly go next weekend and just idle around all day figuring it out. How do you like the 4 so far ? Btw the boat already has a little panel mounted to the back for a fishfinder to be screwed into


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oldest school

Old Mossy Horns
jamesmyers14 said:
Yah I'm gonna try and get better with my bass fishing and find suspended fish on structure and throw cranks and Carolina rigs.


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Click to expand...

you will go nuts trying to catch LMB that are suspended.
if you will venture up steam in falls you will find classic channel breaks that are 8-12' where it breaks into the main river channel. find you some cover on these breaks (or bait and fish relating to the break) and you will do fine.

If the lake is at normal levels 90% of the money won on falls the rest of the summer will come from this area on this pattern.

i hate to suggest this because it is chicken :donk:donk:donk:donk but watch some others "out in the middle" then see what they are "on" to learn what to look for.

For God's sake dont mess with them while they are fishing. Please.
 
nccatfisher

nccatfisher

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
jamesmyers14 said:
No going back on now I can't afford anything nicer than the striker. I figured I may as well go with the striker at least because is has gps. I'll prolly go next weekend and just idle around all day figuring it out. How do you like the 4 so far ? Btw the boat already has a little panel mounted to the back for a fishfinder to be screwed into


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Click to expand...
It is fine for just depth, which as I said was what I needed on my hunting boat. I would go nuts using it for much more with that small screen.
 

jamesmyers14

Eight Pointer
oldest school said:
you will go nuts trying to catch LMB that are suspended.
if you will venture up steam in falls you will find classic channel breaks that are 8-12' where it breaks into the main river channel. find you some cover on these breaks (or bait and fish relating to the break) and you will do fine.

If the lake is at normal levels 90% of the money won on falls the rest of the summer will come from this area on this pattern.

i hate to suggest this because it is chicken :donk:donk:donk:donk but watch some others "out in the middle" then see what they are "on" to learn what to look for.

For God's sake dont mess with them while they are fishing. Please.
Click to expand...

I've been looking around online and I'm having trouble on learning how to find points and humps and channel breaks what do they look like? What should I look for


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nccatfisher

nccatfisher

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Put it on down imaging and look for just what you said. A hump looks like an abrupt rise. A channel break will be a deeper channel running through flats. Points usually jut out perpendicular to land. If you pay attention to the area you usually can see tell tale things that will tip you off to a point sometimes it will be shallow water, rocks etc but not all the time. Some points may be completely submerged. If you are having this much trouble you may want to get someone to go with you and give you a crash course on reading a depthfinder that is familiar with them. Or buy a card for it. But those cards are just general, many are not going to put you on exact spots.
 

oldest school

Old Mossy Horns
jamesmyers14 said:
I've been looking around online and I'm having trouble on learning how to find points and humps and channel breaks what do they look like? What should I look for


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Click to expand...

back in the day you found these on topo maps of the lake bottom then used a finder to verify them. falls has excellent lake bottom maps. you just need a topo map reading class. navionics has online lake bottom views available that would work fine.
When the contour lines are far apart the land (or lake bottom) has a constant level. When they are closer together the lake bottom is changing depths. with your on line skills you can learn this skill quickly.

the bass will relate to three things on the structure you are looking for (points humps channel breaks).
a- contour or depth change
b- cover on point or hump -cover on break is best (stump, rock, brushpile)
c-baitfish in area.

You find all three together and you'll be golden.

general rule of thumb- fish the shallowest water closest to the break or change in depth. On low light conditions they should be on top of the points, humps, bright skies tend to have them deeper or relating to the depth change.
some fish follow bait but as i said earlier good luck chasing them down. first things first, catch you some relating to cover or depth changes.

they be easier. :)

Good Luck.
 

jamesmyers14

Eight Pointer
oldest school said:
ok james,
this link gives you more online detail that you will ever use on the bottom contours of falls. Oh how i wish i had had this back when i was your age. take a look and see if it makes sense then we can discuss as you like.

http://webapp.navionics.com/#@13&key=epzzEv|s_N
Click to expand...

Yah it's starting to make sense
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jamesmyers14

Eight Pointer
I found all of these some points and humps these look promising to me I hope I am getting the hang of it


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oldest school

Old Mossy Horns
jamesmyers14 said:
I found all of these some points and humps these look promising to me I hope I am getting the hang of it


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Click to expand...

in your middle pic the 9ft one is far more likely to be productive for you than the deeper one. You are really making it hard on yourself targeting the pearly depths,

look for stuff in the 10ft range before you tackle those deeper depths.
 

jamesmyers14

Eight Pointer
oldest school said:
in your middle pic the 9ft one is far more likely to be productive for you than the deeper one. You are really making it hard on yourself targeting the pearly depths,

look for stuff in the 10ft range before you tackle those deeper depths.
Click to expand...

Yes I was just trying to show examples of humps and points I got the hang of it I think. So you say stick to shallower depths? Even in a hot afternoon


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oldest school

Old Mossy Horns
jamesmyers14 said:
Yes I was just trying to show examples of humps and points I got the hang of it I think. So you say stick to shallower depths? Even in a hot afternoon


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Click to expand...

well i just know that given your experience they will work better for you.. the upper half of falls has more gradual sloping points that i think you could catch them on, the area before the lake widens in sight of i-85. up there it is a challenge running around.
find the shallowest topped point that extends the furherest towards deep water and try that.
and if falls goes up enough to get out of it's bank, leave the depthfinder at home and fish the shallow flooded brush, even if it is august. :)
 
Crappie_Hunter

Crappie_Hunter

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
There is no better substitute for time on the water. Some spots look great on a map and don't hold any fish. The only way to know is to get out there and fish


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SUDDEN IMPACT

SUDDEN IMPACT

Eight Pointer
I'd like to add...lf you graph has a GPS look over a area where two creeks intersect. Sometimes a angler may have the area doctored up with some brush or cane.
 
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