FS Digest

Just got into fishing this past year and really enjoying it!!! I live on a medium sized lake (not sure how to measure, it’s about 2500x500ft on Google Maps). The lake has tons of bass and has been a blast to fish in my little kayak.

But the lake is pretty big too and lots of little coves and such I can play in. They say it’s almost 80’ deep in some spots but I’m not sure which spots

Now that it’s getting colder here in Central Georgia and it’s getting hard to get bites…

Im wondering two things:

Are fish finders okay to use or is that “cheating” so to speak for smaller bodies of water?

If y’all think it’ll add to the experience by knowing the waters better, are there any good sub-$200 depth finders you can recommend?

Thanks in advance from a new fishing gal!

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by lol4lwyfe82

fishyaker Loc: NW Michigan (Lower Peninsula)

You have a 28 acre lake, and could probably purchase a hard copy paper map of your lake with all the depth contours...memorize it...and forego a fish finder/depth meter if you want to avoid electronics. That makes the game a little more fair if that is what you enjoy.

I like having electronics aboard to assist me, and I still use paper maps too. I like to know what is beneath me in terms of fish and bottom.

If you ask my wife...she always chuckles when I have left home to fish and forgot my fish finder or a battery runs dead. She then advises me that it was more of a fair contest between me and the fish. I don't find that part of her sense of humor very funny, but I still love her!

PS. To get a general acreage, multiply the length by the width and divide the result by 43,560

Catfish hunter Loc: Riggins idaho (Paradise)

My opinion is if fish finders are cheating then most, if not all of us, are cheating. I’m a Humminbird fan but lots of good one out there. You can find a decent depth/fish finder for under $200.00. I’ve found dang good used ones, over the years, on places like craigslist. Lots of people upgrade and have good used electronics for sale.

bapabear Loc: Blaine, Washington

The biggest advantage of a fish finder in ponds and small lakes is finding structure. There are several that will do that under $200. I find plotting is also useful as it gives you more time to fish and less time drownings worms. They are both great. Given the pressure on lakes today, you are at a major disadvantage without one. They also add another level of enjoyment to the outing. On a side note. I used to see fish on my cheap sounder and ignored them as clutter. I now have an expensive unit at the helm and a cheap Garmin at the back for setting downriggers. To my surprise, most of the clutter was actually fish. Trust your sounder, that is why you have it.

Brownsville Tony Loc: Brownsville - Laguna Madre

Fish finders don't really find fish, they find where to fish. In all my years fishing I don't think I ever saw an arc on my fish finder, dropped a bait down in that spot and caught that fish. Don't get me wrong, they are a tremendous aide and I would never be without one. On my home lake in northern Wisconsin I found a rock in about 25' of water that usually held some good size walleye in late afternoons and early evenings. It was about the size of a Volkswagon but there simply was no way to find it if you didn't know it was there and had a pretty good idea of where to start looking. The strange thing was that the guy who told me about that rock fished from a canoe and didn't use electronics. But don't ever think you're getting an unfair advantage, any lake or pond or river is a whole new world we only ever get occasional peeks at.

Harris T. Fudpucker Loc: Lafayette, Louisiana

A Garmin fish finder has a mapping program, turn it on, display the program, and hit record. It will map out the area that you pass in. The striker series has more ways to find a place where there is fish, and map it to find it again.