Fishfinder accuracy ...

[Volusian]

How accurate do you think Fishfinders are in locating fish. Do you take the symbols on screen indicating fish as gospel ? Can the fish symbols appear when there is in fact no fish there. Does one get a better and more accurate display the more one pays for the finder or are the entry level units at £70-80 more than adequate ..?

[darnsarf]

My advice is not to buy a fishfinder to indicate fish but use it as a tool to show the hot spots on the waters bottom. Gullies, rocks, wrecks and slopes all show up well even on entry level finders.

 

My finders is very accurate, to the point where it shows a 1/2oz weighted rig sinking to the bottom but the manual actually recommends turning the fish symbols off and learning to interpret the screen just by reading the sounder shadows. Is it a fish or weed? To a finder it is just a response. Its processor may feel the response is solid enough to possibly be a fish so it will insert a fish symbol. Doesnt mean it is.

 

If you want to learn or have good water craft a finder is invaluable for finding out those hot spots. If you think it will put you on the fish you will probably be disapointed. At the end of the day they are sonar and will even show a submarine but on most fishfinders it will be indicated as the worlds biggest cod, they aren't that bright.

[jonsok1]

How accurate do you think Fishfinders are in locating fish. Do you take the symbols on screen indicating fish as gospel ? Can the fish symbols appear when there is in fact no fish there. Does one get a better and more accurate display the more one pays for the finder or are the entry level units at £70-80 more than adequate ..?

 

 

hi volusian

i've got a eagle cuda 168, like darnsarf said you are better turning off the fish symbol, use it mainly as a way of finding marks and seeing the depth, they do work as fishfinders i have found it really useful for finding shoals of mackeral, saves a lot of wasted fishing time searching for bait, also i was anchored up trying to catch my first bass , i was getting no bites so i switched on the fishfinder and saw echos at 15 feet so i changed depth and bang, fish on, pollock not bass, but it shows it can work as both fishfinder and depth sounder, plus another added bonus it gives you something to watch when you've got that long paddle home(better than the telly)

[Nicepix]

They can show 'fish' when there are none. Last summer I was drifting near Flamborough and the finder was showing loads of fish yet none could be seen over the white sandy bottom. Another boat was experiencing the same false hits. I put it down to drifting weed as there were loads of small strands drifting past at all depths, making fishing almost impossible.

 

I use it more for checking depth and finding fisshy structures rather then relying on it showing fish.