Fish-Hawk.Net

I have a new boat equipped with a Lowrance DS50 fish finder.

It's always showing fish mostly suspended. When I turn off fish tracker I never see the classic fish arcs. I can't believe there are that many fish.

The contours and depth info look good. This fish finder is pretty low on the food chain.

Should I upgrade or is there something I should know about interpreting or using this fish finder?

It could be the thermocline you are seeing being reported as "fish". Or bait balls, etc...

Never use the "Fish ID". Use your intuition and read it "raw" using the arcs, etc.

Agree with turning of the Fish ID......what is you sensitivity level set to???

Crank it up and see if it makes a difference..

No but they speak in half truths. I have two Lowrance finders, neither of them high end. I have a 510 on the console and an X67C on the front with a puck transducer on the trolling motor. I know the transducers are 16' apart but they never seem to show the same information. I mean what shows up on the bow mount should more or less show up on the console a couple of seconds later, right?

I've even matched the settings on both finders so everything is as close to the same as I can get it.

I think the fish ID is an illusion and agree that you are better off looking for arcs but I do like to believe that all those fish symbols are fish that are really there.

There was some discussion on this forum in the spring about having Sheldon Hatch do a 1 or 1/2 day seminar on reading finders but I don't think anything ever came of it.

Hit the Lowrance site and check out the on-line tutorial for your finder.

They do not lie!!! Bit they do not find fish... They simply show sonar echos... Nothing more, nothing less..

The bottom contour and makeup is pretty easy to identify...

Weeds, fish, logs, sticks, bait, etc.... All are more challenging depending on many factors...


Turn off the fish ID, turn the sensitivity to max, then bring it back down until you get some separation of noise.... Read, the image clears up a bit... I find I am constantly adjusting sensitivity ...

Arcs simply mean there is a target that is giving an echo... Nice clean perfect arcs indicate the target was stationary.. Arcs with hooks, bumps or other irregularities indicate the target was moving...

Then go putting slowly around the lake to look for arcs.... Use your maps, or local knowledge to target possible fish locations, and your electronics to confirm...

Trust in your electronics... But build up that trust buy using them constantly...

One great tool if you have the resources is to pick up an underwater camera like the aqua vu scout. You could find one used if $ is an issue.

Next time you are over what you think is a school of fish—drop down the camera. Do it when you think you are over weeds, baitfish, boulders etc. Nothing makes interpreting your sonar readings easier than looking at video. You won't have to drop the cam down much after you get an idea of how these things are reproduced on your sonar screen.

another thing that will help you see the arcs better is to turn down your chart speed. when the chart speed is too high, the arcs appear as straight lines. i found this helped for me.

moonshine wrote:another thing that will help you see the arcs better is to turn down your chart speed. when the chart speed is too high, the arcs appear as straight lines. i found this helped for me.

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