How to Use Fish Finder Sonar

Fish finder sonar uses transmitters to emit high-frequency signals under water. These signals are directed downward, toward the bottom of the body of water. If nothing is between the fish finder sonar and the bottom, the fish finder display will show only a line representing the bottom. But when a fish is beneath the transmitter, it creates an echo. This echo is returned to the fish finder sensor, which interprets the echo and displays the depth at which the echo occurred, giving you a fishing advantage.

Things You'll Need

• Fishing pole
• Fishing tackle
• Boat

Instructions

1. Install the transmitter. You'll usually have a choice between mounting the transmitter beneath the boat, to a trolling motor or atop the interior hull and letting it drop into the water.

2. Set the fish finding sonar's sensitivity while watching the display. When the sensitivity is too high, there will be static-like patterns on the display. If the sensitivity is too low, not even the bottom of the body of the water will appear on screen.

3. Determine the depth of the body of water. This will be a numeric value on the fish finder sonar system's display. This is important in helping you to determine how much fishing line to feed out from your pole.

4. Get accustomed to the display's representation of the body of water. The bottom will appear as a jagged, solid line near the bottom of your display. The surface of the water appears as a jumbled static-filled horizontal line at the top of your fish finder sonar system's display.

5. Learn to identify patterns on your display that are brush piles if you're fishing on a lake. Brush piles appear as blobs resting on the lake bottom. Fish such as bass hide out in brush piles, so consider fishing near these echoes.

6. Learn how to identify fish on your fish finder sonar system display with the fish symbols turned off. With the symbols turned off, fish appear as short curved lines above the bottom of the body of water. Adjust the fish finder sonar's noise filter if there are lines in your display that look like random static.

7. Remember what the fish finder sonar display was indicating when you catch a fish. This will help you to learn how to use your system to catch more fish later if you keep in mind what to look for.

Tips & Warnings

• Clean your fishing equipment after use to help keep it in good operating condition. Read the instruction manual for your fish finder sonar system. Although the general guidelines for using these systems are the same, there are details that vary between manufacturers and models.

• Be careful when handling fishing hooks and lures, which can cause injury. Even if you identify an echo as a fish correctly, there's no guarantee that the fish will take a bite at your bait.

Resources

• Fishing Regulations