Lowrance X-15 MT help

[B mac]

Can anyone offer some suggestions for using this unit? I've been out about 10 times and have yet to mark a single fish....with the typical arch. I've seen a few lines off bottom and a ton of weeds in the shallower water. I also moved the transducer around to make sure it's shooting straight down. Do these units only mark a perfect arch in deep water and while moving at a certain speed, or should I be seeing them quite often all over the lake. Of course, the pictures in the book and the demo show perfect arches over and over...does this ever really happen on the lake? I don't have an Aqua Vu, but sometimes I see "stuff" show up off bottom along a break or primary point, but it's not an arch like I assumed I would see. Is this typical? Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks.

[todd518svs]

Make sure your unit is in manual mode and then try these settings.
Sensitivity 80%
-if there is a lot of algae, turn down sensitivity down
Gray line 50%
Chart Speed 85%
-Deeper water slower chart speed
-Shallower water faster chart speed
Set depth for twice the bottom depth
SCC to low
ASP to off
Give these a try any see what happens.

If you need to reset your X15 do this.
Turn off power.
Press page and power button at the same time.
Release buttons once US map shows up.

Good luck...

[B mac]

Will resetting the unit delete my GPS coordinates? Thanks for the information. I'll give it a try this weekend!

[Guest]

I don't have an X-15, but my Lowrance occasionally shows an arch. I quite often see a clump on the bottom that looks similar to a fish's back, if you can picture that.
You should see an arch with the active fish that are about 1-3 feet off the bottom, but there are a lot of factors like bottom content (mud, rock, sand, etc..) can effect the picture it gives you.

I fish lakes where the bottom 1-2 feet is all weeds and I will never see an arch, but I catch plenty of fish. Lakes like Otter Tail and Battle are perfect examples, and I think you frequent OT, B Mac.

I tune mine to SCC 40%
ASP normal(?)
Gray line 35%
Full chart speed
Sensitivity 96%

You don't have to reset the entire unit, you may lose your GPS coords (?). Just go through the selections and set them manually.

[Surface Tension]

Dont worry about the "Perfect Arc".
Just set your gain till you start to get clutter. You'll be able to pick up thermoclines,minnows and FISH.
A fish passing threw the the cone angle makes the arc. Speed, depth, cone angle and skroll speed all effect the length and depth of an arc. Just because fish show up as a blob dosent mean your settings are incorrect.

[B mac]

Thanks for the help....you guys are much more informative than the book or HSOforum! I'll try some of these settings this weekend and see what works best. This unit is definitely much more complicated than my old Hummingbird Wide-100!!! I need to take someone along with me who has used one before to explain what I'm seeing on the chart...such as changes in bottom from rock to mud to weeds, etc. and what a fish looks like.

I hope no one minds the questions, but what will the thermocline look like? I ask this because I always read that fishing below this level is worthless. However, I've been hearing fishing reports on Lida and Lizzie (area lakes- 2,000-4,000 acres lakes) of fish being caught as deep as 25-30 ft. I have alse read that the thermocline is shallow early on in the spring and then moves deeper as the summer continues. I'm young and much more inexperienced with all of this stuff than some of the pros around here! I have a desire to learn and would certainly appreciate any info on the chart or thermocline. Thanks again.

CD, yes I do try and frequent OT as much as possible! Not a better body of water around!!!