Lowrance 332 pics

[bahlzar]

Ok now im tryin to get more familiar with this thing and i need a little help identifying things...ping speed was 85% & sensitivity was 69%

pic 1: appears to be a ball of bait? Are the little black marks at the top some type of fish just crusing ?

pic 2:Looks to me like a ball of bait pushed up against a rock pile ?

pic 3: not really sure what that is, i dont know why there is white space there at the bottom, and are any of those little black marks fish?

pic 4: appears to be another ball of bait?

pic 5: now is that just a little ball of bait?


I posted 2 pics last week that everyone here agreed were bubbbles, you all were right!! this past weekend everytime i saw bubbles comin up i looked at my graph and the markings were excatly the same ......now if i could just get a little help on these, Thanks !

http://home.surewest.net/randmallen/pic%201.JPG


http://home.surewest.net/randmallen/pic%202.JPG

http://home.surewest.net/randmallen/pic%203.JPG

http://home.surewest.net/randmallen/pic%204.JPG

http://home.surewest.net/randmallen/pic%205.JPG

[swimbait]

Pic 1 - very likely bait

Pic 2 - probably rocks. you're in 7.5' of water and you're bouncing up and down on a boat wake so its' not totally clear but probably rocks

Pic 3 - more boat wakes and maybe a fish near a boulder. In 12 feet of water fish don't typically hang under the boat, they move away so it's not too often you see a fish in 12' on the screen but it's possible that yellow line is a fish.

Pic 4 - probably more rocks. No shortage of rock piles at folsom.

Pic 5 - a lonely fish. Probably a bass

[bahlzar]

so you think pic 5 is definitly a fish? that would help alot because i figured the fish markings would be alot smaller and more of a arch....but if that is a fish then now i know what to look for.

[swimbait]

Yup, that's a fish. It didn't come out as an arch because you probably weren't going too fast as you ran over it, or as it swam under you. Learning to read your meter just takes a lot of time and real world experience. At folsom you could speed the learning curve by GPS'ing some rock piles and trees that are just barely exposed right now, then come back to them when they are under water and have a look.

Then you can compare what you know is there in reality with what you see on your screen. That really helps. Putting an aqua view down can be very interesting also. I remember putting one down once and seeing very short 6" tall grass down in about 20 feet. After seeing that, I was able to correlate what that looked like on my screen. Before seeing it on the camera, my brain was just ignoring the light fuzz above the bottom on my meter. Little things like that over time will help you sort it all out.

[bahlzar]

Thats some excellent advice and I have begun to mark rock piles and ledges, now when the water comes up this summer ill go back over them......By the way swimbait, thanks for replying, thats why im posting these pics, I just need a little push in the right direction as to what im looking at....

Thanks

[MIKE TREMONT]

I have a black and white screen. When i first saw image #2, I thought the same, bait pushed against a rock pile.
If it ai'nt bait, what is the clutter balled up there and in the other images?

[bahlzar]

im not sure, i thought it was bait too, it definitly doesnt look solid.

[swimbait]

The clutter to the left of the rock in pic 2 has a double echo which makes me think it's just more rock, probably rock that you didn't run directly over. I have a greyscale unit also (LCX-17M) and that's often what it looks like on the edges of a rock pile.

For comparison, look at pic 1 where you are almost for sure metering bait, there is no echo of the bait below it. "Soft" objects like fish or grass don't throw off a double echo on the screen typically.

[tommypV2]

*lightbulb goes off*
i completely forgot about looking for the echo to determine soft targets versus off-cone sold structure..

[MIKE TREMONT]

Ok, so in picture #4 all that clutter is an echo as well.

I read and don't always get what the manuals are saying, but this picture stuff is very helpful. All these years I've been fishing echo's I thought was bait. No wonder them darn lures never worked

Thanks Swimbait for splianing them and bahlzar for posting them.

[bahlzar]

another thing i thought was wierd was in pic 3 theres a yellow mass above the bottom but in between its white, like a hollow spot or something, maybe a tree laying down? and just above the yellow mass there is a couple little black markings that i thought were fish..

[rangerpilot]

That 1st pic is your partners swimbait...I can tell by the way it looks like it's being worked like a hillbilly from Licoln! If you need some help with your fishfinders, I suggest you attend Damon Witt's "School of Bass" at Galaxie marine(1st Thursday of each month)! I'm sure he or Ron can help you out. Maybe next time you go out you could take an upscale Rocklin angler with you, at least you'll get better at netting hawgs!!!

[rangerpilot]

By the way....why are you in 12 feet of water at Folsom this time of year? Go deeper son!

[bahlzar]

thanks for your input you uncivilized hillbilly from rocklin

[Mitch]

Well I'm no expert, but this is what I read

#1 Brush pile

[Mitch]

OOPS !!! told you I was no expert.......pushed wrong key LOL


#1 Brush pile

#2 Brush and Rock

#3 Brush/Rock pile. Fish on rt side of rock in center

#4 Brush pile

#5 Debris or small group of bait fish

[bahlzar]

this is the excat reason i posted these so even others like me that arent sure can learn...swimbait says pic 1 is likely bait but mitch says probly brush pile...now someone lookin at that pic has to know for sure.

[MIKE TREMONT]

I'm confused again as well?

I've been trying to make one of Damons classes since last year. Work schdule, family just won't permit it.

[Mitch]

bait is usually more solid and looks like an open umbrella, larger/smaller depending on the amount. Also you don't usually see bait tight to the bottom in open water

[Lance]

If you guys think is brush or a ball of fish, I got an idea for ya. If you see this again on your graph just drop something into it, if ya get hung up....tree/brush, if its flat, school of fish. It works for me, good luck

L

[Randy Walker]

If you can swing it, get yourself a aqua view camera.
An underwater camera and your unit used in combination is hands down one of the best learning tools you can have. You will be amazed at what you think is on the screen and what it really is. There are a few cameras on the market now that are not a whole lotta cash... the $$$ is well worth it - you will learn so much so fast that is is crazy. Takes the guess work out of it. **oh, and you will even be able to see what types of fish look like on your graf when you see them on the camera...they will swim up to the camera like it's nothing....allowing you to get a true picture of what your looking at on your graph.

[bahlzar]

onewalker: im gonna have to take a look at those cameras...

[LEN B]

Back in Aug. We were at New Melones worked one spot for about an hour both my 332s were driving me nuts fish here fish there but not one taker. Being someone who needs proof . We did just what onewalker said and droped the aqua view down in 15 feet of water. Guess what. Sitting on a rock pile and bass of all sizes all around even had one good size one try to kiss the camera. A camera will take the guess work out of it but after that I was ready to pack it up and go home. The last few trips out I left the camera at home and believed what the sonar had to say. Take the time and go to a few seminars. You will learn something new at each one. And then put it to use.
have fun

[swimbait]

I could see # 1 being a brush pile also. That's a tough read. Good suggestion about dropping something down to see if you get hung up