Jeff Jensen
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Long question so please bear with me........on the river when eyes and saugers stack on certain channel breaks, seams, etc. has anyone had success identifying bottom hugging schools while running on plane? Not talking about the obvious bait clouds that should catch your eye but tight to the bottom marks. In your opinion, would an eye chaser be better suited with a hi speed flasher in this situation? Any graphics or suggestions on certain units would be appreciated. Remember, this question pertains to while running anywhere in that 20-30mph range.
Example.....last week we were sitting on a big numbers school of saugers. After leaving I turned the rig around and ran over top of the school at roughly 20mph. Not much for bottom marks. This is the time of year when quickly identifying big schools could put you on top of some action in a hurry.
Thanks guys
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Joe Scegura
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Jeff, if I’m reading your question correctly, I think you are struggling with how a transducer works. I don’t know exactly how to describe this but I’ll give it a shot.
I’m sure you’ve heard your transducer giving off that clicking sound when your boat is out of the water. That clicking sound is the transducer trying to pick up an echo. When you are in the water, this gives you a constant bottom reading and when a fish enters your sonar cone it will show that as well. That’s why when you are sitting right over a school of fish they show up as long lines on your graph (because you are getting a constant echo off of those fish). The faster you’re moving the less times you will echo off these fish and will result in shorter fish marks. For example drive over these fish at let’s say 3mph and then keep increasing your speed. You’ll notice at a certain speed you won’t read anything because you’re only getting an echo off of these fish for a fraction of a second, not the multiple echoes it takes to give you that ever so familiar arc. When I’m looking for fish I’m never on plane. I usually go about 3-5mph? Hope that’s what you were looking for.
The most common mistake I find people make is trying to judge the size of a fish of the length of an arc. The length of an arc is directly proportionate to the length of time you have that fish in your cone angle. The only somewhat accurate way to tell fish size is by the vertical thickness of the mark. 
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Joe Scegura - Joe Scegura's Guide Service
"Walleye, Pike, Muskies & Panfish on Alexandria Area Lakes & Mille Lacs!
Ph# 320-260-9056
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Jesse Krook
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This is just my opinion here but I think a guy just cant go wrong using a flasher. I think that it is easier to read and identify fish. You know what I am talking about Jeff, you dont keep that Marcum on the bow for no reason  I know that in my next boat I will be running a high speed (in-dash) flasher along with the flasher on the bow.
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Everts Fishing Resort
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Joe Scegura
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JJ, I'm sure you know that at 20mph you won't read anything with a flasher either. You need to have the fish under you for a longer period of time or they won't show up.
Flashers do read very nice though and work great for vertical jigging when you are moving slow.
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Joe Scegura - Joe Scegura's Guide Service
"Walleye, Pike, Muskies & Panfish on Alexandria Area Lakes & Mille Lacs!
Ph# 320-260-9056
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smithkeith
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Stupid question......would changing the ping rate make a difference? Problem is when you slowed down and started to drift again, you would have to change it back or else the screen would be full of trash. ?????
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If your lucky enough to be at the lake....your lucky enough!!!
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Jeff Jensen
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Thanks Joe. I guess the main question should have been, are there any electronics out there capable of picking up bottom marks while running on plane or faster? 
As far as the size fish to arc size I have never tried to relate the two unless crawling at a snails pace or through the ice..
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Jeff Jensen
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Quote:
Stupid question......would changing the ping rate make a difference? Problem is when you slowed down and started to drift again, you would have to change it back or else the screen would be full of trash. ?????
Not with my unit, mabe with others?
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Nic Habeck
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Puzzled by the subject, and have posted regarding something close to this a while back. Using your graph to evaluate readings above idle speed is just plain dangerous. At 30mph, you are traveling at 44ft/second. In a 5 second glance you cover 220ft of ground. If you are interested in scanning large areas quickly there is new technology available to get what you are looking for safely, however the cost is more than standard 2d systems. I would not put a price on my safety however.
My opinion only.
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Nothing makes a fish bigger than almost being caught. ~Author Unknown
Edited by Nic Habeck (11/10/09 01:53 PM)
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Jeff Jensen
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Quote:
Puzzled by the subject, and have posted regarding something close to this a while back. Using your graph to evaluate readings above idle speed is just plain dangerous. At 30mph, you are traveling at 44ft/second. In a 5 second glance you cover 220ft of ground. If you are interested in scanning large areas quickly there is new technology available to get what you are looking for safely, however the cost is more than standard 2d systems. I would not put a price on my safety however.
My opinion only.
Opinion taken. Safety first of course I was not talking about 5 seconds scans however, just quick glances while running, kind of like checking your rear view in the car.
You mentioned new technology that can achieve this funcion safely, any names?
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Nic Habeck
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HB's Side Imaging and Lowrance's new DownScan will provide more area of coverage than the standard 2d safely without the speed. I believe my HB 997si will shoot out 300ft to each side, hard to see exactly what things are at the range, but with it set to 100ft seeing fish is pretty simple. Granted this will not help you cover miles down or upstream, but will give you visibility across the channel, flat, trough, seam, closer or wingy.
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Nothing makes a fish bigger than almost being caught. ~Author Unknown
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Randy W
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Here is a school of crappies I found at 46mph. This is a glass in puch shooting through my fiberglass hull with a H/bird 1197
I don't know the pic is blury. Got to this IDO topic to see it clearly
IDO H/Bird topic
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The ONLY thing worse than losing.........IS QUITTING!!!!!!!
Lifetime member Wisconsin Trappers Assoc.
Edited by Randy W (11/10/09 04:27 PM)
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joshbjork
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Quote:
Jeff, if I’m reading your question correctly, I think you are struggling with how a transducer works. I don’t know exactly how to describe this but I’ll give it a shot.
I’m sure you’ve heard your transducer giving off that clicking sound when your boat is out of the water. That clicking sound is the transducer trying to pick up an echo. When you are in the water, this gives you a constant bottom reading and when a fish enters your sonar cone it will show that as well. That’s why when you are sitting right over a school of fish they show up as long lines on your graph (because you are getting a constant echo off of those fish). The faster you’re moving the less times you will echo off these fish and will result in shorter fish marks. For example drive over these fish at let’s say 3mph and then keep increasing your speed. You’ll notice at a certain speed you won’t read anything because you’re only getting an echo off of these fish for a fraction of a second, not the multiple echoes it takes to give you that ever so familiar arc. When I’m looking for fish I’m never on plane. I usually go about 3-5mph? Hope that’s what you were looking for.
The most common mistake I find people make is trying to judge the size of a fish of the length of an arc. The length of an arc is directly proportionate to the length of time you have that fish in your cone angle. The only somewhat accurate way to tell fish size is by the vertical thickness of the mark.
As I understand it, the only size reference you get with a conventional finder is the size of the fish's air bladder. I don't even know how that rubber meets the road.
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northstar
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If you want to see really long marks on the graph, watch a large sturgeon crawl across the screen. I have had them go completely side to side.
At speed, the only thing I get is structure. Heck, sitting still all I get is structure but then my equipment is antiquated.
You have a great idea though. Just imagine being able to find fish at 30 mph. 
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Northstar - Even as you have done it unto the least of my children, you have done it unto me.
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Glenn D
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Jeff check out Doc Bruce Sampsons web site. If I remember correctly he has a section on there on setting your unit to read at faster cruising speeds. Glenn
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Doc Samson
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Here is the link to seeing fish at 20 mph with the Lowrance LCX http://www.hightechfishing.com/highspeed.html The HDS will display the same at 30 mph.
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DOCTOR SONAR
NPAA # 80
www.hightechfishing.com
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Reading electronics while running on plane...
