Things You'll Need:
- Boat
- Fishing Pole
- Fishing Tackle
- Bait
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Step 1
Read your fishfinder's instruction manual. Although the principles for using a fishfinder are the same for most models, they can vary somewhat.
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Step 2
Take your fishfinder out in your boat onto a lake. Determine the depth of the lake floor. This is usually given as a number that the fishfinder will display. This helps you determine how much line to feed out from your pole.
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Step 3
Turn off the automatic mode of identifying fish. In automatic mode, the fishfinder display shows a small fish symbol along with a depth. The automatic mode, however, won't show you the brush piles.
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Step 4
Learn to identify brush piles. Bass like to feed near brush piles, which are often hiding spots for smaller fish. A brush pile will appear as a pattern resting on the lake bottom on your fishfinder display. Consider stopping the boat near these echoes.
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Step 5
Learn how to identify bass on your fishfinder. Bass echoes appear as short curved lines in between the display's representation of the lake floor, which is a jagged line near the bottom of your display, and the representation of the lake surface, which is a static-filled horizontal line at the top of your fishfinder display.
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Step 6
Adjust the fishfinder controls to enhance the echoes. There is usually a sensitivity control, which should be increased if the echoes are faint. There is also a noise filter, which should be adjusted if there is random static in your display.
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Step 7
Remember what the fishfinder display was indicating when you catch a bass. This helps you to learn the subtleties of your specific fishfinder display. Next time you'll know what to look for.
