There is nothing more frustration to me then to go out looking for fish (whatever species) marking good size fish on my graph and not getting bit.
Are those marks channel cats, walleyes, buffalo or sheephead. As good as the StructureScan and other imaging sonar is, seldom can a person tell what fish are on the screen without actually catching one.
That leads to the questions, “Should I keep trying different lures? What’s wrong with my presentation? Is there a banana in the boat?!”
Damnit! Why won’t they BITE!??
Two methods have pointed me in the right direction for catching fish.
1) Bait Shops. Four Seasons and Everts keep a good pulse on where fish are being caught. This has pointed me in the general area.
2) A MarCum 825sd underwater camera.
Without a doubt a camera will tell me what those marks on the screen are. As a side benefit the MarCum will make the angler a better sonar reader. More about that later.
I’m going to use channel cats here, because that’s what I was looking for. Insert your favorite fish instead.
After checking in with Steve at Everts and a few folks that caught accidental channels, I’ve went out a few times without getting my line wet. Reason? Intel.
Normally this time of year the water is so dirty a camera, any camera won’t work on the river unless the camera head bumps into a fish. Seeing around 6″ makes it hard to check areas.
This year, to my surprise the camera shows between two and three feet. Not a lot, but good enough to see what’s down there once marking fish then noting what fish are on the camera and what they look like on the sonar. I’ve concluded that a small carp shows the same return on the sonar as a larger walleye.
Once located I know there are channel cats in the specific area I can focus on fishing for them. Changing baits ect until I possibly get bit. Generally speaking, by doing the above, I now can boat out to and area, watch for marks, toss out the anchor above them and be confident that I’m on fish.
I’ve eliminated a lot of water just by drifting down stream looking to bump into something worth fishing. I spent 10 minutes looking through and area that would normally take an hour or better to fish.
One note with walleyes. Cameras seem to spook them into closing their mouths. They will generally stay in the same location, but won’t bite. I suggest moving away from that area, then coming back and fishing it later on.
One other note, if you’re fishing shallow water and have someone in your boat with heavy boots and make noise on the floor of your boat, expect to catch less walleyes.
The camera has made me a much better bottom reader. Now that I’ve gone over clams, old clam shells and live ones that stick vertical out of the sand, rocks, sand, gravel and shale, it’s easy to see this on the sonar. Before I was just guessing by the colors.
These tactics will work on lakes in the spring too.
So, what was that fish on the sonar??
