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Help me read my graph #4562337 03/04/10 06:40 AM
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 186
GigEmAggies Offline OP
Outdoorsman
OP Offline
Outdoorsman
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 186
Bought a the new Lowrance HDS last summer and still really haven't figured out how to read it. I know this is a dumb question and i've tried to find the information online so I wouldn't have to look like a fool on here but i give up, i need yalls help! I understand the fish are arcs but how do I distinguish the bass from everything else? How do I know if im looking at a ball of bait or a piece of cover? Im just so tired of only being able to catch em in the shallow water. For instance I found a ideal prespawn spot and see fish on my graph but cant catch em. Thrown the kitchen sink at em without a bite. Your help is greatly appreciated for this shallow water fisherman.


1 Corinthians 9:27
Moritz Chevrolet - 9101 Camp Bowie W Blvd, Fort Worth, TX - Monte Coon (817) 696-2003
Re: Help me read my graph [Re: GigEmAggies] #4562348 03/04/10 06:48 AM
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 16,679
Lake Fork Guide Offline
TFF Guru
Offline
TFF Guru
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 16,679
Try taking a picture of some Possible fish, structure or baitfish, then post em on here. It's alot easier to help this way

Bait generally looks like a yellowish ball

bass generally don't arch much, of u see arches they ate generally whites, crappie or striper, a fish has to be sitting still right under u for it to show a real arch

if you would like to learn some details and more specifics about ur Lowrance graph give me a call or shoot me a pm and I'll do my best to answer ur questions or maybe we can book u a trip so you can come out and spend some on the water time with the unit.




Re: Help me read my graph [Re: Lake Fork Guide] #4562385 03/04/10 07:35 AM
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 993
H
H20 Dawg Offline
Pro Angler
Offline
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H
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 993
First thing, there is no such thing as a dumb question. There is such a thing as a dumb answer, which I hope I don't give you. As Cody mentioned it would be better if you could post a pic and ask "what am I seeing" then the poster and you can be on the same page. Bait fish will looks like a swarm of bees or clouds Hence the name "a cloud of bait fish". If your seeing game fish way up off the bottom those are the hardest ones to catch unless there are baitfish close by. When you start seeing fish within a couple of feet of the bottom, those are the fish you want to try and catch. The fish arches is kind of hard to explain but I'll do my best. You're transducer send out a signal (a ping)multiple times a second, when it hits an object, that sound wave is returned to the transducer then sent to the graphs processor and the length of time it takes it calculates the distance. This is not like a laser beam, it is a cone (unless it is side imaging technology) The deeper the water the greater the diameter of the cone. As an object enters the cone it returns a signal, each consecutive signal will take less time to return until the object is directly beneath the boat, then it will continually lengthen until it is out of the cone. Boat speed, ping speed,graph speed, cone angle, and whether the fish is moving all play a role in how the fish appear on the screen. If the fish is cruising along the same speed as your boat it will just look like a horizonatal line, alot of people think that a wide arch is a big fish, it just means it was in the cone longer. Anyway, I hope this helps and not confuses you.


Originally Posted By: JCBfromTHF
Water Dogs rock!!!!!

The water is always clearer, on the other side of the lake. ><>
Re: Help me read my graph [Re: H20 Dawg] #4562438 03/04/10 11:19 AM
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 5,746
JPeel Offline
TFF Celebrity
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Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 5,746
http://www.sonargpsuniversity.com/sonar301.php

Go here, buy Sonar / GPS 101 and 201 dvd's. Good stuff thumb


the fisherman formerly known as Blu-Ranger....
Re: Help me read my graph [Re: JPeel] #4562505 03/04/10 12:26 PM
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 1,318
L
Limits4all Offline
Extreme Angler
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Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 1,318
All the above is for sure good info. Like stated bait fish cloud looks like a cloud above the bottom and what you want to see near and under that cloud is angled streaking lines. Those angled streaking lines are fish, not neccessarily bass, busting into the bait fish cloud. Get a swimming type bait or crankbait to the base of that cloud and hang on. Do not get to hung up on looking for those picture perfect arches that you see on the simulations. If you see arches suspended off the bottom yeah you may be seeing fish but the key there is suspended. Suspended bass are some of the most difficult to get to bite because they are not really feeding and are either in a negative or nutural state. Bass are more of ambush type feeders so spend more time looking and learing how structure and cover appear on your graph like grass lines, brush and trees that can be holding fish waiting to ambush their prey.


Let's Fish
Re: Help me read my graph [Re: Limits4all] #4562615 03/04/10 01:20 PM
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 4,170
S
snickers Offline
TFF Team Angler
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Joined: May 2009
Posts: 4,170
Add side scan and poof looks like a picture

Re: Help me read my graph [Re: snickers] #4562754 03/04/10 02:06 PM
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 3,906
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JPost Offline
TFF Team Angler
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Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 3,906
Sometimes bait balls and heavy cover (bushes, trees, etc.) look the same when bait is near the bottom. If there is a clear empty space between the bottom and what you're reading, it's a good bet you're looking at a bait ball and not a bunch of bushes.

Re: Help me read my graph [Re: snickers] #4562758 03/04/10 02:07 PM
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 4,370
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Jimmie Moreland Offline
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Posts: 4,370
great post..



682-232-6380

[Linked Image]
Re: Help me read my graph [Re: Jimmie Moreland] #4565458 03/05/10 12:34 AM
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 1,978
its a fluke Offline
Extreme Angler
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Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 1,978
if you want to spend the dough, go out with a guide like Lance vick on fork. he can show you a fish on the graph and then take a picture of you holding it a few seconds later. He will show you how to tune your graph where you can see your bait going through the cone. He will spend the whole day teaching you about your lowrance if you want to know.

he is incredible at reading those things.




The charm of fishing is that it is the pursuit of what is elusive but attainable, a perpetual series of occasions for hope. ~John Buchan
Re: Help me read my graph [Re: its a fluke] #4565700 03/05/10 01:33 AM
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 2,420
Z
ZX225(Radio) Offline
Extreme Angler
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Joined: May 2007
Posts: 2,420
I wish that the companies would put a good CD in the package with the units. I think it would help everyone out.

Re: Help me read my graph [Re: ZX225(Radio)] #4568338 03/05/10 05:09 PM
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 186
GigEmAggies Offline OP
Outdoorsman
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I will get on the pictures, but what about grass and rocks? What is that supposed to look like>



1 Corinthians 9:27
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