How to Read a Dial Fish Flasher
Dial fish finders help fishermen determine what is happening beneath their boat. Unlike other types of fish finders, the dial versions -- known most commonly as flashers -- do not show a digital image of the what's beneath the boat. Instead, they provide anglers information via a circular dial that uses lines and colors to show things such as water depth, bottom content and the presence of fish. Some anglers prefer dial fish finders to other fish finders because they show everything in real time.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
-
1
Power the dial fish flasher by turning the range dial clockwise. Turn the dial to the halfway point.
-
2
Watch the color and thickness of the lines on the dial. Flashers send a sonar signal to the bottom and take a reading. A hard bottom sends the signal back quickly and shows up on the dial as red. A soft bottom indicates a weak signal, which occurs on soft bottoms. Yellow signals indicate a moderately hard bottom. Rocks and gravel often show up as red lines, while muck and vegetation show up as green or yellow lines.
-
-
3
Find the last red line on the screen as you look clockwise at the dial. The last red line shows the bottom. Determine the water depth by finding the number on the dial that corresponds with the red line. If the line is thick, it means the bottom is hard. If the line is thin, you are over a soft bottom.
-
4
Find the line that shows the water's surface, which corresponds with the number 0. Look between it and the line that shows the bottom. Thin, yellow lines likely indicate the presence of small fish. Thicker yellow lines show bigger fish. Thin, green lines near the bottom red line likely show vegetation growing from the bottom of the lake.
-
1
References
- Photo Credit Tom Brakefield/Stockbyte/Getty Images
