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  1. #1
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    Can someone help me determining location to cast using finder at bow?

    Hi guys,

    So this is the first year with a boat and using fish finders.
    Ive learned a lot on how to read them but I still can’t determine where I’m looking exactly when using the sonar or down view at the bow in order to make my cast in the right direction.

    a4yjci.jpg

    So so here’s an example. I’m trying to figure out where this is located from where im standing.
    I know that the top right corner is where the boat is when I’m looking at the finder at the console but what about at the bow?
    If I’m not mistaken, the beam is like a cone at the bow but how do I know what’s left and right etc.

    sorry guys still new to this and trying to figure it out.

    Also, on the console, if the boat is at the top right and everything you’re seeing is behind you, how far back does the screen show. What’s the distance the finder show up to, so the far left of the screen, how many feet would that be behind me?

    thanks in advance!

  2. Charger Boats Moderator TOUCH OF CLASS's Avatar
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    #2
    Other than scope everything is history just drop your jig down next to transducer and you will see it going down but it history.Side scan use a object on the bank like a boat dock and you can watch it come on the screen to as where your boat is speed makes a difference.
    2d we have watched crappie come to the lure and hit it but as I said it’s history no live time but close I would say with in seconds .

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    #3
    Quote Originally Posted by TOUCH OF CLASS View Post
    Other than scope everything is history just drop your jig down next to transducer and you will see it going down but it history.Side scan use a object on the bank like a boat dock and you can watch it come on the screen to as where your boat is speed makes a difference.
    2d we have watched crappie come to the lure and hit it but as I said it’s history no live time but close I would say with in seconds .
    Ok I’ll try that out and see where it shows up on the screen.
    But what if I’m at a standstill and there’s fish or some type of rock or structure showing in the middle of the screen, where would that be positioned?

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    #4
    if its only in the middle of the screen then youre past where it is. If you were directly over top of it it would be hard to know unless you knew the normal depth in the spot and its now showing deeper or shallower.

    A fish in the middle of the screen at a standstill has come and gone out of the cone area directly under the boat.

    To see a fish in this scenario turn on A-scope. If it shows in A-scope its under the boat.

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    #5
    Those fish in your picture above have come and gone from the cone. They could still be close, just out if the cone.

    Think of a flashlight pointing straight down from your bow.

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    #6
    Quote Originally Posted by Chief Brody View Post
    Those fish in your picture above have come and gone from the cone. They could still be close, just out if the cone.

    Think of a flashlight pointing straight down from your bow.
    Ok that makes sense now.
    But what about when it’s structure showing in the middle of the screen and my boat is at a standstill, would that be underneath me or to my sides?
    What if I wanted to cast directly to that structure I see in the middle of my screen on the bottom, where would I be casting?

    thanks for your help

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    #7
    Have a marker buoy in hand and when a fish mark first hits the screen drop it close to the transducer. Keep driving the boat as usual and look out the back and notice where the buoy is in relation to the mark 0n the screen. Then go back and fish the spot if you want.

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    #8
    Your finder only knows distance, it can't tell direction.

  9. Charger Boats Moderator TOUCH OF CLASS's Avatar
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    #9
    The cone is only so wide 90 percent of the time it almost straight down and you can test this with a lead head keep dropping more to the side each time till you lose it on the screen that will tell you how far to the side .Its a cone and not very wide in shallow water

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    #10
    Quote Originally Posted by TOUCH OF CLASS View Post
    The cone is only so wide 90 percent of the time it almost straight down and you can test this with a lead head keep dropping more to the side each time till you lose it on the screen that will tell you how far to the side .Its a cone and not very wide in shallow water
    A 20 degree cone is approximately one third the water depth. So in 20 feet it covers a 7 foot circle if perfectly installed.

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    #11
    Quote Originally Posted by datbasstho View Post
    Ok that makes sense now.
    But what about when it’s structure showing in the middle of the screen and my boat is at a standstill, would that be underneath me or to my sides?
    What if I wanted to cast directly to that structure I see in the middle of my screen on the bottom, where would I be casting?

    thanks for your help
    do you see the depth numbers on the right part of the screen in your pic? draw a thin line no wider than those numbers straight to the bottom and that is the only live real-time returns. The rest of the screen is history. what has come and gone. if the boats moving forward, that history will be behind you. if youre sitting still, that history is what has passed in and out of the cone recently.

    The distance to the fish or structure would depend on the speed of the boat (if moving) and the scroll rate of the screen. the slower the scroll rate is the longer the history will take to disappear from the screen. Turn scroll rate up high if you want to cast to something you just passed over.

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    #12
    Wow this is a lot of help.
    thank you so much everyone, it all makes sense now.
    I appreciate the help!