# Is my finder working properly?



## RiparianRanger

The images below are from my second outing with a newly installed fish finder, a Lowrance Elite 5 HDI. I think I'm seeing fish and bait balls in most of the images but was hoping to toss a few images up on the forums here and see what the pros have to say. Thanks


----------



## RiparianRanger

one more


----------



## RMK

RiparianRanger said:


> one more


i m not a pro, but the last one definitely looks like a bait ball with fish under it.


----------



## crappiedude

Probably... I'm not sure where you're fishing but I know on my HDS units I get a lot of "snow" on the screen during the warmer months. I always assumed it was partially from the algae blooms going on and it suspended particles in the water that I'm seeing. With out a changes to my settings my screens clear up during the colder months. You can probably clean up the views a little by playing with some settings but personally I don't like all the button pushing for the little bit of gain.


----------



## chris1162

I would decrease your sensitivity slightly but thats just personal preference. Those are definitely fish and some bait fish too.


----------



## RiparianRanger

Thanks, everyone. Any tips for how to determine which species the unit is marking? And, of all the images, #8 looks kind of funky. Would you say those too are fish?


----------



## chris1162

We used a castnet to figure out what each school was that we were marking. Hybrids look like blobs, gar are long and slender streaks, carp and buffalo are fatter long streaks, and catfish are like upside down nike symbol due to their hard head. Shad is usually really small marks in clouds. Bass and saugeye are the classic return arch.


----------



## RiparianRanger

Thanks, Chris. Really helpful. Might you have a description of crappie? I don't target them but the lake closest to me, and thus the one I frequent most, is loaded with them. My concern is those classic signatures with arches under bait balls are crappie instead of bass.


----------



## chris1162

Not to sure on crappie honesty. My guess would be smaller ball shaped blobs similiar to hybrids. I am no expert by anymeans and hopefully others will chime in as i would love to hear others answers and tips.


----------



## Eastside Al

Not trying sell anything but lance valentine seminars and his cd's would help 
A few settings to try
Go from fastest to fast on sonar and pick shallow water option
Keep playing and if u get stuck go to reset and start over
Try the demo feature also. Lets u play and see what you changed without being on the lake


----------



## ezbite

go to youtube and look up your unit, i'm sure there is some info over there on it. yes those are fish and bait balls IMO.


----------



## crappiedude

RiparianRanger said:


> Might you have a description of crappie?


These are crappie from this morning. They are sitting on wood (stump and logs) sitting in
11 1/2 fow.









I took this shot a few years ago. It's crappie on a stick-up with some other limbs.
This is 2d sonar vs DI.


Here's an oldie but goody
SI vs DI


Chris has a good point, you may want to try to decrease your sensitivity.
You may also want to try switching the frequency from 455kz to 800kz, it can make a difference too.


----------



## RiparianRanger

Thanks everyone. This is a major upgrade from the old unit. Want to make sure I'm getting the most out of it.


----------



## guppygill

I have that same unit. I use the sonar view the most, sometimes I switch to down scan to see if there are trees on the bottom or stumps. Turn down the sensitivity a little, but your marking good. Since it is only a five inch screen I hardly use both scans at the same time.


----------



## guppygill

Additionally, to see what type of fish, I have been using a Marcum camera. If the water is not super murky, I have been able to see a huge school of fish turned out to be big shad, and walleyes sitting on the bottom lying still.


----------



## RiparianRanger

Anyone have an Elite 5 HDI that can explain how to adjust the sensitivity. Below are images of the steps taken which mirror those shown in the owner's manual (also pictured below) until the last step. When I select "adjust" the only option the finder permits is contrast. I can't seem to get it to pull up the options as depicted in the figures shown in the owner's manual.


----------



## BankAngler

Make sure you are on the sonar screen before you go into the menu. Look to see whether the sonar or GPS screen is outlined by an orange box. This box signals which screen is active. Once the sonar screen is the active screen, you should be able to access the correct menu to adjust the sensitivity.


----------



## RiparianRanger

That did it. Apparently it must be on the sonar screen _only_. When in split screen mode, which I am 90% of the time, it was pulling up a limited menu of options as shown in prior post. Thanks


----------



## RiparianRanger

Got another one up for analysis... I'm reasonably certain the blob in the upper right of both the sonar and downscan is a bait ball, but I'm uncertain what the horizontal marks and diagonal streaks are on the sonar (left) screen. I see this type of shooting star "streaking" quite often and haven't a clue what it is. Please advise. Thanks!


----------



## RMK

crappiedude said:


> These are crappie from this morning. They are sitting on wood (stump and logs) sitting in
> 11 1/2 fow.
> View attachment 241158
> 
> 
> I took this shot a few years ago. It's crappie on a stick-up with some other limbs.
> This is 2d sonar vs DI.
> 
> 
> Here's an oldie but goody
> SI vs DI
> 
> 
> Chris has a good point, you may want to try to decrease your sensitivity.
> You may also want to try switching the frequency from 455kz to 800kz, it can make a difference too.


those are some impressive DI shots! something i dream of seeing on my finder. granted i m running a hummin bird unit and it may look slightly different. how much have you fine tuned your settings to get that great of a picture?


----------



## Shortdrift

guppygill said:


> I have that same unit. I use the sonar view the most, sometimes I switch to down scan to see if there are trees on the bottom or stumps. Turn down the sensitivity a little, but your marking good. Since it is only a five inch screen I hardly use both scans at the same time.


Great response, especially split screen on small screen. Try using sonar alone and then switching to down scan on smaller screens. I have a HDS Touch 7" and only use sonar and chart as a split.


----------



## crappiedude

RMK said:


> how much have you fine tuned your settings to get that great of a picture?


When I first bought my units (2011 I think) I used to play with the settings a lot. Now it's just an occasional adjustment here and there. In the bow of the boat I normally use 2d (sonar) since the transducer is on the TM. I generally keep DI on at the console most of the time. Again I generally am not a button pusher. Both of these units I split the screen with GPS. I've seen some guys waste a lot of their day trying to get the perfect picture rather than catching fish. I will on occasion split my console screen DI/2d if there has been a major algae bloom. The DI will pick up the algae and fill my screen with "snow". I can clear it up some by decreasing sensitivity but I usually just work around it with 2d sonar. I only use SI in new areas or if I'm searching. For the most part if I'm searching, I'm not fishing. In SI I will mark waypoints on cover/structure that I locate and check them out when I'm done scoping things out. Once I pick up a fishing rod...I'm done searching.
I will admit I'm a Lowrance guy but that's because I understand Lowrance units and how their drop down menus work. I honestly don't care if you use Birds, Low or Garmin they will all give you the info you need, you just have to learn how the units work and understand what you are looking at. Back in the day we used to use those old crappy flashers and we still caught fish. I got to say I loved those old units and kept one on my bow up until 2012 (I think) when I added my 2nd HDS unit. I still have it in a box...just in case.
For the most part I'm an open water fisherman and I am lost without electronics. Shallow target fishing is fun and if the fish are on that type of pattern it can be fast paced action. I love that type of fishing but the fish will move off of that shallow cover at some time during the year and it's then that the electronics come into play.
Any unit with a GPS and the biggest screen you can afford will work.


----------



## Shortdrift

I agree with you 100% about spending too much time setting the electronics instead of fishing.


----------



## RiparianRanger

Fished an area impoundment from 9-12 and caught three dinks. While out on the water the long horizontal returns shown in the first picture kept pinging the finder. These returns occasionally hit from time to time and I am unsure what they are. Figured I'd snap a photo and see if any of you had a guess. 

The second image shows a glob of something that appears to be slightly suspended off the bottom and another one of those long, almost perfectly horizontal marks. Any guesses as to what these are?


----------



## Lewzer

> The second image shows a glob of something that appears to be slightly suspended off the bottom and another one of those long, almost perfectly horizontal marks.


probably a fish sitting suspended motionless while you slowly crawl over that spot. If you were going fast, the fish wouldn't be in the "cone" very long. If you are drifting or slowly trolling with the electric, the fish sits in the cone a long time and thus a long horizontal streak.

It either that or you see a 20ft sturgeon sitting motionless while you are moving fast over that spot.


----------



## RiparianRanger

Interesting. Hadn't thought of it like that. These photos did take place while drifting. I figured it had to be something but since the returns were not the classic fish arches I didn't know what it was exactly. The concept of _amount of time in the cone_ goes a long way toward explaining other phenomena I see from time to time like meteor showers on the screen. Thanks for clearing that up


----------



## Gottagofishn

Time on the water will be your best teacher however, take the time to check out Valentines literature. He will help shorten the curve. After using one for 30 years I discovered the answers to questions I had and learned things I had never questioned. One of the things I have failed to consider in the past is that the marks you see are "distance away from the transducer, not depth". Sounds like you're already on it though. 
I'm with the camp that doesn't mess with the settings much. Time is fish... look for em, catch em.


----------



## RiparianRanger

Circling back on this... the last couple of outings I’ve not been able to locate the typical markings as shown in my prior posts. I am not sure what happened. I don’t recall changing the settings. Is it possible for a transducer to go bad?

For reference I have a Lowrance Elite 5 HDI. Sensitivity is around 55-60. Setting is for freshwater. And noise reduction is low. Fish Alum and Hoover and no obvious markings to show for it lately. Still see structure and depth fine. Any suggestions?


----------



## Brahmabull71

RiparianRanger said:


> Circling back on this... the last couple of outings I’ve not been able to locate the typical markings as shown in my prior posts. I am not sure what happened. I don’t recall changing the settings. Is it possible for a transducer to go bad?
> 
> For reference I have a Lowrance Elite 5 HDI. Sensitivity is around 55-60. Setting is for freshwater. And noise reduction is low. Fish Alum and Hoover and no obvious markings to show for it lately. Still see structure and depth fine. Any suggestions?


Could the ducer have been bumped? Check screw tightness on bracket. Did you do any updates (sorry for the obvious question)? Do a factory reset and see if that helps? Take a couple pictures/shots of your settings on your cell before restoring to factory settings. Unfortunately Elites are known for issues. Highly unlikely for ducer to be bad.


----------



## RiparianRanger

Thanks Josh. Transducer looks good. It has the break away bracket so in the event it was bumped (unlikely) it would’ve moved.

Might be a dumb question but is the micro SD card used for updates a separate purchase? I can’t locate one that would’ve come with the unit. Roundabout way of saying no, it’s not been updated.


----------



## Brahmabull71

RiparianRanger said:


> Thanks Josh. Transducer looks good. It has the break away bracket so in the event it was bumped (unlikely) it would’ve moved.
> 
> Might be a dumb question but is the micro SD card used for updates a separate purchase? I can’t locate one that would’ve come with the unit. Roundabout way of saying no, it’s not been updated.


I’d be more than happy to meet you and take a look at it. Not sure I can help, but we could rule a couple things out.


----------



## RiparianRanger

I need to take you up on that. Maybe we could finally get that Alum trip on the books. Will PM/text you once calendar is known. Thanks


----------



## Junebug2320

We have the HDI-7. Have issues every year and have to do a re-boot to get it working. Lose all of our waypoints. Found out latest software Ver is 6, we were running 4. You have to get a Micro SD card and download the software yourself. We try to leave the settings alone, but the capt gets bored sometimes! LOL. I usually bump up the noise reduction and surface clutter. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Huck4200

I have the elite 5 hdi if you have questions let me know.


----------



## RiparianRanger

Huck4200 said:


> I have the elite 5 hdi if you have questions let me know.


Thanks, Bill.

Per the recommendations elsewhere in this thread I performed a software update and got out on the water yesterday and restored factory settings and went through the setup wizard. Using setup wizard I chose Lake (not rivers) for primary usage. Fresh Water. Auto Depth Adjust. 

In an attempt to dial in the sonar a little better I subsequently followed the process shown in the YouTube video below. 






My settings can be shown in the three images attached. 

Please advise if you guys see anything out of whack. Thanks


----------



## RiparianRanger

I cruised up and down the east shore of Alum's south pool passing over the many points searching for anything resembling fish. I did not see anything that looked like obvious fish markings to me, but snapped some photos of typical "stuff" that shows up on the screen. Please take a look and let me know what you all think. 

At this point I am beginning to wonder if the transducer is malfunctioning because when I first installed the unit last year it worked fine as shown in some of the earlier posts in this thread.


----------



## Huck4200

RiparianRanger said:


> I cruised up and down the east shore of Alum's south pool passing over the many points searching for anything resembling fish. I did not see anything that looked like obvious fish markings to me, but snapped some photos of typical "stuff" that shows up on the screen. Please take a look and let me know what you all think.
> 
> At this point I am beginning to wonder if the transducer is malfunctioning because when I first installed the unit last year it worked fine as shown in some of the earlier posts in this thread.


Looks right to me


----------



## STRONGPERSUADER

I wouldn’t sweat it. Looks as tho it’s working fine. Like someone said time on the water will get you time on the sonar. From what I understand It’s basically the air bladder that gives you the stronger red return along with the traditional arch but you will only get that arch if it’s all in the cone. Everything you mark is not going to be in that cone especially in those depths your showing us. The shallower the water the smaller the cone circle is on the bottom. Those other marks are still telling you fish are there.


----------



## reyangelo

No expert by any means and I am sure to be only utilizing about 25% of my fish finders abilities. My first outing looked like a straight blob lines as first picture shows. Read a little quick tips and a couple YouTubes. Next outing went to a cove I know there are fish and started making changes; first change before even launching was to make sure my transducer was flush and no angle at all (again, not an expert but any angle can change the output of the ping). Second, I changed the sensitivity, then the speed rate, and a few other items. Within 15 minutes I even added fish icons and it has been working for me.

There is so much potential for my fish finder, but for now will keep it as is until I have time to get in depth (i said that 2yrs+ ago and still haven't invested time). Pics below for reference, first one on first outing and 2nd pic recent outing. As a fish finder novice myself, I would recommend to start at Transducer, Sensitivity, and Speed Rate if an available option to start.


----------



## bustedrod

on the right side of your screen , that thin bar up and down is real time sonar as compared to painting the screen, very very useful . even in 50 ft I can see my jig or perch rig as I jig it up and down teasing the fish to hit or watch them chase it. it clues me in on how they ( FISH ) are acting . my garmin its called A scope p s loose the fish symbols it will loose something in translation because you will see more by keeping your arches ,


----------



## RiparianRanger

Thanks, everyone. 

For those running Lowrance units, what is your sensitivity setting? As shown in my second to last post, mine is on * auto sensitivity and -4%*. I forget what the original settings were from the first post in this thread but all that snow on the screen suggests sensitivity was much higher.


----------



## STRONGPERSUADER

First off you need to see what version you are running and check the website and see if there’s a new one available. If your current version is say v3.6 there might be a v4.2 available, if so you need to update. Updates remove known bugs or it could be just a language update or any given thing in between. These new sonars are pretty much plug an play. I would reset everything to default and start by with comparing the kHz’s. Then just tweak each setting. Good luck.


----------



## RiparianRanger

Took a cue from the above and restored factory settings and turned off all the training wheels. 

1. Reset factory settings. 
2. Set to Shallow water
3. Set Auto range adjust
4. Turned Auto sensitivity off
5. Set sensitivity to 72%
6. Turned Noise canceling off
7. Turned Surface clarity off

Appear to be getting good bottom reading evidenced by yellow and looks to be marking something in the water that resembles fish. The 20-40 ft range is good but get a lot of snow under 15 feet.

Thoughts?


----------



## RiparianRanger

Here's the problem though... under 15 ft the screen is cluttered with snow rendering it unreadable. What do you all do for shallower depths (the finder is already set to the shallow water setting)?


These are all from Alum by the way... if anyone has a similar setup on this lake and wants to relay what works for them


----------



## STRONGPERSUADER

I wouldn’t worry about the surface clutter. Those nice arches you are getting will pop right through that. If your running, prop wash can cause that clutter also. Try bumping your sensitivity down to 50% then raise it until you get those nice arches back. Turn surface clairity on. Noise canceling on. Do all of these in different sequence until you get what you like. Yellow is just a weaker signal telling you it’s a softer bottom. You might be over thinking it a little bit. Those are some good looking returns.


----------



## STRONGPERSUADER

Play with the ducer settings also.


----------



## Popspastime

Best results are in Auto mode, that machine is smarter then you think it is. Turn it on... and forget it.


----------



## RiparianRanger

STRONGPERSUADER said:


> Play with the ducer settings also.


Do you mean the kHz setting on sonar? The Elite 5 HDI permits flipping between 83 and 200 on sonar and 455 and 800 on down scan. Right now sonar is at 200. I’ve toyed around with 83 for a wider cone but the screen usually turns almost completely dark purple when set on 83.


----------



## STRONGPERSUADER

RiparianRanger said:


> Do you mean the kHz setting on sonar? The Elite 5 HDI permits flipping between 83 and 200 on sonar and 455 and 800 on down scan. Right now sonar is at 200. I’ve toyed around with 83 for a wider cone but the screen usually turns almost completely dark purple when set on 83.


Do you have the latest software version installed? If the unit is brand new I’m sure it you do. Have you looked at the operating manual at all? If you don’t have one you can get it online.


----------



## RiparianRanger

STRONGPERSUADER said:


> Do you have the latest software version installed? If the unit is brand new I’m sure it you do. Have you looked at the operating manual at all? If you don’t have one you can get it online.


Thanks. Yes, I performed a software update a couple of weeks ago and I have the owner’s manual. The last two trips out on the water in the last week have been post update with the objective of troubleshooting/dialing in the sonar to obtain similar returns as those found in the first post in this thread. While it’s getting close, it still doesn’t look to be finding returns like it was last year (hence the questions for OGF as to whether it looks OK). Of course the X factor is the fish - they’re either there or they are not. I cruised Alum from Galena ramp east side up to the marina and down west side and back across the dam all at about 2-3 MPH with the occasional stop to change settings. What I posted above were the best marks the sonar produced; none of which were as good as those found in the first post of this thread which is why I’m concerned the finder is messed up. However if you say it looks good then I’ll leave it alone.


----------



## Gottagofishn

Not sure if your unit has it but mine has an SCC (surface clutter control) control. You can turn that setting up to reduce surface clutter but it's never been an issue for me. As for your pics... at 44 degrees that looks like Alum to me this time of year. Not a lot of fish hanging around like in 50 degrees or warmer. Marks (and fish) are a tad more difficult to come by this time of year. 
As far as I can see it looks to be working fine. I run mine on a split screen and really don't play with the picture much. On auto it usually gives me enough info to decide what and how I'm going to start with. If I'm on new water or having a tough day I may spend more time staring at the screen though.


----------



## STRONGPERSUADER

Hey RR, I googled “best Lowrance elite 5 his settings and got this along with many other suggestions. Google is your friend bro. I think it would be easier for you to just take a look and see what settings the pros and novices are running. Good luck!


----------



## crappiedude

FWIW...I don't own that unit but I have I do have Low gen 1 hds units.
Just my thoughts...
I find that when I set up new electronics I try to set them up at the depths that I will be fishing at most of the year. Normally (for me) that's in 5-20 fow. I don't normally fish in 40 fow so why start there?
I like a clear screen so normally I will use some surface clarity usually a setting of low-medium works best for me. It's hard to get perfect surface clarity as, wind, waves, boat wakes, algae ect will all have an effect to some degree. I'm okay if I can just minimize it.
As far as sensitivity I will set it where it performs best in my most used depth range. I can tweak for other depths if I need to but most times I just set it and forget it.

Once I get the settings I like I tend to just leave the units alone. Water conditions can change quickly so sometimes the setting can be off a little but overall I get good performance.
Good luck with your unit.


----------



## RiparianRanger

Hit Hoover today. Water was nearly coffee con leche. Fired up the graph and couldn't see a thing on the screen with all the clutter. Guessing that was due to the particulate load in the water. Turned auto sensitivity on and it cleared up as shown in the images below. Curious what you all think if it is working as it should. 

Also, any guesses as to what the species are? Guessing crappie in image 1. Whatever is in image 2 appears larger. Couldn't get them to take the bait.


----------



## RiparianRanger

Attached are more photos from a recent outing. Images #1, #5, and #7 appear to be bait balls or bait balls with feeding fish. The others I'm less certain about. Hoping the OGF crew would take a look and let me know what you all think. Thanks.


----------



## bustedrod

is your ducer sitting levelin the water, looks like your arches are a little off


----------



## miked913

Yep your transducer is tipped a little too much, if you get that straight and switch to 83hz when your @ trolling speeds (I see you were at 2.5ish), you'll have the beautiful arches you want to see. It looks like you need to adjust heel up to get a better complete arch. I used to run mine on 200hz while on plane to read good at speed and then when I slowed down switch it back to 83hz. Now I just added a 2nd graph and I leave one on each setting. You will notice that on 200hz when going at slower speeds the fish look more like "globs" than arches. Good luck. 

Sent from my moto z3 using Tapatalk


----------



## bustedrod

you also may notice you dont ping anything down to about 4 ft, just noise . other wise i would say your finder is doin its job.. now i run 2 garmins on my ride . i dont have the clutter like that. the rear garmin has chirp bla bla and run it on 200 mghz and the front garmin is set at 88 mostly for nav...... i can see the difference of fish , ex; bigger eyes have color and when we see little black lines/ arch there always small eyes like 12 " or less...i notice you have a scope on ....the narrow graph on right that is real time love it


----------



## RiparianRanger

bustedrod said:


> is your ducer sitting levelin the water, looks like your arches are a little off





miked913 said:


> Yep your transducer is tipped a little too much, if you get that straight and switch to 83hz when your @ trolling speeds (I see you were at 2.5ish), you'll have the beautiful arches you want to see. It looks like you need to adjust heel up to get a better complete arch. I used to run mine on 200hz while on plane to read good at speed and then when I slowed down switch it back to 83hz. Now I just added a 2nd graph and I leave one on each setting. You will notice that on 200hz when going at slower speeds the fish look more like "globs" than arches. Good luck.
> 
> Sent from my moto z3 using Tapatalk





bustedrod said:


> you also may notice you dont ping anything down to about 4 ft, just noise . other wise i would say your finder is doin its job.. now i run 2 garmins on my ride . i dont have the clutter like that. the rear garmin has chirp bla bla and run it on 200 mghz and the front garmin is set at 88 mostly for nav...... i can see the difference of fish , ex; bigger eyes have color and when we see little black lines/ arch there always small eyes like 12 " or less...i notice you have a scope on ....the narrow graph on right that is real time love it


Good question. When I installed it I just eyeballed it. Looked level sitting on the trailer in the garage but now you all got me thinking. Seems there’s a (good) chance the boat will sit at a different angle on the trailer vs in the water. How do you all ensure the transducer is level - do your best to hit it with a carpenters level while hanging over the transom?


----------



## bustedrod

ohh i got ot look at your water line ? lol


----------



## Brahmabull71

Also I’ve found that lowering the entire transducer can make a huge difference. When in doubt, tilt the back end of the transducer down one extra click, run it, and see if that’s how you want your images. I intentionally tilt mine down to be able to mark at speed.


----------



## bustedrod

nice alot of people installing first time should find this help full.


----------



## Jonboat1850

RiparianRanger said:


> The images below are from my second outing with a newly installed fish finder, a Lowrance Elite 5 HDI. I think I'm seeing fish and bait balls in most of the images but was hoping to toss a few images up on the forums here and see what the pros have to say. Thanks


IMO the images look good i think what youre seeing is the thermocline . Fish and bait often sit above it


----------



## Jonboat1850

RiparianRanger said:


> Got another one up for analysis... I'm reasonably certain the blob in the upper right of both the sonar and downscan is a bait ball, but I'm uncertain what the horizontal marks and diagonal streaks are on the sonar (left) screen. I see this type of shooting star "streaking" quite often and haven't a clue what it is. Please advise. Thanks!


Im guessing youre right its bait with the fish below . the screen scrolls right to left so those streaks are moving UP & probably fish feeding on the bait.... FISH ON


----------



## Jonboat1850

aww hell im sure you figured it by now !! LOL didnt look at the date of posts


----------



## RiparianRanger

Jonboat1850 said:


> aww hell im sure you figured it by now !! LOL didnt look at the date of posts


Nice avatar


----------

