Learing GPS and Locator

[bassNspear]

I know we talk about this alot, and there is alot more that everyone can learn when it comes to this situation.

I have learned alot over the last 2-4 years on how to read our locators and get the most out of them. I still learn alot of new things everyday, but just wondering how you all look at this subject.

My question is, when your going around the lake and looking at GPS vs Locator, what are you looking at for spots, and how are you getting to learn more and more about it the more your doing it.

[Cicada]

I do my homework before I hit the lake with a map at home. The GPS and sonar will tell me when I have gotten to the spots I had chosen. Once there, I look for fish on the sonar.

This year I will see if I can learn. I had to get a new depth finder. This one is more complicated than the old one and should give me more information than I have had in the past.

[jwhjr]

 Originally Posted By: Cicada

This year I will see if I can learn. I had to get a new depth finder. This one is more complicated than the old one and should give me more information than I have had in the past.

I'm in the same boat with having to learn a new depth finder. Hopefully my learning curve is short.

[YUM]

Usually when searching for offshore structure I'm looking for weedlines, and the weedlines that seem the most productive for me are the deepest or the tightest weedlines I can find or a combination of these two features. So I will look at a lake map prior to the outing, and the GPS once on the lake to find probable locations that would produce the aforementioned features, and then finally buzz over them with the graph.

I’m a novice with regards to graphs, but last year I came a long way in deciphering my bow mounted graph, and it got to a point where I was often able to 'call my shot' when I was about to get bit.

[RiverBassGuy]

Bass: I look for weedlines, weed beds adjacent to deep breaks, shallow gravel early in the year, etc.

Walleye: Steep drop reefs, inside turns of flats, humps, rock piles or any kind of irregular structure.

I try to do my homework before I get onto the lake. Have somewhat of a game plan. Most of this can be found simply by referencing a topo map. The new Humminbird side imaging sonar makes this topic intriguing. That allows you to be driving along and scan hundreds of feet on each side of your boat for irregular structure. If you split screen the side imaging with your standard 2D sonar you can learn A LOT about what is really down there! Good Luck

[RK]

Hiya -

To me the biggest thing about learning to use electronics effectively is A.) learning how to adjust settings from the defaults to get better performance and B.) Learning to trust what the unit is showing you.

I think the best way to learn to use the things is to get out on the water, leave the rods at home, and go cruise some spots you know so you can match up what you know is there with what the unit is showing you. Just focus on the unit rather than trying to fish at the same time. If you can do this with an underwater camera, better yet. Look at the graph, then drop the camera so you can see what you're seeing on the screen.

I fish deep a lot, so I am utterly reliant on my electronics a lot of the time. I look for weed edges, bottom transitions (during mid-summer, bottom transitions can really draw fish sometimes), changes in the break, (how sharp it is, etc), and all the little bottom irregularities that can attract fish like rock piles or little humps and bumps on the break. Plus obviously marking fish and baitfish.

I run 3 units on my boat, a color sonar/gps combo on the bow, and a color sonar and monochrome sonar/gps on the console. The sonar/gps combo unit at my console is mainly just a GPS plotter and a back-up sonar in case one of the other ones takes a dump. I'd rather fish without my trolling motor than my electronics...

Cheers,

Rob Kimm

[bassNspear]

AWESOME information. Thanks rob