Fish finders?

[Mtwolfer]

Do they Lie? is its showing fish that dont bite? weeds? debries ? is one a bigger liar than the other?

[hnd]

ooookie dokie

[panfishman13]

short answer: no.

long answer:

sonars show you everything, be it fish, weeds, debris, or even plankton. it's up to you to fine-tune your sonar's sensitivity and learn how to read your sonar properly, which means putting in time on the water practicing with your sonar. put in the effort, and i can guarantee you'll catch more fish.

[Mr.Seaguar]

If it lies, it's half on you because like Homer said, "it takes two to lie, one to lie and one to listen".

[Tinker]

I don't think they lie but they are electronics so like anything electronic they mess up at times.  I get weird stuff that just shows up at times.  I get bubbles off the bottom, those can trick you into thinking a fish is coming up but then you realize its just a bubble as it just keeps on climbing to the top at a steady rate.  I have had my screen black out on a first of the season trip and pushed buttons and changed settings and cussed out load till I realized that I was catching salmon and that the sonar wasn't messing up it was a school of fish! dooh    I have had schools of red side shiners come through and do the same thing, black out a section of screen but seems like something does break away from the block and chase my jig sometimes, you just don't know till you catch one but a 3 inch fish is hard to catch so it takes a while to figure it out.  I will get weeds on the bottom that seem to black out the bottom couple of feet then it will be clear for a while so might be just on the edge of your cone and its being picked up sporadically.  Also I realize that the jig is usually made of metal but think of the size of that thing and it gets picked up by the sonar so you might just be picking up bugs in the water.  I have watched discarded bait go down on a sonar, can't remember if it was as small as a single maggot but I think so as that is the bait I fish most.     

[GBR]

No they don't lie. Lying is a deliberate intent to deceive. Since fishfinders are inanimate objects they don't possess the freewill and reason to intentionally deceive someone. 

[iowapackfan]

No they don't lie. Lying is a deliberate intent to deceive. Since fishfinders are inanimate objects they don't possess the freewill and reason to intentionally deceive someone. 

; Oh you're just sayin that!

[fishermantim]

It's not that they don't lie, but that you don't read the screen properly!
Like saying someone said one thing but you heard something different.

Biggest problem might be that some FF's may start out at one level of sensitivity and should probably be adjusted to suit the needs of the user.
That's why many "out-of-the-box" units will read everything. I dial down to a level that only shows average size objects. No debris, no flotsam, no junk in the water, only fish.

[Bassmaster16]

you really need to play with your electronics unit. the sensitivity of it can change based on depth and lure size. I usually run mine on my helix 7 on 5 or 6. When i go out to 30 fow from 7 to 8 fow i have to turn it up to 8 or 9. Every unit is different. best way is to go out on the water and play around with it on structure you know is there. Place it over a tree or a weed bed you know exists and see how they read and play with your sensitivity and clutter until you get the type of readings you desire. basic rule of thumb is set your sensitivity as low as you can get away with.

[Mtwolfer]

Thanx for the replys, this is my 1st year with a flasher "FL12" so I still got a learning curve to go through,

[ckfish]

Thanx for the replys, this is my 1st year with a flasher "FL12" so I still got a learning curve to go through,

When I first got my flasher, it was pretty frustrating at first because I didn't really know how to read it. As other guys have said, they can pick up everything and only time will help you learn what is actually a fish. I found that the fastest way to learn is to actually be on fish so you can quickly figure out what they look like on the screen. You could also go to a spot in the lake where you know there are weeds to see what they look like on the screen. Now I wouldn't leave home without my flasher it is key for figuring out what the fish want on slow days because you can see them come up to your bait and turn away (then i change jigs until they bite).

[Elkhnter]

Mtwolfer: Yes there are big differences in Flashers versus Fish Finders! On a fish finder you will see your jig and anything else is a fish, there is "NO" question in your mind what is going on because it shows up on the screen real time whats going on underneath the ice. You move your jig- Instant movement on the screen, a fish shows up here is a black line either coming up on the bottom or shows up right on your jig!!! 

On a flasher well you have red, yellow green and who knows what else kind of lines bouncing all over the screen- Very Hard to interpret what is really going on or is there.  so that is why most folks go with an actual fish finder so you can see a fish as a fish and know its a fish..

I am a visual guy so I like to know a fish is a fish and I watch him come all the way to the hook on my fish finder...

[TDoodle]

If it lies, it's half on you because like Homer said, "it takes two to lie, one to lie and one to listen".

Whoa. Mind = Blown

[Hard_H2O]

They will show you the fish. It will show the ones biting and those inclined not to bite.

When you get experienced you can use them to see what your jig is doing and how the fish are reacting to it. It helps you to turn those with lock jaw into bites.

You can see if they are responding to aggressive jigging or want it slow and steady.

It will also show you fish you would not have known about if you are fishing blind. Fishing blind you drop your jig down and hope there are fish there. With a flasher you can see if there are fish and at what depth. Then you can also see if there are fish suspending if you are maybe keying close to the bottom. Reel up and get them.