Marking Fish

Speaking about walleye, I see posts speaking of marking fish. Off Huron, there isn't hardly anyplace I haven't seen lots of fish on the fishfinder. How can you know these fish aren't white bass, sheepshead, etc? Is there some knowledge as how to read what type of fish you are looking at? In other words, do I know I'm fishing for walleye or is it just trial and error?

[FROGMAN]

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Nov-01-00 AT 06:02PM (CST)[/font][p]Thats one way of putting it. Obviously there is no way to know for sure what the "marks" are that you see on your sonar except for verifying with a visual contact. Not many of us are into SCUBA, but some have the new "Fish Cams", which with good water clarity, and calm water, will show you great detail of the underwater world. Learning from your trial, and error is probably the best way to have "hunches" as to what you are "seeing" on your sonar. In time you will be able to differentiate between schools of baitfish, and the larger marks suspended below them. Or you may get used to seeing marks around specific structures which will indicate to you the probability of them being walleyes because thats what you caught last time when you found fish there. Every tournament angler I know had to start out the same way, myself included. Being able to "interpret" what your sonar is telling you is a "learned skill" which comes only from time on the water, and practicing. So there's your excuse, tell your family your going "back to school" and need to spend more time on the water.

Good Luck, and Tight lines

FROGMAN

Frogman, Although I have done pretty well this fall, I am new at this. A year ago I bought a boat that would allow me to travel the western and central basins of Lake Erie. This summer I somewhat "learned" the western basin and now I'm working on Huron. I will be studying my sonar intensly. Thanks for your excellent response.

[FROGMAN]

Your welcome. Lake Erie is an excellent place to find the classic "bait balls" I referred to in my previous post. The more time you spend looking at your sonar, the more you will become attuned to it. I spend a lot of time "looking" over water on my sonar before dropping a line down, and I constantly keep checking it while fishing to notice any slight changes in the fish behavior, or pattern. On Erie, the fish will come up, feed, then drop down again, and you have to be watching for it so that you know when to change tactics.

FROGMAN