How many of you....

[skipjack]

O.K. guys & gals, just how many of you out there who fish large bodies of water actually cruise around using your electronics to mark fish before wetting a line? I know I 'try' to but at times not knowing if the fish are being chased away by the boat, (suspended fish), or when I do mark something it may be sheepshead, carp etc... sometimes has me fishing whether marked or not.

Just curious - Charlie K (skipjack)

[Smitty]

I do at times run around looking for fish on the graph, but also will stop just as quickly to hit a spot where the structure looks like a good spot to hold fish (especially in shallower water). Too many times I've caught fish on good structure without actually marking anything.

[David Horvath]

I fish the East end of Lake Erie and, yes, I always cruise open water before I fish.

The only exception, is when I am fishing days in a row and have had success on those numbers. I go home and plot my locations on the lake chart and watch the wind patterns to predict where that pod of fish may be headed. Of course there a many assumptions doing this, but you got to start somewhere. You need a plan.

Anyway, back to your original question. I cruise about 20 /- mph and keep my eyes on the graph.
As I get marks/bait/something on the screen, I key in waypoints until I hit several in a short period of time.
Then, after somewhat confident I found fish, I'll stop, setup and troll back thru the waypoints.

Works for me.

Dave Horvath

[RAINMAN]

SOMETIMES I USE A 1/2 TANK OF GAS IN LAKE ERIE LOOKING FOR WALLEYE YOU HAVE TO FIND THEM TO CATCH
THEM ASK OUTHER BOATERS BEFOR YOU GO OUT DONT ASK CHARTER BOATS THEY DONT WANT 50 BOATS AROUND THEM
THATS WAY THEY DONT TELL ANYONE. I FIND MY OWN FISH

[chatman]

fishing new water or looking for new locations, i wouldn't think about just fishing without using the a locator to show me if fish are postioned where i tend to fell i can catch them. (i prefer withing 1 ft of bottom, just imho) if i mark fish in 12ft of water, that's the depth where i'm going to start fishing. if i was planning on fishing shore structure, i wouldn't bother as much with the locator, but i would still watch it to see if i marked fished in deeper depths on my way to shore. even in spots where there's most always fish, i still look for 3 good size marks close together and what depth they show up at before knowing that the spot will produce. for open water trolling, marking good size marks would be critical before setting lines.
just my technique/habit

[Hans]

On familiar water I use the sonar to check for fish on spots I already know.

On unfamiliar water I cruise to confirm the structure and "lay of the bottom" that I've scoped out on maps before my keel got wet. If I mark fish, I stop right there. Otherwise I continue my familiarization (at a pretty fast pace). Once I understand the terrain, then I retrace to likely spots I've seen in the "survey" and start wetting lines.

Hans