Fishfinder Tips For Halibut
 

My eyes are often obsessively glued to my Lowrance Elite-5 Chirp, trying to understand the ways of the world.

OK, I admit it, I'm an illiterate FF nincompoop. After diligently charging and staring at this sucker for 3 years, I still feel functionally illiterate for using fish finders in effective ways.

- I watch depths and follow contours
- I feel my way along the edge of shelves and drop-offs
- I watch for underwater kelp clumps and boundaries of thicker kelp beds
- I watch water temperatures and travel speed for general planning
- It helps with dead reckoning. There's a lot of water out there.

To this extent, my FF has been useful.

When I see lots of sonic image hits, I'm still trying to distinguish between bait balls, swarms of red crabs, salad debris, equipment failure, etc. It kind of gives me a headache when I would rather be focused on fishing.

What appears to be significant fish marks haven't really helped me much either. When I see marks, that doesn't mean I catch anything more or less, relative to the marks. When I hookup, I can't say I ever saw relevant marks in the first place.

Can't say my FF helps filling my bait tank either, compared to simply dragging a sabiki and light iron behind me as I head out for my favorite target fishing areas.

After 3 years, trying to interpret the scrolling image data that passes across my FF is still elusive to me.

I haven't yet figured out how to turn on my charting function. I know I have some memory cards on my desk somewhere, but for now my fish finder memory slot is still empty. I suppose this is important for laying out my fishing routes and destinations based on home study of target zones and depth contours before I go out, but I'm not sure if this FF is better than the iPhone apps I use for the same ideas (Navionics Boating, Tide Chart, FishAlerts).

In addition to my iPhone apps, I also like the local fishing charts published by Baja Directions, Inc. www.bajadirections.com
Another good fishing chart that is usually in my vest pocket is published by Fish-n-Map Company www.fishnmap.com

I think my FF might be useful to quickly mark a GPS location when I hook up, both so I can drift back through it, and over time to accumulate information for my favorite places logbook. I've heard of people who have been able to retrieve valuable equipment that accidentally drops to the bottom by a location mark.

So, my dear friends and kindred spirits, please help me find my way out of my FF Fog and ignorance.

What are your favorite effective ways you use your FF that actually helps you catch fish? I know there are many good answers here. I want effective fishing hacks for using a fish finder for fishing productivity.

Please help!

Well first off you really need to figure out the charting function now. How could you spend 3 years looking at that fish finder and not at least try the charting function?

Try this: Press pages, scroll to chart press enter. There should be an option that will give you a split screen, chart on left, fish finder on right.

Using the chart to find fish and or structure, and then being able to find them again is absolutely critical. Using the chart, you will be able to see where the structure that you marked is and how your kayak relates to it. It will also, using the tracking feature show you, in which direction you are traveling and or drifting. Also where you caught fish before again, CRITICAL. So learn how to use your charting function, and it will open up a whole new world to you, as far as far as usefulness of your fish finder and your effectiveness with it.

Another thing you might want to try is, switching to the lower frequency on your unit, most likely your using high chirp. Try switching over to medium chirp. What this setting does is, it widens your view of what's underneath you, but it also reduces the resolution. The advantage is that you will be able to see further out in front, to the back and the sides of you. What that translates into is, you will be able to see fish and or bait fish sooner or you will be able to see things you would have missed if not on medium chirp. This is very helpful, especially when your trying to track your gear down to the bottom, or your trying to drop your gear to the level of a marked fish. Now if you can't see your gear on your fish finder then you need to adjust the sensitivity higher so you are able to see it without cluttering up the screen. Another thing to note is that fish and objects will appear to look bigger on the lower frequency so you need to take mental note of that. Also the appearance will change with varying depth. Example: In shallow water a mark might appear to be gigantic, the same size fish and mark in deeper water might look average.

So try that!:cheers1:

^^^^ The fog is starting to burn off already. Excellent response. Thanks ful-rac.

I've tried to fire me, but the next morning I'm still here.

At the Hall shows the bigger electronic companies usually put on class room style tutorials. They'll run you thru features, settings, and demos on FF screens.

Some times this will give you interference, but if you run along with a buddy that has there unit dialed in they can tell you what they are seeing and you can he an idea of how it looks on yours.

Also there are likely 100's of vids on YouTube that will help.

FF's can be fantastic or frustrating time wasters.
I've seen guys so focussed on their FF's that they paddled right passed birds, bait, and fish.

All good points. Fred Hall show comes to San Diego (Del Mar) on Mar 22-25.
http://www.fredhall.com/san-diego/

When fishing halibut I mark every fish I hook on my GPS, and over time you will see patterns. That is the biggest aid for me. As to the finder, I've caught them under bait and on dry sand. I like to fish around the edges of stricture like rocks or debris. Off Venice sometimes you will find holes or dips in the sand that they like to lay around. Fish it all, structure bait etc.. Any anomaly on the bottom is worth investigating. They do not use structure like bass or yellows but they do like to lie down current of junk and ambush things that come by.

Dude!!! I heard you were dead!! Hope you are still fishing. :you_rock:

So I gather you missed me. I've been busy..... but I am back.

My dedicated female friend really likes fish, particularly halibut, and she's been kind of been insisting I get back into kayak fishing. What can I say I'm a very lucky man. I really adore her and she wants me to fish more not less. She's too cool!! Let's just say I find it awfully hard to tell her No!!

So I kid you not.... someone told me you had a heart attack. I'm not joking or being sarcastic here. When I heard that it actually made me sad, and I'm honestly glad to see you are still around. :D

Ahhh This is the BWE I remember! :luxhello:



Next thing you know yakjoe’ll chime in and school everybody....:eek:

Id have to say that was pretty amazing...jim posts for the first time in several years and it takes .2 seconds for him to get kicked in the nuts...

Maybe BWE will be more entertaining once again!

:cheers1:

"...Id have to say that was pretty amazing...jim posts for the first time in several years and it takes .2 seconds for him to get kicked in the nuts....."

I'm not surprised. I think most people have a few big things in their life, some only one. We all know who that guy is.... He's rightful King of the North Los Angeles kayak scene, has the blood of the first kayak fishing men, Lord of the seven launches in Malibu, and protector of said realm.

Over a decade ago I posted a small post here about launching at Esco and fishing at Point Dume. I caught a few Sand Bass, and a cool looking tree fish. I posted the pics, handed out what little I did know (since I knew nothing about Malibu at the time) and that started a war that evidently never ended. I'm sure he thinks he drove me off this site in disgrace but the truth is I upgraded my skiff to a newer four stroke and increased it's fuel efficiency, gas prices went down and I started fishing offshore again. Then I got into motorcycle modification and hooked up with a killer artist poet writer musician (by far the coolest woman I have ever met). That did not leave me much time for the battles of BWE, struggles for the plastic kayak throne, or control of the North.

The Mad Kings rantings aside: I don't have a dog in this hunt. I quit fishing Malibu from shore the last time he/they vandalized my truck, and it's not like I'm going to run into him kayaking the back side of Cat, or out at SBI. I'm glad he's not dead, I don't mind a little cyber-adversity, I missed the board, and I've got a pretty good reason to start fishing inshore halibut again.

Sorry for the thread jack... Like I said: When fishing halibut I mark every fish I hook on my GPS, and over time that will give you a ton of info to work with. It is by far the biggest aid for me. Investigate around structure bait etc.. but mark your fish and that will really up your game.

Well I got a boat to prep since I'm hooping tonight. :cheers1:

somebody may need a time out:rolleyes: helping out the "noobs" is a big part of this forum.

What ever happened with the kayak you were modifying to fit a Hobie Outdrive??

Funny that you should mention it. It still needs some work, just got some materials for it today. :cheers1:

I wanted to come back to this one. When I travel from spot to spot gear up I watch the finder and if I see a decent fish mark I drop small Iron on them. I keep a rod rigged with a four once mega bait right in front of me just for this purpose.

This is actually an old tuna trick of mine. When paddy fishing offshore I watch the meter and if I see a good single fish mark swim through deep I'll drop Iron on them.

I use spinning tackle for this so I do not have to mind the rod. I just open the bail with the rod in the holder and let the iron fall. I then watch the meter and watch it sink. If the fish mark moves up before it gets to it I pick up the rod throw the bail and start reeling towards the surface as fast as I can. If the mega stops sinking I flip the bail and reel into the fish with the rod on the holder to hook up, if it passes the mark unmolested I stop it, then reel up to the level of the mark and jig it around a few times.

Offshore I've caught a lot of tuna doing this and even pulled up whole schools of them to the surface with that fast crank up. It's a good trick.

Inshore I've caught a lot of fish doing it mostly bass, a few smallish white seabass, but I once got a big halibut doing this in the northern portion of SMB. That last one is a funny story. I dropped the mega on a mark that was probably just a bass, it was a no go, but while I was jigging it around a larger mark came up off the bottom and hit it, and that was the Halibut. Hungry fish, I couldn't of missed it as it swallowed it all the way down it's throat. 26, 28 pounds, I forget the exact weight but a substantial fish. I must of gone back and intentionally jigged that exact spot a dozen times, but never hooked another fish there, just an anomaly.

I also do a version of this freshwater when fishing for larger stripers with big plastic trout in lakes like Castiac. I prefer the heavy Huddelston 8" trout because it sinks fast. It's crazy but you often will see very large single marks suspended off the bottom in relatively deep water. When you drop the Hudd down they definitely see it and sometimes will rise up twenty or more feet to check it out. I've had them follow the baits almost all the way to the surface from a over hundred feet of water but other then a few light bumps no takers. Not one!! I swear every time I almost have a heart attack, it's just so exciting, but I have yet to hook a fish doing it. I have no idea if the are big stripers, or just huge largemouth. One of these days though I'm going to hook one and it will be epic.

The trick only works in clean open water, like over sand or in open water offshore. You have to run high gain to see those individual fish, and in areas like La Jolla where you have lots of stuff in the water you just can't see them for all the marks on the screen. It's not the most epic strategy but I have had days where the only fish I caught we hooked this way, and it breaks up the boredom when traveling long distances over flat sand moving from drop to drop.

It helps to be in a fishy area to begin with
 

Like Baja compared to la Jolla.
My first trip to Asuncion I paddle to the south tip of the island was told the yellows were in 120ft of water range got one fish and calicos.But most important I had a track to work with.The next morning out the fog was in so I was forced to look up my tracking. It looked like an etch a sketch, around the island I could tell where the south tip of the island was and where I launched, so no worries about getting lost in fog.i was planning on going back to the south tip, when I saw Jim in his boat to my left, him and Rossman caught 11yts the day before. So I thought to my self paddle out there and mark that spot. With a split screen on nav/bottom I headed over to Jim when I got there I asked if he could move his boat right on top of the rock pile so I could mark it by pushing enter 2or3 times on the hook5 a little triangle poped up on the nav/track it was right on the edge of 90 to 120 with structure and fish.i had an imprint of the bottom in my head as I drifted off Jim left I thanked him.i caught three yellow tail off the bottom. It was the first time I really got to use nav and bottom screen together for great success, every time I drifted away I just headed back to the little triangle on my screen my fish count there was 3yt a day for 3days not in a row.Nothing better in fishing when your equipment is working for you and your catching fish.:yt::yt::yt:

Not only that the satellite maping on Google is amazing.
 

You can Google a new area on your cellphone like an island some where and see the bottom contour if the waters clear and study the drop offs and shelfs, you can tell where the good areas are from space it is so clear you zoom it you can tell what type a roof a building has and the color. I new what the continental shelf looked like in Asuncion before I got there.

I like to keep my cover on when im paddling
 

To keep salt spray off screen, then take it off when im in the zone

That's what pisses me off...











that damn smeary salty screen,
and my glasses.


P

I have one and love it:

https://www.berleypro.com

I hear that. I used to have a optically clear plastic bag that fit over mine for the x-13.

I just carry a sample size spray bottle with distilled water in it and a rag. Cheap and easy.

This is probably the smartest option. Have a friend who swears by Rain-X but I've never tried it.

I thought about that, but then I googled it :-)

http://www.sonarwars.com/how-to-clea...finder-screen/

Are used to stress over it all the time when I was using my dad’s kayak with the head unit mounted just out of reach on the center console so you would have to lean forward to use it. In direct sunlight, it was almost impossible to read unless you turned so you were casting a shadow.

On my outback, I put the ball mount just within arms reach on the right-hand side in that little recess. The maneuverability of those ball mount clamps are great, and I can usually angle it so there’s no issue. +1 on the distilled water.

That makes sense. I've seen first hand how Rain-X makes glass more reflective. It creates a shiny surface that beads up water. My friend uses it on his Blackman, and swears by it, but his electronics are shaded under his T top.

I use Windex vinegar and microfiber rags to wipe down on the water
 

When I get to my truck or home I let a napkin soak up as much salt as I can get with out rubbing lens,paper napkins and salt will scratch lens. When im done with napkin or paper towel I wipe with microfiber cloth .

I just splash mine with a little drinking water and fish. No need to bring the household maid supplies.

11days in Baja
 

Always no where it is, to clean sunglasses, need dry rag for that at least, splashing water cool
Referring mostly cleaning graph when done fishing
I used to put whisky in there till I stopped drinking alcohol 2010

A couple of question for you:
What is a "mega"
I've read my FF manual 100 times and spent lots of time fine tuning on the water to get it to show my lure sinking but I cannot seem to find the right settings. I tried 83khz, 200khz, and both 83/200 but it didn't seem to make a difference. I also have "Jigging Mode" and tried to dial in the sensitivity but nothing worked. I was wondering if you can share your settings that allow you to see your jig and fish approaching it.

I have a Hummingbird 698 with DI and SI.

Thanks in advance

Megabait is a type of iron.

If your transducer is mounted inside your hull you may not be able to see your jig fall. Having your transducer in direct contact with the water increases the sensitivity.

My transducer is in direct contact with water.

If you can't see your gear then something is definitely wrong. If you can't see your gear, you are probably not going to be able to see fish either. I would suspect you may have a bad transducer or maybe even a bad unit. So as long as your transducer is mounted correctly and it's not in demo mode.

If the current or wind is stiff, you may only see your jig in the top portion of the water column. Current pushes you fast away from it and it could no longer be in your cone. When it’s real calm turn your gain up and try again. You want your gain as high as you can while not making clutter to the point where it all blends together. Every unit is different and everyone’s settings will be a little different unless you copy and paste a friends. Here are a few shots for you. Both taken within the last month. The first a few yellowtail on a friends boat. You can see my Yoyo jig dropping on the fish toward the right of the screen.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...29e494bc64.jpg

Remember the left of the screen is stuff you have already gone over, while the right side of the screen is current. Basically we saw the school come through on the meter and dropped the jig after the fact hence it’s why the jig dropping is on the right side of screen.


Second pic is a few weeks ago on my yak. This is actually a few BSB and as you can see the marks look completely different. There are many reasons for https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...9e2f788bbe.jpgthis. Settings on sonar, type of transducer, and sea bass vs a fast moving pelagic fish such as yellowtail. Black Sea bass being more of a sluggish fish will typically show as long worm marks such as the second pic. They will typically stay in your cone longer than a yellowtail would. The vertical lines in the second pic are due to a friend being in close proximity on the same frequency and the line are interference between transducers.

You can see the one BSB ascending in the second pic because I was putting some serious pressure on it right after it bit.

Oh and how do I know what I’m seeing on the sonar?

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...995c0f7511.jpg

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...dca33b3af7.jpg

Megabaits are like an iron but made out of a lead based alloy. I like them for several reasons. They are relatively small for their weight which means they have a fast sink and you can cast them a mile. They swim well at speed, but they also have a very good downward flutter, and it's one of the few jigs that I have found that tuna will hit on a unattended sink. By that I mean you can cast it out let it sink with a completely slack line and tuna will hit it going down.

That is really important to me.

When I'm out trolling for Marlin or Tuna I don't always have the time to stop and throw bait on every small paddy I find. You can troll by them but the fish around them won't always meter or come up for your jigs. What I like to do is take a Megabait on a rod with 30lb spectra up on the bow, and then cast it well ahead of the boat right next to the Kelp. While the boat closes on the paddy, I just try to keep up with the slack, and then the line goes tight when you are passing the paddy. By then bait is already down deep, I just keep reel in gear and the bait hauls ass up to the surface due the the boats forward speed, and as it does so it swings back behind the boat and right up into my trolling pattern, bringing any followers right into your jigs.

One of four things happens... most of the time nothing (dry paddy) sometimes by the time you get the slack out you are already bit (hit on the sink) sometimes the jig gets hit on the way up (hookup), or occasionally a whole school tuna follows the jig to the surface and you get multiple jig strikes (mayhem). Oddly I catch more tuna doing this then Yellows, though I have caught both throwing on paddys.

Here's a tuna I got off the East end of Catalina that hit on the sink next to a paddy where I saw a boil.
http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/m...hres/YFTIV.jpg
Unfortunately you can't see the Megabait because it completely swallowed it.

That day I was fishing with Steve Mras a expert small boat Marlin fisherman, so we had four big Marlin jigs trolling and a drop back rod rigged but we were not fishing for tuna. All morning Steve was laughing at me casting iron on paddies, and boiling fish, but he stopped laughing when I got that one. I was overjoyed. I also caught a 160lb Striped Marlin earlier that day, and the tuna was dinner. So a big win/win.

That fish was on a blue mackerel pattern.
http://s7d3.scene7.com/is/image/Melt...id=640&hei=320

Here's another on the Sardine pattern.
https://i.imgur.com/rv7O2cY.jpg
That fish was suspended, about a 100 feet down under a paddy. I had two strikes: one on the sink that I missed but that fish ate it coming back up. Right after that one I hooked a second one that was larger, and actually broke it off on 20lb. It ate on the sink, took off fast, when I threw the reel in gear my drag was still tight from the previous fish, and I just did not have time to react. Hate that!!!

This Ling was taken on glow back pattern I really like for deep dropping on structure.
https://i.imgur.com/Q023t5b.jpg

That fish hit while I was yoyoing the jig a few feet above a structure in Malibu one of three or four big males I got that day all about the same size, all metered fish.

There are better Irons for fishing surface Yellows but for the vertical drop directly on marks the megabait is my go to lure. I know I said the jig four onces but they are really 4.5 ounces, and relatively cheap, even at melton.
http://www.meltontackle.com/products/megabait-lures.html



So your meter is probably set up wrong. I run Garmins so this might not be exactly right....but..... :D

Set it up at 200khz, sonar, fish ID off, I think for your finder the setting is advanced user, but the idea is to simplify by making things manual, not automatic.

The rest you want to do on the water. Launch your yak and go to about a hundred feet over clean sand. Drop your iron down to the bottom and real it up a few turns. Go to your sensitivity setting and turn up the gain until you can clearly see a line forming maybe six to ten feet off the bottom. That is your jig. Jig it up and down a few times to make sure. Now keep dialing up the sensitivity until the screen gets filled with clutter. That is your use range. Basically you want to keep the adjustment between those two settings. Try various settings on the meter, and see how you jig looks with various settings. Basically you want to run as much sensitivity as you can without metering too much junk, and as the conditions you may have to change it. There will be some areas your not going to be able to see your Iron because of the junk in the water. This is especially true around kelp. So basically the cleaner the water the better it works, but the more you play with it the easier it will be for you to tell what is going on.

Generally fish make a decent mark if you are really over them. If you can see your Iron clearly but the fish mark is weak that means the fish is not really directly under you but somewhere off to the side, but you'll figure this stuff out as you play with it more.

I also use the meter when fighting fish. For instance say You hook a big yellow. Watch him underneath you on the meter. Say you are passing over structure and he starts to sound. When he's well up you don't have to worry but if he hauls ass down right at the structure you are going to have to stop him before he gets there. I want my fish up in the top half of the water column as quickly as possible. Kelp is another issue, if you see kelp on the meter you want to keep the line moving. Moving line cuts kelp, static line wraps. If you see that your fish is around kelp don't play tug of war, you want to keep them moving.

It's just a tool. Your finder is much better then mine. Just keep it simple and play around with the settings until you find what works for you. :reeling:

Good luck!!! :D

Thanks YakedOut and Fiskadoro, this really helps. I appreciate you guys taking the time to write this. I can't wait to get back on the water to test new settings

:you_rock:

No problem, glad to help, hope it works out. :cheers1:

Del Mar sounder seminar...
 

Kevin Nakada and myself will be doing a "Dial in your Fishfinder" seminar at the Del Mar show on Saturday at 4pm on the 24th in the Hobie seminar area.
I quickly talk about installation on the Hobie's and some GPS, use then Keven really gets into the use and set-up of the sounder. We'll both have a powerpoint seminar up on the wide screen.
He is an excellent YT fisherman :yt: and his seminar can help you get your sounder adjusted to see some trophy fish especially in La Jolla. :notworthy:
Please stop by and sit down for a while and listen to him talk and look at some of our photos. :cheers1:

I will stop by for sure. It will be a great opportunity to meet you in person.

Cheers

I'll be the moist guy with lipstick sitting in the front row.

THANKS!

security
 

"I'll be the moist guy with lipstick sitting in the front row."

..........Security has been alerted...!!!:eek:..........LOL

Awwww, c'mon. Play nice!

As a kayak enthusiast I'm often moist, ... sometimes sopping wet.
The lipstick prevents my lips from getting chapped in the sea weather.

I'm a harmless kayak fisherman who wants to figure out this infuriating FF'ing contraption ;)