marcum showdown question

[Anthony Anania]

I own a marcum showdown and this is my question. my next thing to work on when I'm on the ice is understanding what I'm looking at when looking at my showdown screen. how can you tell the difference between a hard bottom versus a softer muddier bottom or where or not if a spot has weeds. also if anyone knows of somewhere on the internet to go where they might have pictures of what the different bottom types are suppose to look like.

[pushbutton]

As with most flashers the harder the bottom the heavier the signal, conversely the softer the the less lines you will see. Weeds can be a little trickier but essentially the same with readings between heavy cover and light. Do not know of a HSOforum to show you this and one of the simplest things you can do is to use it in areas that you know have mud, sand, or rocks......or thick or thin weeds. Even better, is to get a camera. It does not have to be top of the line, but it can lessen the learning curve tremendously and make a huge difference in the understanding your sonar as well as be very intsrumental in understanding the different fish readings/behaviors as well. Might not be the answer your looking for, but ya just got to get out there and use it!

[gunner55]

I've seen it posted more than once,Kelly P 1st, about using a 30' metal tape measure to help figure out what the bottom is.Never tied it but should work & way cheaper.

[Shane Z]

Having a Showdown I hope I can help you a bit...In many cases it can be hard to tell what the bottom is actually like unless you know from actual evidence or have knowledge of the lake.Many of the lakes have a description on what type of bottom is most common. (MN lake finder) Bouncing a heavy jig off the bottom can also give insight on what type of bottom you are working with.

A lines or multiple lines near the bottom on your zoom setting may not be fish but the sonar detecting weeds.When I first got mine, I was really confused about this "line" that never disappeared roughly 2 ft off the bottom until one of my jigs had some salad on it. Then it all made sense.

If that "fish" you've been marking for a while doesn't react to jigging, it's most likely weeds. As these marks get closer to the bottom, it's hard to tell if it's actually a fish. In that case I'll walk about 5 feet each direction and see if I get that same mark at the bottom.

Hope this helps out a bit

[amateurfishing]

the showdown series are a tool for picking up fish off the bottom or finding them suspended anywhere in the middle of the water colum. unfortunately with its gray scale (only black & white colors) that is all its good for IMO. I got a HB 597 last year for my boat and decided to try it on the ice this season. After 2 seasons with my showdown its probably headed for the shelf. The HB even with a 5 inch color screen shows history, much higher detail, and because of color pallete easy to decipher exactly what you are talking about. I think the showdown series is only good for depth and discovering suspended fish, not much else IMO