For striper and drum you need it. For flounder no need.
Ditto!! It really depends on what type of fishing I'm doing. The ability to mark pieces of bottom when fluke and wreck fishing is invaluable. Offshore....the focus is fishing the bottom contours and finding bait:thumbsup:Having the best fish finder is not as important as being able to read a fishfinder. Color is definatly the only way to go. IF you have it set right, you can tell different species of fish, but mostly what type of bottom you are on. The ability to tell between sand, mud, and shell can make the difference when fishing.
Better scopes cost more more many reasons. Usually the better ones have better gain, clutter and interference rejection.
Stay away from the sounders that show the fish with smily icons!!!
There used to be a way to get the first NorthStar sounders to show targets as the fish from the simpsons...
As with anything... the best way to get a feel for what you want is using other people's stuff. Demo modes are useless, and often show the screens at way better than you could ever get in real life. I rember one of the lesser brands showed a 3D picture of a boat... you could even make out the registration numbers... in honsety, i don't know how a scope can tell color... but the demo showed it!!
You may not have your FF tuned correctly(Gain). I usually mark drum and bass very well. Big red blobs, no mistaken em!! For drum in particular I look for both the fish as well as the bottom. I look for bottom that looks a little "broken up", this will usually(as well as your GPS of course) mark a clam/mussell/oyster bed. If you have it tuned correctly, you can also fish areas of thick algae beds. Drum will feed there too, as crabs will hide out in the algaeThanks for the replies...Yea, I've pretty much been using my ff as a depth finder. Not actually looking for fish, more looking for spots. I always read about guys "marking fish" and didnt know if I should spend more time looking for fish or bait.
Not sure if I have the settings off or what, but I never see any structure or fish or anything...even when we were catching drum I thought I would see something and didnt???
that statement depends on where and how you are fishing.For striper and drum you need it. For flounder no need.
exactly , give that man an ADitto!! It really depends on what type of fishing I'm doing. The ability to mark pieces of bottom when fluke and wreck fishing is invaluable. Offshore....the focus is fishing the bottom contours and finding bait:thumbsup: