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  1. #1
    Member
    Join Date
    Jul 2011
    Location
    Baton Rouge, LA
    Posts
    248

    Helix 9 SI screenshots trying to determine clutter vs. fish very close to bottom

    I've used DI for years but just recently got SI and I am trying to get more experience pointing out fish that are sitting near the bottom with SI. This image is the edge of a point/ledge, the top right you can see where it changes from soft to hard bottom. What I am wondering is, would you consider those 8-12 streaks just off the edge of the hard spot fish near the bottom or just image clutter? this is in a pretty stained water lake

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  2. Member
    Join Date
    Feb 2018
    Location
    Michigan
    Posts
    119
    #2
    Very likely, especially since you've also got some marks in the water column. Only way to know for sure is to drop a camera or catch 'em. Worth the time to try. Chart speed can elongate returns and some folks use that to make fish stand out by looking longer. If you see that again try turning sensitivity down a bit too, fish will stand out on the soft bottom better.

    The brightest return in the upper right is what I get on grass flats when schools of perch are tucked into the grass. We're talking a few dozen 3"-6" fish in elodea 1' thick or less. That bright spot could be a very hard spot of rock or shells on that shelf or it could be a school of baitfish or both, going over it with down looking sonar after you fish the area can tell you if you found a spot on a spot that will consistently hold fish. If I saw an image like your screenshot on my home lake I'd be dropping a line for some walleye or smallmouth. Don't know what it would be in LA, a school of 'gators?