Fishing for "marked fish"

[Mr.Clutch]

I am in the habit for "marking fish" on my depth-finder before actually getting my lure wet. Is this normal procedure? I was just curious on how many guys fish (and catch) walleye that they haven't necessarily "marked"?

Thanks,
Mr. Clutch

[MarbleEye's]

It all comes down to two considerations for me.
1. How well I know the lake. If I know the lake pretty good I will focus on spots that have produced and should be producing weather or not I see any fish on the depth finder.
If im new to a lake I will take the tour and if fish are marking in an area I would expect them to be i'll go ahead and throw a line down.
2. Is it a river or lake. In a river you rarely see the fish on a depth finder because they hug the bottom, and this sometimes comes into play in lakes during a hot, sunny day or a front just passed.

That is basically how I make my decisions on where to fish, and if I can't get those fishies on the depth finder to bite after a while I move to where I belive they would be.
MarbleEye's

[Hunter]

My hummingbird doesnt mark fish all its good for is depth. But I know the areas I fish, so I dont have to see them marked I know they are there. just have to be patient.

[Jim O]

I like to see marks as well when fising lakes. Hooks or baitfish will usually stop me and encourage dipping a line. As posted above, river fishing, with all the trash floating downtstream is more dependant on probable location than marks.
My 2 cents,
Jim Ordway

[Jack J]

I use my depth finder for depth. (notice I didn't call it a fish finder). I am not looking for "marks." I have fished marks unproductively for many hours. I do use my depth finder to locate particular types of structure and bottom changes.

[Sunshine]

If I'm open water fishing (trolling) I will not start to fish until I see the fish.

If I'm in shallow water or weedy areas I'll fish without seeing the fish because I assume their on the structure that I was looking for.

In my personnel experiences, I have become dependant on my fish locator and trust and believe what it is showing me.

[Walleye Guy]

When fishing deep water flats(that typically hold fish) I will always make a recon pass looking for fish before I drop a line.If I do not see fish on the top break I will check the bottom break.If I still don't see any marks I will check the deeper open waters surrounding the flat,if that fails I move on to the next spot.I often will fish individual fish and have had good success,provided you can hold your boat on them.I think at times they eventually strike out of anger.This is common when tournament fishing and you've filled your slots and are looking for the big one.My saying is you need to hunt before you fish.Good luck.

[Fin Addict]

In water over 15' with a flat bottom like sand or mud or if fishing for suspended fish in deep water, I always look for fish before I drop a line. Marked fish (off the bottom) are usually your active fish so they make good targets. If fishing a bottom where I think my graph will not show separation of targets or shallow water where the fish move before being marked, I simply fish the structure. I have times where I watch my jig in relation to a specific fish and actually watch the fish pick up the bait. Fun when it happens. More and more I find myself fishing primarily stucture and look for marks only where applicable.

[ebijack]

since my lowrance flasher unit quite working (can't be repaired..sent it to a guy to use for parts for his) i've had to turn to LCD's....in the detroit river, the flasher would show fish within 1 ft of bottom..those were catchable fish. anything over 2 ft were not active enough...my personnal experience.. some LCD's are more explicied than others (details) but none have proven to be what a 600 watt lowrance unit is...(tried clearwater etc) now i fish (like others have mentioned) where i know fish to regularly be (experience from time on the water)or "good looking structure" and use my depth finders for just that. (i don't troll so i don't look for suspended fish where a lowrance/pinpoint/bottomline type would do just that)imho