After quite an interesting week of debate on local (SA) and international forums, one of the issues that came up was “Is Down Scan really a fishing tool, or is it just pretty pictures?†Targeting deep water structure can be a bit daunting because you can’t physically see what you are fishing. That is where structure detail and target separation come in. Take these images below for example. The first pass over this tree (left) showed a good shoal of bass close together sitting just above the thermocline at 50ft. But 3 minutes later when I passed over it again, the shoal had moved right near the bottom some 15ft deeper, and were slightly more dispersed. Some of you reading this must be thinking that I must be seriously miss-informed thinking that bass live that deep, take a look at this video I recorded some weeks back. YouTube - Lowrance DownScan with John Easton
Knowing how shoaling bass are moving around within major structure is very valuable information. This was never possible before with conventional 200kHz sonar, or even 83kHz Broadband for that matter, due to the umbrella effect of the arches made by the sound waves hitting the branches.
For those of you following the forums, local and abroad, you will know by now that the secret to impressing everybody with high frequency sonar is to take screenshots of very large objects like bridges and big trees. The ‘Home Tree’ in the latest block buster movie Avatar would be a wonderful subject. But what about smaller trees, and brushpiles?
Driving around a relatively baron area just south of Ernies Bay point (Slipweigh), I came across this tree lying on the bottom at a depth of 39ft. There are literally hundreds of these trees lying around Inanda Dam, but this one was different. There was a thermocline slap bang in the middle of the tree at 36ft, and just above it were 2 little dots.
Knowing what I know about bass and how they relate to structure, these had to be two bass. So it was time to send my little underwater camera down on my marker buoy line again. After retrieving the camera, and playing the video back, you can just imagine how I felt when I saw these two bass. The only thing that impressed me more than the bass, was the accuracy of the DownScan screenshot representation of this tree.
As a freshwater off shore angler, this is the most powerful and amazing tool I have ever had the privilege of owning.
Knowing how shoaling bass are moving around within major structure is very valuable information. This was never possible before with conventional 200kHz sonar, or even 83kHz Broadband for that matter, due to the umbrella effect of the arches made by the sound waves hitting the branches.
For those of you following the forums, local and abroad, you will know by now that the secret to impressing everybody with high frequency sonar is to take screenshots of very large objects like bridges and big trees. The ‘Home Tree’ in the latest block buster movie Avatar would be a wonderful subject. But what about smaller trees, and brushpiles?
Driving around a relatively baron area just south of Ernies Bay point (Slipweigh), I came across this tree lying on the bottom at a depth of 39ft. There are literally hundreds of these trees lying around Inanda Dam, but this one was different. There was a thermocline slap bang in the middle of the tree at 36ft, and just above it were 2 little dots.
Knowing what I know about bass and how they relate to structure, these had to be two bass. So it was time to send my little underwater camera down on my marker buoy line again. After retrieving the camera, and playing the video back, you can just imagine how I felt when I saw these two bass. The only thing that impressed me more than the bass, was the accuracy of the DownScan screenshot representation of this tree.
As a freshwater off shore angler, this is the most powerful and amazing tool I have ever had the privilege of owning.
