By Carlton Holliday
Let us continue the discussion about fish locators. We will discuss the interpretation of the images you are seeing on your screen and how to utilize these images to catch fish.
Most newer fish locators are operated much like a computer. You have a MENU button through which you can control the various features available on your locator. If you just press the ON button, your locator will start functioning in the AUTO mode. The sensitivity, surface clutter, fish icons and other factory presettings are already programmed into your unit. Read your owners manual to determine what all of the preset settings are for your unit. By doing and familiarizing yourself with these settings, you can turn off the AUTO mode and customize your locator.
Turn off the AUTO mode and turn off the FISH ID. They look good but chances are they are only confusing the real picture especially if you are a new user.
Let us discuss the transducer. Resolution is the name of the game. The greater the resolution the better the true picture of what is down there will be. In AUTO mode the resolution might be 6 inches between fish where, with the MANUAL mode you can get resolution of ¼ to ½ inch between fish. A rule of thumb mathematic formula is depth divided by vertical pixel unit equals resolution. Example: 50 foot of depth divided by 240 pixels = ¼ or separation of ¼ inch. As you can see, this type of resolution will allow you to see much more detail.
As a general rule, you probably will not be fishing for bass, crappie, bream or catfish over 30 to 35 feet deep. Go to MANUAL mode and set the upper limit to 0 and the lower limit to 30 feet. Turn the sensitivity up to a level that does not pick up too much surface clutter or distortion. Remember that the smaller the window, the better the resolution. Another feature to turn on is the GRAY LINE or GRAY SCALE. This feature measures the density of objects and the bottom being scanned. The more pronounced the bottom line appears, the harder the bottom surface. This feature is especially helpful when looking for particular bottom composition.
In the spring and early summer, most species are going to be relatively shallow thus your locator is not going to be used as much. A typical post spawn situation develops in the summer when the fish move out to deeper water and underwater structure. This is when the locator plays a major role in locating the underwater structure to fish. A typical summer scenario: You are fishing points and looking for underwater brush piles. When I am looking for brush piles I am going to concentrate my search in depths close to the thermocline. The thermocline shows on the locator to be a faint gray line usually between 18 and 24 feet deep. This water will be a little richer in oxygen and cooler than the water above it thus more comfortable for the fish.
TIP: Make a mental note or write a reminder to yourself at what depth the thermocline is on this particular lake at this time of the year. Will pay off by less searching next year.
A brush pile will show up on a locator as a 3 to 6 foot lump on the bottom with a black line on the exterior and a fairly solid gray filling for dense brush piles like cedar or pin oak piles. Many times you will see small black specs, marks, squiddlies above the brush pile. These may be crappie, bream or bait fish. If the brush pile is old, it will show up as less gray filling and more like a blob on the bottom.
TIP: When you find a brush pile be sure and mark the location on your lake map. Put as much information as you have on the notation. If you have a GPS, note the coordinates.
Brush piles are not created equal. Some brush piles will hold fish consistently while others will not. To determine which piles are holding fish, you will have to fish them. The ones that are not holding fish can be omitted from your notes because they have degraded or for some other reason, just do not hold fish.
As the year wears on and you get into late fall, most fish leave the brush piles and begin to follow schools of bait fish. Here you will use your locator a bit differently. Turn your FISH ID on and look for large gray haystacks of bait fish. With your FISH ID on, you will see the bait fish and the bass, crappie, stripers or perch as well.
If the bait fish appear as a large gray haystack, chances are these are inactive and not worth a lot of effort. If you find your screen filled with scattered and broken up bait fish, you have probably found feeding fish. Concentrate your fishing efforts around these schools of bait fish. Bass will appear as medium sized marks usually in random patterns, crappie or perch will appear as small marks usually in a vertical formation. Stripers appear as the largest and deepest marks on the screen and will generally leave quickly.
As you become more experienced with finding and observing these bait fish balls, you will be able to predict when the bait fish are being driven to the surface or if they are returning to the lower depths. Most of this activity will happen about halfway into a pocket off the main lake in water 10 to 18 feet deep. As fall progresses, the bait fish will move further back into the pockets. As winter arrives, the bait fish will move back out to the main lake and deeper water.
I hope this article has been helpful and hope you keep a tight line.
Carlton “Doc” Holliday and his wife, Darlene “Dee” Holliday only tournament fished together for 5 years. In late 1992, Carlton had a heart attack thus the early retirement ended along with the professional fishing career.
All told, both individually and as a team, Doc and Dee won over 30 bass tournaments and placed in the top 5 in over 70 bass tournaments. The last 3 years of their career as professional bass fishermen were spent winning the Arkansas Guys and Gals Championship in 1991, Doc finishing seventh overall in the Arkie Division of the Redman Circuit in 1991 and becoming eligible to fish the Redman Regional Tournament in Columbus Mississippi where he finished 20th. Also in 1990, Doc fished in the Mr. Bass of Arkansas Championship on Lake Ouachita and finished third. Career winnings estimated over $85,000.00.
Carlton “Doc” Holliday and his wife, Darlene “Dee” Holliday are both retired and live at Joplin, Arkansas two minutes from Lake Ouachita near Hot Springs, Arkansas. Visit us at http://www.bassfishinglakeouachita.com/ or email us at carltonholliday@yahoo.com
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