Reading Sounders Correctly

[abiasin]

Hi guys just a quick question and probably a dumb one, how do i accurately distinguish the different bottom type when sound around, some times i have no idea if it is sand, gravel, mud or reef bottom.

is there a way i can tell jus by looking at the bottom lines thickness or anything.

any help would be much appreciated.

[wildfish]

see ya at kingsgrove may 10!

[robeebee]

I don't know of any way on our sounder of telling the difference of composite ?

you can tell reef and the like but i can't tell between sand and anything similar

hope this helps mate .

[abiasin]

I don't know of any way on our sounder of telling the difference of composite ?

you can tell reef and the like but i can't tell between sand and anything similar

hope this helps mate .

whats the difference i should be looking for between reef and sand for example i have no idea wat each should look like on the sounder, i have a furuno4100

[robeebee]

on ours you can tell reef just by seeing a lumpy bottom

just looks like little mountains

our sounder is very old by the way

[Guest Big-Banana]

The harder the bottom, the darker it will be. You'll soon become accustomed to determined whats under your boat. Sand is a very light colour, whilst gravel will be much darker. Reef is a little harder to explain but you'll know you're on it.

[Markwi]

Mate this link will show you the difference.

But in brief the harder the bottom the stronger the signal the thicker the bottom will appear on the screen of the sounder, a soft muddy bottom absorbs the signal so the bottom line appears thinner.

Lowrance Tutorial

[abiasin]

thanks for all the info guys, i will put it into practice friday in the hawkesbury and pittwater area.