How to Read a Fish Finder

The hardest part of fishing is finding fish. You definitely can’t catch them if you can’t find them.

The best way to catch more fish is to get a fish finder. The problem is that most people don’t know how to read a fish finder. To be fair, they are kind of tricky to get the hang of. It feels like you are operating a submarine.

But with the tips we share below, you’ll understand exactly how to use a fish finder and how to read it properly so that you can easily start casting where the fish actually are.

 

Why Fish Finders Are Worth Trying

Fishing with a guide is an incredible experience.

Guides have years and years of experience chasing fish in the same water. They know where the fish are at any given time.

But most people can’t afford to fish with a guide every week. They aren’t exactly cheap.

So if you want to catch more fish, you either need to start spending as much time as possible learning your local waters and fish behaviour, or you need to get (and learn how to use) a fish finder.

Fish Finders Save Time

A fish finder will save you a lot of time. It might still be hard to actually find fish. But the fishfinder will easily tell you where the fish are not hanging out.

When there’s wide-open water with no cover, you won’t have to waste your time fishing in the areas with no fish. You can skip to an area more likely to find and catch fish.

Plus, installing a quality fish finder on your boat can even increase the resale value.

 

Fish Finders Explained; How Fish Finders Work

Fishfinders are “sonar” devices. Sonar stands for ‘Sound Navigation and Ranging.’

Sonar devices use sound waves in the water to navigate and to locate objects, terrain, debris, and in this case, fish.

Sound waves are used because they travel farther in water than light or radar waves.

When a sound wave is sent out, it travels until it hits an object. It then bounces off and travels back to the sonar device as an echo. This helps determine the distance to the object.

The signals are shown on your screen, which is what you “read” to determine the best place to find fish.

Depending on what the object is, such as a fish, a rock, or a reef, a different symbol, shape, or colour will appear on your screen.

Essentially, when you start getting signals resembling fish, you start moving your boat in that direction. When you are close enough, but not right on top of the area where fish have been located, you start casting, knowing there are fish close by.

Not only will a fish finder help you locate the fish themselves, but it will also show you debris in the water.

Fish love cover, whether that’s downed trees, plant life, objects like shipwrecks, rocks, sunken docks, or anything else. If you can find the cover, you can often find the fish as well.

Taking the time to learn how a fish finder works, how to read it effectively, and actually using it out on the water will help you reel in more fish.

 

Fish Finder Basics

When you get a new fishfinder, you’ll have multiple parts to install.

The transducer is the part of the device that is installed on the bottom of the boat. This is the piece that sends out and receives sonar signals.

The transducer is linked with the screen, either handheld or mounted on your boat’s dash.

The screen shows the readings allowing you to find objects and fish, as well as water depth and other helpful indicators.

There are a number of different types of mounts to connect the transducer to your boat, depending on how handy you are. You can also have a fishfinder installed by a professional.

 

How to Read a Fish Finder

Once you’ve installed your new fish finder, it’s time to head out into the water and test it out.

Most people recommend using raw data from your fishfinder.

For example, you want the sonar imaging coming onto your screen, rather than animated fish images (the translation of the sonar readings).

This will tell you far more about what is happening under the water.

The most important skill to learn is how to read this raw data and put it to use. Here’s how to read a fish finder.

Finding Fish

Fish show up on your fishfinder as arches.

A singular large arch is a big fish. A big group or clump of small arches is a school of small fish.

The bigger and thicker the arch is, the bigger the fish is.

However, when you start seeing fish, you also want to pay attention to the depth reading. The deeper the water, the smaller the arch will appear.

A longer arch doesn’t mean the fish is longer. It just means the fish is swimming slowly.

A short arch would indicate the fish is swimming faster.

Fish Among the Weeds

It can be hard to spot fish when on the fishfinder they are hiding in the weeds.

When you see soft structures such as plants and weeds, you’ll want to look for any partial arches that may be sticking out. This would indicate a fish swimming through the cover.

Finding Baitfish

Finding baitfish isn’t necessarily exciting until you remember that large fish like to follow and eat baitfish.

Baitfish may be too small to show as an arch. Instead, you might notice them as dots or dashes. A large group may look more like a cloud.

They might be confused with vegetation, but remember, vegetation will be connected to the ground while baitfish are suspended in the water. The device will usually differentiate baitfish colour from vegetation colour on your screen.

Soft Versus Hard Structures

It’s really important to differentiate the hard, sandy bottom of the seafloor with plants, weeds, rocks, and other forms of cover.

The hard ground will appear as a smoother, consistent object and a bright colour.

Irregular shapes and colours on top of the ground will indicate some sort of cover, which tends to be where fish hide.

You might not see any fish, but once you find a spot they might like to hide, it may be worth casting into. As noted before, you might see a partial arch around these objects, indicating that there are fish around these objects.

Keep Your Eye on the Depth

The depth of the water has everything to do with the fish you are trying to catch. Luckily fish finders show the water depth.

Different types of fish live at different depths. Without a depth reading, it’s very hard to figure out how deep the water is.

Make note of what depth your ideal fish generally spend time at, as well as what depth you found previous fish.

This will help when you are scouting new spots.

 

Other Useful Fish Finder Features

Other than finding fish and structure, fishfinder serves a number of other important functions as well.

For one, many units come with GPS functionality. This will keep you from getting lost out in the water and help you navigate to other areas of interest.

And when you find a good spot, you can mark your location so you know exactly where to return to next time you want to start catching fish right away.

 

Types of Fish Finders

There are a ton of options to choose from when getting a fish finder. The biggest consideration is how big the device is, and if you want a permanent unit or a portable one.

A portable is a great one to start out with. You can take it out on your boat, your kayak, or wherever you find yourself. It’s easy to switch vessels.

A permanent device can be much bigger and more effective. A larger screen is helpful for understanding your surroundings quickly.

You can get screens that show coloured or black and white displays (we find coloured to be more helpful). You can also get higher resolution screens for a more accurate reading.

Adding a fishfinder to your boat will make your boating adventures far more memorable.

 

Go Find Your Next Fishing Spot

The joy of using fish finders is finding good spots that you can return to again and again.

Finding new spots and saving them on your device will make you a much more effective angler.

Sure, there’s more nuance to using and reading a fish finder, but as long as you understand the basics of how to read a fish finder, you’ll save time and get on top of more fish.

Time is precious. Spend it catching fish.

It also helps to have a boat you really enjoy fishing with. If you’re ready for the perfect vessel, check out our current stock of the latest models today.