I posted a video in the "Bass" section, but much more appropriate here it seems to me after doing so. I started with sounders that had a round "running rabbit" blip, and I'm quite sure some of you know what I'm speaking of. The tactics presented here worked with the basics - and they will only work better, the better equipment you have now. A basic sounder, a chart - and basic GPS is all you need though to find fish - so applicable to anyone anywhere in any water with any basic equipment looking for any type of fish:

You need to know: the type fish you're looking for at the time you're looking for it (shallow or deep depending on the season: example - Gag grouper in the winter 7feet to 30 in the summer 30-60). They're looking for a temperature, and you're looking for the contour line (depth) that has that temperature - thus the hard copy map that has the lines that you study the day before going out. Is it summer or winter? Winter - I'm looking at shallow lines for that species to start with and I'll run until I run into them. Wherever lines run close together (harbors, channels, lakes transitioning to creeks, rising islands, etc.,) is your best bet to find fish fast.

You're now in the boat - you have your contour lines spotted you want to try - turn the boat and parallel the outside contour line - now turn 90º and perpendicular to those lines and cross them until you start picking up the target fish (big fish, school fish, whatever fish) and turn 90º again inshore or offshore (just a guess at first) and follow that contour line to the maximum concentration or run out of them, turn 180º and find them again and run the contour the other way.

I hope all that makes sense. If it does, you can find fish on new lakes, harbors, rivers easy and with minimal equipment. Good luck out there finding the fish!

Yep, classic old tactic and still works

Thanks for that reply - I was beginning to think I'd made that explanation so convoluted no one understood it!

Crystal to me, but I come from a time when if you had a paper topo map and a little green box, they could not hide.
Though my rig is modest, some on here claim to have more invested in electronics than I have for my complete rig.
But I don't tournament and my freezer stays near full year round.

Thanks for posting, the newer crowd seems to think you need a video game console on board.

You're welcome. Mine was black, powered by a 9v battery. Eagle I think. We're evidently the same vintage. I had an operation with 4 boats and the smallest was the most useful so that's all I need to stock the freezer now. I know a lot of them think, that poor old guy in that little boat . . . while I'm coming in with another cooler full. Completely understand your comment. Originally that vid was intended for kids to teach them to use contour lines to find the fish, electronics or not. We didn't have any until that little black box and did fine as I'm sure you did too. Tight lines.

Wow. I bet you know how to use a slide rule too! Me? I will just have to be the guy that lets go of the past and embraces the current technology. You know... iPhones, tablets, side scan, gps. I have some newfangled stuff in my house too! like running water and electricity. Haha.

Just messin. I wouldn’t know the first thing about looking at an ice fishing “fish finder”.

I know you are. (one flash is the bottom - the other the fish)

A version of that (flasher) is all we had on our boats back in the day. 9 volt. No GPS, etc. Before that - a chart. Boat handling and contour lines were the key to finding fish with no electronics in the ocean (you use your freshwater knowledge of current + structure + water features = temperature & depth changes to find them there).

Boat handling is the key for all of it, no matter what you have. If you're finding fish on a line, driving that line will lead you to a concentration. It's an old commercial technique that is by no means abandoned.

This was my first one...

Pretty cool!