# Help me read my fish finder



## drew7997 (Sep 3, 2012)

So I generally use my fish finder for depth and drops. This year I turned off the Fish ID feature. Before it would show a clear screen and then when a "fish" was present a pic of single fish (3 various sizes) would display. 
Now it is all scattered blotted. I was expecting to see arches. What am I looking at here? Any bait fish? And why all the blackish stuff at the top? 
I'm so confused! 


Drew on his S4

LMB: PB: 13"
Crappie: PB: 9"


----------



## Gottagofishn (Nov 18, 2009)

I'm thinkin that would be surface clutter. Did you motor around? If so did you see anything on the display that might be a fish? 

In this display it doesn't look as though there are any fish present or your settings aren't correct. (maybe one on the bottom on the right..) Does it display fish in the fish ID mode? Is your transducer set correctly?

Have you tried looking at the manual? That might help you out a bit. If you don't own one you can probably Google it.


----------



## drew7997 (Sep 3, 2012)

Not fish signal at all in this mode. When switch to "fish id" on, it has fish. Maybe not in this same area. This model of has 1 transducer that adjust forward and aft around a central connection point. But yes, it's pointed straight down,. 
I did motor around from 19' to 2' all had the same top portion. 
I looked at the manual, nothing specific listed. Would love to meet someone at a Portage Lakes area and just compare what they see on theirs and what I see, just to know what I am looking at. 

Drew on his S4

LMB: PB: 13"
Crappie: PB: 9"


----------



## Bassbme (Mar 11, 2012)

As Gottagofishn said, the area at the top of the screen is surface clutter. Depending on the unit there should be a filter that you can set that will eliminate some of it. Look for something in the menu that says noise reduction or ASP. The higher you set the noise reduction, the smaller the surface clutter will be. But.... setting the noise reduction high will cancel out other signals, such as if your unit is powerful enough to show a thermocline, setting your noise reduction at a high setting will eliminate the ability to see the thermocline. Personally I wouldn't be all that concerned with the surface clutter. It isn't hiding anything of any importance.

As far as what that screen in the picture is showing.... not knowing what your sensitivity is set at, it's kind of hard to say. The small black dots scattered throughout the screen could be fish, or they could be particles oh who knows what suspended in the water. If I had to take a guess I'd say that they're small bait fish.

As far as seeing fish "arches" .... you're not going to see a lot of arches, You'll see lines, or blobs. The lines are usually catch-able sized fish, the blobs are usually schools of bait fish. And that is really just a generality. It takes a little practice to interpret what your screen is showing, but it's really not that hard to figure out. Whatever you do, resist the urge to turn the fish ID back on. It's worthless really. You could be floating over a bunch of leaves that are suspended in the water, and with your fish ID on it is going to show them as fish.

Have patience Drew..... when your unit shows fish you'll definitely know it. All it takes is a little on the water experience


----------



## Shad Rap (Nov 10, 2010)

The screen looks inverted...like its upside down...I dont know...like all that stuff at the top should be at the bottom of the screen...weird.


----------



## TomC (Aug 14, 2007)

looks like surface clutter, maybe adjust the sensitivity down a bit


----------



## Popspastime (Apr 1, 2014)

Turn your grey line on to the minimum, sensitivity up till you see a bunch of interference, then back it down until the screen clears to reduce the clutter. At different depths the sens will have to be re-adjusted, more for deaper and less for shallow. Chart speed wants to be full blast for target separation and easier identification. If your sitting the fish (like said above) should be a straight line, but as your moving you should start seeing arches more often. Also the sens may have to be turned down a bit while moving. Usually anything under the surface clutter will be fish, what your seeing may be gills or crappie, interference usually ties in with vertical lines and the top, but bait fish will display as blobs under or just below or tied into the surface clutter. Under the 19, that might be baitfish, see how it drops? On the bottom where it thickens in spots may be tight fish or a log. The thicker the black line at the bottom above the grey means the bottom is softer, thinner is harder. Some units have the capability to separate targets 1" apart but yours doesn't, altho it's a great little unit. Just keep practicing and looking at it. It will all start making sense the more you use it.


----------



## Star1pup (Aug 3, 2004)

I agree that it takes a while to figure out what the screen on a sonar is really showing. I've always thought that manufacturers should sell a video or actual photos of what a screen is showing.

I also agree that is surface clutter and I would just ignore it. I also agree that when you have those little fish pictures they could be anything that is floating above the bottom. They are fun to watch though.


----------



## 68bucks (Aug 17, 2013)

I have a couple suggestions that helped me. First is YouTube. There are a ton of videos to help you learn to read a sonar. Second here's what I did. I fish a lot of perch on lake Erie so I took a 20oz soda bottle and filled it with sand. I tied it to a string and dropped it over the side so I could see it on the sonar. I figured it is the size of a nice perch. I dropped it to the bottom, moved it around just to get a feel for what an object that size looks like. I have seen rigs with a couple weights on floats with a line tied between the weight. Off that line they tied lines with tennis ball that float up at different depths. Drop the rig in the water and maneuver between the markers and you should see the balls at different depths. Basic idea is put a known object down there and see what it looks like.


----------

