How Does A Fish Finder Work

One of the best ways to try and increase the number of fish that you catch when you are out on the water is to use a fish finder. Now, to get the best results, you want to make sure that you understand everything there is to know about a fish finder including how it is going to work. The following information presented in this post is going to tell you all about how does a fish finder work and what you need to know in order to understand how to read a fish finder.

With this information and knowledge at your fingertips, you’ll have no problem catching a lot more fish than you are accustom to and your fishing experience will be much more enjoyable.

What You Will Need To Follow This Tutorial

In order to follow this tutorial to learn how a fish finder works, you’ll be happy to know that there really isn’t a lot that you are going to need! While it could be helpful to have a fish finder at your fingertips when you are learning how they work, I don’t recommend doing so because it’s possible that you might learn how they work and decide you don’t want to buy one. So to try and save money in case you don’t like it.

How Does A Fish Finder Work - Step By Step Instructions

What A Fish Finder Does

Before you start to read all about how a fish finder works, you need to understand what a fish finder does. As you will see below, you’re going to find that a fish finder consists of two main parts. The first part is a display screen that is placed on the boat and will interpret all of the data that is received by the second point, the transducer. The transducer uses an underwater sensor and sonar waves in order to send information back to the display regarding what is under the water.

Display

As you might be able to figure out, the display is just what it sounds like, a screen display that has basic power like most other displays and it works to help take all of the raw data that is collected from the transducer and presents it into a method that is much easier for you to understand and interpret. As mentioned, all of this information comes from the transducer, whose function is going to be discussed below.

Transducer

The transducer is going to send sonar waves, or sound waves, down into the water and when the wave hits something, it is able to estimate the size and the depth of the object. From there, it is going to send the information back to the display for interpretation.

While the main goal is to detect the fish and tell their size and location, the transducer will also pick up on other objects like rocks and even debris that could be floating in the water, so make sure you understand the potential difference.

Depth Finder

In just about every fish finder on the market, you will find a depth finder feature that can tell you how deep the water is where you are fishing. Most of the fish finders have the depth finder located on the transducers that you can easily tell how deep the water is. The water depth is helpful because it will tell you what types of fish can be in that environment and what you should expect to see below your boat.

On most fish finders, the depth is going to be displayed in the top corner of the screen and it will display the total in meters rather than feet. Almost all of the depth readings are going to be pretty clear and accurate so that won’t be much of a consideration for most fish finders.

Water Temperature

If you know what you’re doing when you are on the water, then the water temperature displayed on your fish finder can be incredibly important can can help you determine where specific species of sih might be living. Since some types of fish prefer warm water while others prefer cold water, you’ll have no problem picking the right water spot to find the fish you are searching for. When you have the depth finder and the water temperature, you can start to look for certain types of fish with ease.

Speed Sensor

The speed sensor is going to tell you how fast you are moving when you are in the boat so you can think of it as a sort of speedometer on your fish finder for your boat. Understanding how this can help you and what it tells you can be beneficial in getting better results out of your fishing experience. While you might not think much of it, the speed of your boat can help to play an important role in how your fish finder works, so be sure to use this feature to your advantage.

Color and Echo Return Strength

Some fish finders only support grayscale or black and white screens while others are going to be able to support color. Color is going to relate back to how strong the echoes are returned to the unit. In addition, the density and hardness of the object is going to determine just how quickly the echo will return.

If an echo comes back strong, then it will be a darker color and it will be a lighter color if it is not as strong of a return. The bottom of the water that you are fishing on is going to appear as a dark or light line. If it is dark, that means that the material on the bottom of the lake is harder and less porous but if it is a light line, the material is softer like clay.

Conclusion

Now that you have taken the time to read just about everything you need to know when it comes to how a fish finder works, I hope you have enjoyed the article and you’ve learned quite a bit from the information that was presented above! Learning how to use a fish finder and understanding how it is going to work is important if you want to have the best results when you use the fish finder.

If you have experience using a fish finder and want to share some tips or tricks or if you haven’t used one before and you have some questions, feel free to comment in the comments below and leave your thoughts or questions! As always, please feel free to share the article with anyone you think might benefit from reading it!