cameldownunder Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 Hi Went out fishing on Sunday with a friend. Went to north head, and had no arch or baitball on the sounder, still we tried a while. Nobody seemed to get any baits. We decided to move towards middle head, where we got some good baitballs signals on the sounder. We drifted and anchored and got a lot of tiny snappers and the occasional red rock cods. Being a bit rocky we decided to go to Clifton gardens. We passed obelisk Bay with absolutely nada on the sounder, so we didnt stop. Arrived at Cliffy we cruised around to check what the sounder had to say. We anchored when we thought we got some good signals. After a while (and a NSW maritime inspection) I hooked 2 fat breams and a decent flathead (sorry no pics, as by the time I was thinking of taking some pics for the forum, they were already in my stomach) and my friend caught a nice flatty. QUESTION: Is this the right way of doing it? Crusing the different "hot spots", check them out on the sounder, eventually without wetting a line, and then move on if no signal, and ONLY fish the ones that give positive results on the sounder? It seemed to work, but am i missing the bigger picture? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mik Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 (edited) Just my humble opinion mate (And there are plenty more experienced guys here to give you info...but) why spend the amount of money we do on electrical instruments like sounders & not use them. It took me nearly 18 months to get what I consider to be a good feel for my sounder (keeping in mind I am country based & don't fish nearly as much as I'd like too) What I've learnt from studying my sounder is that it really helps to take in other factors when determining if the picture you see is what you're looking for. Looking for changes in water surface appearance, proximity to structures (Even if they are not in the immediate picture), water temp, signs of life like birds, surface activity etc will all help you to start making better informed decisions on which areas are worth stopping at & which ones should be left for another day. You've heard stories of guys (I've done & witnessed this myself) where there is a gathering of boats & no one seems to be hooking up, even though they are in the "General" area of interest, yet this one boat's crew members are screaming out for some physio after reeling in fish after fish..... the answer to this is a subtle difference that boat has picked up on & it may have been gleened from the sounder PLUS additional info the skipper calculated & used to make a good call. It could be positioning (Especially when anchoured) it may be rig type & bait used, direction of currents, but I'll bet the sounder had an initial if not continued role to play in the strike rate. You're on the right track in my opinion, now when you start to ID what type of fsih you're looking at you (And its confirmed by the catch) then you're well on your way to bagging out more often. I am still learning & continually try to think outside the box when it comes to sounder images & what could be there, think of your fishing trips not as a chance to catch a feed or score a PB but as an opportunity to learn a bit more each trip, succesful or not there are always lessons. Anyway, thats my 2 bob's worth, it might be short change to some or it might be gold, the only way for you to really know is to exploit all your tools available, especially the expensive ones. I often spend a considerable amount of time (Especially when I'm on my own) just sounding out the water below. If I've had a bit of luck with a few fish & they go off the bite I check the tides, if it looks like its coincided with tidal changes & I don't hook up for 20 mins I like to move & have a scout around, there is nothing better in the realms of fishing than to come across a productive patch that you have found that's not one of the "Regular Hot Spots" that the crowds are busily joslting for prime position on. Having a nice little slice of water to yourself that you determined might be a good place to try is pure ecstacy when your rod doubles over & you come up solid & thumping. Good luck. PS - one thing I always try to do (I say try coz in the excitement sometimes I forget my name, let alone things I should be doing other than fish) remember to study the sounder images when you do actually get some action. Look at whats going on down there & do your best to commit to memory the differences between a picture that sees you bring in 1000 pinkies & a picture that sees you haul a few hoods along with maybe signs of baitfish etc. PPS - and just to throw a spanner in the equation, I have been smashed big time when there is very little fish action on the sounder, but the thing that took me there was structure...... Edited February 2, 2010 by Boofhead Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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