FS Digest

Im a bit new to fishing and I wonder if i should get a deeper smart sonar or is it just a waste of money if im not that good at fishing, i dont wanna look like one of those people who got gear for 10000$+ but still suck at fishing.

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by I-Like-Meg

DC Loc: Washington state

a "smart sonar" may show you where the fish are if you know how to read it, but it won't make them bite your hook or make you a good fisherman. Tell you the truth I use the sonar to show me the contour of the lake bottom and the structure more than anything. I admit I am not that great at reading all that it shows but it has helped me when trolling to see drop offs, points and so forth and even some fish but I have caught many fish that I never saw on the screen and didn't catch many fish I saw on the screen. My advise just get a mid range model to start with and learn how to use it and once you know what features help you most then upgrade to a model that has more of what you have found useful, but most important just try to learn how to be a more effective fisherman, reading water, tides, what works best at different times of the day, different times of the year, and different weather patterns. in the end these things will end up giving you far more success than the smartest sonar will.

Harris T. Fudpucker Loc: Lafayette, Louisiana

DC you are so right. Tell us how old the unit is, you said deeper, hmmmmm. I use a cheap Garmin striker '7' screen. It does as good as the very best 2K units. Several things to know, one is what a fish looks like on the screen, second is to know what kind of fish is showing up on the screen, yes you can tell. Bass is in a horizontal school and crappie is in a vertical shool. Start learning the others by looking at videos. Third is if you fish a drop off, and caught fish, look for more places like that. Make sure you are looking at fish, not debris in the water. Colors will help with that. Good luck

bapabear Loc: Blaine, Washington

An item not mentioned very often is the bottom material. I salt water fish the Pacific Northwest. It is very important to me to know if I am above a mud, sand, rock shelf, shell or pebble bottom. All are flat, but with a small bit of practice you will learn to distinguish between materials. Sand dabs are almost always on sand. for that matter, so are Dungeness crab, or at least the highest concentration of them. Even freshwater bullheads are more likely to be on sand or clay than goo and silt. Smallmouth can often be found on clear pebble but not likely clear clay. Just something to think about. The way I finally learned to read bottoms was poking along in clear water and photographing my screen when I could look into the water and positively identify the bottom. The best time to do this is when the season is closed so you don't get distracted.

Keyshus Loc: Tulsa, OK

I have had a Deeper Smart for a couple of years now. I use it every time I go out to look at the bottom contour, vegetation and just to check if there are any fish in the area. Well, if there are any fish in the water column since it doesn't do a good job if fish are right on the bottom or in the weeds. Still, it saves me from spending time in an area that is not likely to be productive.

butchS Loc: MN

I use the Deeper Chirp. It works for me. Well worth the money.

Harris T. Fudpucker Loc: Lafayette, Louisiana

What body of water are you fishing. How deep is the area of water. Let us know what state you are fishing.

butchS Loc: MN

Hi I fish the lakes in Minnesota and the Mississippi River. The depths are from 5' to 45' deep some areas are deeper. It maps the area you fish in on every outing.

Harris T. Fudpucker Loc: Lafayette, Louisiana

I hope someone on here fishes that area, and maybe can help you. What did you mean by a deeper smart depth finder?

Keyshus Loc: Tulsa, OK

I fish the lakes around Tulsa, OK mostly. Since I fish from the bank, the deepest water I’ve fished are 25-30 ft. Note that if you use the 55 degree setting, the data displayed at depths deeper than 10 ft or so should be taken sith a grain of salt.

garryt3312

I agree the Deeper Sonar is a good tool in the tackle box. I use mine almost exclusively for measuring Depth and Contour. Espseically contour as fishes are creatures of habit and circle the same patterns consistently. Most of thoses patterns follow contours for both safety and pattern. Find the contours, set your rig to the coresponding depths and there you will find fish....we all hope. Gars

joeycanoli Loc: orange county

It's a cool little gadget, i purchased one a few weeks ago and although it worked it did'nt help me catch any fish. The features on the deeper smart are minimal so i returned it and purchased the deeper pro+ which had better features, but still did'nt help me catch any fish. I did have problems with the connectivity and found it cumbersome when viewing the app,i.e trying to hold the phone while operating the fishing pole. with my first purchase i also bought the holder which did nothing but made me afraid i was going to cast my phone in the water. I ended up returning everything and just paid more attention to what the bait was doing in the water.Hope this helps!