- 1). Turn the range dial clockwise to turn the flasher's power on. Twist the dial until it's at the halfway point.
- 2). Check the lines that appear on the screen, which are the graphical representations of sonar signals the flasher sends to the bottom. The color red indicates a strong signal, which translates to a hard bottom. On soft bottoms, the signal is weak and produces a green line. Yellow lines indicate a bottom of moderate hardness, such as sand. A red line often means there is rock or gravel on the bottom, while green and yellow lines mean the bottom is mucky or has vegetation growing from it.
- 3). Read the screen clockwise and find the last red line, which is the bottom. To determine the depth of the water, locate the number on the dial that is nearest the red line. If the line that shows the bottom is thick, it indicates a hard bottom. A thin line shows a soft bottom.
- 4). Locate the number 0 on the dial, and then find the nearest line on the screen. That is the surface of the water. Pay attention to the part of the screen between that line and the line that shows the bottom. If you see thin yellow lines, there likely are small fish beneath the boat. Thicker lines indicate larger fish. If there is vegetation beneath the boat, it shows up near the bottom line as thin, green lines.
- 5). Fish around likely fish-holding areas. Those include places where vegetation grows, places where hard bottom transitions to a soft bottom and drop-offs. Find the latter by watching the dial. When the line that indicates the bottom goes from 10 feet, for example, down to 20 feet, that is a drop-off. If you see what appears to be a school of fish on the screen, note the depth at which the fish are and drop a lure or piece of bait to that depth.
Subscribe to our newsletter
Sign up here to get the latest news, updates and special offers delivered directly to your inbox.
You can unsubscribe at any time
Prev Post
Next Post