Fish finders provide the perfect way to revolutionize the way you fish. If you want to compete with other modern fishermen, you need to understand this important technology. However, once you grab your first fish model, you will need to learn how to properly use it. With the many settings involved with a fish finder, this can be difficult. Thankfully, we have put together this simple 8 step guide to properly using a fish finder. Check it out below:
1. Check Out the Manual:
The last thing most people want to do when getting a product is read the manual. Manuals can be hard to understand, and their dense language makes reading them a chore. However, when you are using a complex piece of equipment, like a fish finder, you need to understand every aspect of the product’s design. Before getting into using each setting, you need to be extremely familiar with every inch of your new fish finder.
2. Mount Your Model:
Before you can get out there and catch a ton of fish using your new fish finder, you need to comfortably mount into your watercraft. Each kind of craft requires a different approach to installing, so looking up tips on forums can be extremely useful. Overall, you need to figure out the which of the following mount types your are using to ensure a properly mounted fish finder model:
● Transom Mount
● Hull Mount
● Portable Mount
● Manual Mount
3. Start Up Your Fish Finder:
When you first turn on your fish finder, you will notice that it seems very foreign. Additionally, it will be set to automatic mode, which means you will be using all of the pre-programmed settings. Unfortunately, most fish finders are pre-set for a certain kind of environment, making them practically useless to most users. However, when first learning the product you can use the automatic features setting to learn how to navigate the menu. After this, you will want to switch into manual mode for the next few steps.
4. Familiarize Yourself with the Product:
As you begin to familiarize yourself with a fish finder, the sensitivity setting is the first thing you should look at. The sensitivity setting allows you to adjusts the overall power and operation of the fish finder model. The lower you set the sensitivity, the less clear your display quality will be. When first starting to figure out the fish finder, you should aim between 75% and 100% sensitivity. Ultimately, it will be about trial and error when finding the perfect sensitivity setting for your individual model.
5. Setup the Fish ID Setting:
When you are using base settings, most fish finders show a basic fish shape for the display’s readouts. This aspect of the fish finder is known as the Fish ID setting. While these icons are useful for beginners, they are less accurate than the other setting that shows off more natural arches for areas including fish. After you set up the Fish ID setting on your fish finder properly, and master the ability to read the display, you will find that you catch more fish than ever before.
6. Use the Auto Depth Feature:
The auto depth feature is another important setting that you will need to alter from the pre-programmed settings. While the pre-set features of the auto depth setting will automatically tell the fish finder to track the bottom of a body of water, that type of approach is best for beginner users. As you become more familiar with the technology, you will want to start manually setting upper and lower limits on the display window. By doing this, your resolution will become better, as well as your overall accuracy.
7. Figure out the Depth Cursor:
After you’ve figured out the depth setting, you need to move onto mastering your understanding of the Depth finder Cursor. This feature on a fish finder can be moved up and down, and should be ideally placed right into the middle of any reading arches the fish finder picks up. By doing this, the model can tell you the exact depth of the fish being picked up. With this new information, you can easily catch the fish you’ve tracked.
8. Continue to Learn the Product:
Know that you’ve begun to experiment with the fish finder, and you’ve learned about many of its most important settings, you simply need to stick with it. The more you use your model, the more second hand using it will become. After a short while, you will start to catch fish more accurately and more often that you’ve ever dreamt of. After all, learning new technology doesn’t have to be a pain, it can also be fun.
