Fishing without technology requires a lot of insight. It takes time to understand a particular lake, how fish behave in different environments, and what to use to attract specific fish at certain times.

Those insights usually come over a long time fishing on an individual lake. There are things you can pick up that translate to most bodies of water, but the best fishing happens in locations that you’re familiar with.

Your options open up significantly when you use fish locators, though. We’re going to take a look at fish locators in this article, giving you some insight into why they’re so effective and how you can use them for better success.

Let’s explore 10 ways that a fish locator will improve your results.

1. Find Fish Groupings

The first and most important feature of a fish locator is that it tells you when you’re floating over fish.

There are many more specific details that you get, which we’ll discuss later, but the fact that you can know when there are fish beneath you is absolutely groundbreaking. Humans have been fishing in the dark for tens of thousands of years, using only their knowledge of the water to guess where fish might be.

Now, we have something that can tell you where to go. Different locators with sophisticated transducers can tell you a good deal of information about fish in a lake, even if you’re not floating directly above those fish.

Most units, though, are equipped to tell you when there are groups of fish immediately beneath you, which is good enough to make a massive difference in the number of fish you catch.

2. Appreciate the Depth of Fish

Another issue that gets in the way of catching fish is how deep to drop your line. Depending on where you’re fishing, there might be a massive amount of space between your boat and the lake bottom.

Fish might be swimming in schools beneath you, but your bait could be too far away for them ever to notice. A fish locator can tell you precisely how deep the fish in your area are, giving you the insight you need to drop your line to the appropriate level.

Naturally, fish are moving all of the time, and your locator might only show where they are every few seconds. That leaves a little room for chance, but the fact that you’re able to get in the general area of a fish with high-accuracy means that you’ll be close enough for those fish to smell your bait.

3. Know the General Size of Fish

Not only do you know that fish are in your area, but you’ll know how big they are as well.

Some fish finders have specific size information on the fish below. Others have only relative images of the size, which is still very useful. This way, you can know whether to spend your time in the area.

You might be fishing for smaller panfish, or you could be devoting your time to muskies and sturgeon. Whatever you’re looking for, you can know that the general size of the fish in your area are the ones you’re trying to catch.

4. See the Lake Bottom

Fishfinders chart out the floor of the lake you’re boating on. That means you can see depth and changes to the lake bottom in real-time as you float across. These insights can tell you a lot about where fish might be.

As you start to get a feel for where fish are using your fish finder, you’ll see that they spend their time in similar places. For example, steep drops in the lake bottom tend to be areas where fish gather.

When you know where the ridges and drops of your lake are, you can explore those areas first and save yourself time floating around in the middle of nowhere, hoping to find a fish.

5. Chart Your Hot Spots

Modern fish locators come equipped with GPS capabilities that allow you to mark your location and return to it time and time again. When you find an excellent spot, you can mark it down and use your GPS to find it whenever you need to.

You can use this information to save yourself a great deal of time in future outings. Many times, we get the feeling that a general area is a great spot to catch fish. Without a fishfinder, that means getting into a corner of a lake or hovering around in a pretty large section of water.

Fish have regular habits and locations that they spend time, though. There are specific reasons that they gather in locations, and they’re likely to gather in those exact locations at future times.

That’s why it’s important to have a specific pin on the spot where fish are spending time. That way, you can go back to that spot and know that you’re not floating around without a good chance of catching anything.

6. Save Your Boat

Boating in unfamiliar territory can be a little bit risky. Lakes have the tendency to shift drastically in depth over short distances. So, you could be cruising across the lake at full speed, only to hear a wrenching sound after you skid over sand and rocks at the top of a ridge.

It’s good to know the depth wherever you. A fish locator keeps a close eye on all changes in depth and lets you know when you might be approaching a ridge or protrusion that could damage the bottom of your boat.

While this isn’t really a fishing benefit, it helps you stay out on the water longer and saves you money in repairs. That’s money you can then use on some new gear at the shop!

7. Added Excitement

Many fishing enthusiasts go out on the water to spend time, think, and occasionally catch a fish if they’re lucky. That’s what fishing is all about at the end of the day.

It’s a time to reflect and enjoy nature with the looming chance of hooking a big fish and pulling it in. Not everyone likes to sit and peace and quiet, though. This is especially true for kids.

That said, kids tend to love looking at fish finders. It’s like a real-life hunting excursion with the help of a video game that says, “Hey! there are fish down here!.”

So, if you’re looking to get your little ones involved in the great outdoors but they don’t like to sit still, a fish locator might be just the thing to get them interested.

8. You Won’t Fish in Vain

Nobody likes the feeling of being on a boat all day, rod in hand, line in the water, with no nibbles at all.

A fish finder can, at the very least, let you know that you’re not hoping for fish while there aren’t any fish below you. While the anticipation that there might be a fish hovering around you is a big piece of the excitement, it’s absolutely no fun to sit there and wait all day without any idea whether there are fish around or not.

Having a little help can keep your spirits high and keep you feeling like you’re fishing with a purpose.

9. You Can Get as Sophisticated as You Want

You might want to start with a simple fish locator. If you find a lot of success, though, you could find yourself wanting to up your game and getting a little more advanced.

Whether you want to have a closer read on the fish in your favourite lake or you’d like to go out to the ocean and try your luck there, there are fish locators that will help you achieve what you want to get done.

The more further up the scale you go, the better fishing you’ll experience. You must understand how to use your finder effectively, though, no matter how nice it is.

Some people fish with absolutely no technology and have far more success than those with the nicest equipment. Fish locators are tools, but they’ll only help you if you use them well.

10. A Fresh Look at Fishing

We need things to be interesting and nuanced to maintain our appreciation for them. A little change to your fishing process might be just what you need to rekindle your interest and get you back out there.

It’s nice to have new gear to tinker with, see how it affects your results, and amend your process to create the best experience for you and whoever you’re out on the water with. There’s no harm in checking out a finder and seeing if it’s something that will help you enjoy the process even more.

Want to Learn More about Fish Locators?

Fish locators are complex, but they’re easy to understand and use when you’ve got one on the boat. We’re here to help you enjoy your time on the water as much as possible.

Please explore our site to learn more about fish locators, fishing, and other outdoor activities.