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To the guys that always catch fish #11008541 07/30/15 12:44 AM
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Chris_K Offline OP
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All the fish finder photos I've seen lately and reading the corresponding comments got me thinking about my processes. Do you locate fish on your FF before you grab a pole? Do you know you're around fish due to your electronics before you fish a spot? I'm thinking that my lack of understanding FF's has handicapped my fishing results severely. Is there anyone here that flat catches em without much assistance from electronics? Am I putting too much stock into electronics?

Last edited by It's a giant!; 07/30/15 12:47 AM.
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Re: To the guys that always catch fish [Re: Chris_K] #11008562 07/30/15 12:59 AM
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Brent S Offline
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Fish finders don't become very useful until you want to fish 10 ft or deeper off shore stuff.

Re: To the guys that always catch fish [Re: Chris_K] #11008565 07/30/15 01:00 AM
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Frank the Tank Offline
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Depends on how you fish. Do you like to just troll down the bank on the trolling motor covering water with moving baits? If so, then your FF isn't as important. Do you like to fish specific targets on shore like docks, or lay-down trees, etc.? If so, then your FF isn't as important. But if you like to fish brush-piles in 20 foot of water, then you better get better at your electronics. I don't even fish brush-piles or rock-piles that I don't see fish on or baitfish around. If they ain't there, I ain't stoppin. A quality unit with side imaging is worth every penny.


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Re: To the guys that always catch fish [Re: Chris_K] #11008586 07/30/15 01:13 AM
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FMJshooter Offline
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For me the deep bite can be more reliable so yes that's where knowing how to use your graphs is important. Most times if I'm fishing shallow without success I can pull out and catch them deep.

Can help fishing shallow too if you idle an area close to shore and see shad being fed on it's pretty much a guarantee that you're going to hammer em with moving baits on the bank.

Last edited by FMJshooter; 07/30/15 01:17 AM.
Re: To the guys that always catch fish [Re: Chris_K] #11008602 07/30/15 01:21 AM
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I almost always graph a hole that's deeper than 14-15 feet before I fish it, if I don't mark a school I'm moving on. I may idle for 2-3 hours before I find what I want to see, fish ideally position on a piece of deep structure or drop off, close to the bottom where a Crig or Footnall jig will be in their faces. If they are 3-6 feet off the bottom a drop shot or spoon normally works best. The exception is shallower structure where I may spook fish id eking over them. I'll typically use my structure scan (side imaging) to graph these spots

This is where booking me for a 1/2 day this time of the year is money extremely well spent

Re: To the guys that always catch fish [Re: Frank the Tank] #11008626 07/30/15 01:30 AM
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Wayne P. Offline
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Originally Posted By: Frank the Tank
Depends on how you fish. Do you like to just troll down the bank on the trolling motor covering water with moving baits? If so, then your FF isn't as important. Do you like to fish specific targets on shore like docks, or lay-down trees, etc.? If so, then your FF isn't as important. But if you like to fish brush-piles in 20 foot of water, then you better get better at your electronics. I don't even fish brush-piles or rock-piles that I don't see fish on or baitfish around. If they ain't there, I ain't stoppin. A quality unit with side imaging is worth every penny.


If you have the imaging technology, you can scan docks, laydowns, etc and know which ones have fish on them THEN fish for them. Don't have to pass directly over stuff to see stuff.
You can do that in less than 2' of water with Humminbird Side Imaging. Additionally during the spawn if the water is too muddy to see fish on the beds, imaging will show where they are. It lets you "sight fish" with zero visibility.


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Re: To the guys that always catch fish [Re: Chris_K] #11008634 07/30/15 01:33 AM
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Chris_K Offline OP
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I do like to run the banks but this time of year, and when it's really cold, it would help a lot to be able to get deeper. Once I back the boat away of the bank.... It's just a guessing game to me.

Re: To the guys that always catch fish [Re: Chris_K] #11008673 07/30/15 01:55 AM
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I have expensive units mounted front and back and use them a lot but there are plenty of times that info with gut feelings. Just because there isn't a school of fish or bait fish right under me doesn't mean I can't fish out in front of to the side of my boat. I have caught far more fish without using my graphs than I have with using them. I like to use the old term "like the Indians used to do it" (no offense to Indians, it's actually quite the opposite) a good understanding of electronics is great but I know guys who can tell you anything you need to know about graphs and can't catch a fish to save their lives and vice versa. Fishing deep is fine and can produce great results but a lot of guys get hung up on only fishing deep certain times of the year. When it's hot I catch fish shallow and when it's very cold I catch big fish shallow...... I never seen them fish on a graph by the way. If I see a place that looks like it will hold fish I'll fish it. I am a big fan of fishing jigs, worms etc in cover and that's what in good at. I will fish those baits year round and catch fish in all different depths. The problem I see with a lot of guys is thatnthwu get hung up on one certain way of fishing during a certain time of year and that's all they do.... As a fisherman and especially tournament guys, you've got to be able to be diverse and fish shallow, deep, cover, open water, sight fish, rely on your graph etc..... Think about this... KVD uses search baits to locate fish.... Ask yourself why

Re: To the guys that always catch fish [Re: Wayne P.] #11008680 07/30/15 01:56 AM
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Frank the Tank Offline
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Originally Posted By: Wayne P.
Originally Posted By: Frank the Tank
Depends on how you fish. Do you like to just troll down the bank on the trolling motor covering water with moving baits? If so, then your FF isn't as important. Do you like to fish specific targets on shore like docks, or lay-down trees, etc.? If so, then your FF isn't as important. But if you like to fish brush-piles in 20 foot of water, then you better get better at your electronics. I don't even fish brush-piles or rock-piles that I don't see fish on or baitfish around. If they ain't there, I ain't stoppin. A quality unit with side imaging is worth every penny.


If you have the imaging technology, you can scan docks, laydowns, etc and know which ones have fish on them THEN fish for them. Don't have to pass directly over stuff to see stuff.
You can do that in less than 2' of water with Humminbird Side Imaging. Additionally during the spawn if the water is too muddy to see fish on the beds, imaging will show where they are. It lets you "sight fish" with zero visibility.


Good points on the docks, forgot about that.


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Re: To the guys that always catch fish [Re: Frank the Tank] #11008682 07/30/15 01:58 AM
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Santonio Banderas Online Content
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Originally Posted By: Frank the Tank
Depends on how you fish. Do you like to just troll down the bank on the trolling motor covering water with moving baits? If so, then your FF isn't as important. Do you like to fish specific targets on shore like docks, or lay-down trees, etc.? If so, then your FF isn't as important. But if you like to fish brush-piles in 20 foot of water, then you better get better at your electronics. I don't even fish brush-piles or rock-piles that I don't see fish on or baitfish around. If they ain't there, I ain't stoppin. A quality unit with side imaging is worth every penny.



I also agree with this

Re: To the guys that always catch fish [Re: Chris_K] #11008750 07/30/15 02:17 AM
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We like fishing away from the bank and side/down imaging has helped up eliminate a lot of dead water.


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Re: To the guys that always catch fish [Re: Chris_K] #11008820 07/30/15 02:44 AM
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DAN-O Offline
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So what some of you are saying is that if there was a tournament trail that only allowed cheap depth finders, you wouldn't be good enough to win it against a level playing field? Lol.

Re: To the guys that always catch fish [Re: Chris_K] #11008836 07/30/15 02:49 AM
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And doesn't it dampen your pride somewhat to know that you have to rely on electronics to catch fish versus just instincts and skill alone? I won't ever pay 2,000 bucks for a depth finder. I understand many pros do and have to for competition at the pro level. I just wish sometimes technology was no so great. I spoke with a real pro about technology. He hates GPS because it allows amateur fishermen to catch fish others have located and marked. Send a simple text to fish so and so coordinates and that angler can do well, versus finding fish on his own like it should be. That is why MLF is such a great format! If you don't know all the rules of MLF, I would be happy to share them with you.

Re: To the guys that always catch fish [Re: DAN-O] #11008850 07/30/15 02:55 AM
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jbcarroll3000 Offline
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Originally Posted By: DAN-O
And doesn't it dampen your pride somewhat to know that you have to rely on electronics to catch fish versus just instincts and skill alone? I won't ever pay 2,000 bucks for a depth finder. I understand many pros do and have to for competition at the pro level. I just wish sometimes technology was no so great. I spoke with a real pro about technology. He hates GPS because it allows amateur fishermen to catch fish others have located and marked. Send a simple text to fish so and so coordinates and that angler can do well, versus finding fish on his own like it should be. That is why MLF is such a great format! If you don't know all the rules of MLF, I would be happy to share them with you.


hmmm

Re: To the guys that always catch fish [Re: Chris_K] #11008863 07/30/15 03:03 AM
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I haven't fished competitively for over 10 years. But when I did My little hummingbird was a cheapo basic unit. I only used it for depth. I always fished patterns. I never once relied on my FF to find fish. I caught a lot of fish too. Its more important to know the general patterns the fish are on. Having good electronics and knowing how to use it on top of having a very good feel and knowledge of what the fish are doing would be a big advantage.

Now if you want to fish specific structure a nice FF and knowing how to use it will definitely be to your advantage. It also helps to find bait fish. If you fish where you know there are bait fish there are almost always fish there. I still drop a marker when I'm on a brush pile.

With all this new technology it is really to anyone's advantage to get decent electronics and learn the basics. I recently bought a Helix 5 SI/GPS and love it. But I get caught up in messing with it too much rather than fishing. It amazes what all it will do.

I don't have any electronics on my jon boat yet. The last two trips out in my jon boat I have caught a LOT of bass and had a blast. It was actually nice not having any electronics to look at. I just went with my instincts and it worked.


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