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Beginner · 15 minutes · 6 steps

Read Your Fish Finder

Learn to tell the bottom, bait and fish apart on the screen so you spend your time where the fish are.

Steps

  1. Start with the sensitivity on automatic, then turn it up until you see a little clutter and back it down a step.
  2. Find the bottom: the thick bright line. Hard bottom shows brighter and thicker than soft mud.
  3. Watch for arches while the boat is moving. On regular sonar, an arch is usually a fish passing under the boat.
  4. A tight cloud or ball of dots is usually bait. Bigger fish are often right below or beside it.
  5. Use zoom or bottom lock to look closely at the few feet above the bottom.
  6. Mark good spots on the map so you can come back to them.