Filter
Top Products
SURVEYING A LAKE
The
most successful
anglers
on
any
lake or reservoir are those who fish
it
day
after
day
and
year
after
year
until
they
learn the
hot
spots
that
pro-
duce fish
consistently. They
discover
through experience where,
and at
what
depth, they
can
expect
to
find the
kind
of fish
they
want at
any
sea-
son. And
they
realize that these
productive
areas
change throughout
the
year depending
on
water
level, temperature, food,
and other factors.
With
the aid of the
X-3, anyone
can eliminate
guesswork
and concen-
trate on the areas
where fish
are
likely
to
be—even if its the first time on
the lakel
The most efficient
way
to become
acquainted
with
a
body
of water is to
survey
it with
your
X-3. Start out with a
map
of the
lake,
if
possible
and
indicate the
promising
spots
in
relation to landmarks on shore.
As
you go
about
your survey, your
X-3 will tell
you
the
depth
and kind of
bottom, It will also reveal
fish, perhaps
schools of
crappies
or
white bass
suspended
over
deep
water, If
multiple signals
on the
display
indicate a
good
school,
it is worth it to
stop
and fish for them.
You
may
not
get any
farther.
Keep
a few Lowrance Fish-N-Floats in the
boat,
ready
to
toss overboard.
When the X-3
indicates
a
school
of
fish,
throw the
buoy
out. The
string
will unwind until the sinker hits bottom.
Then,
because of the
marker's
flat
shape,
it won't unwind
any
farther
With
the school thus
marked, you
can
make
your
turn and come back to fish in
exactly
the
right
spot.
This is
essential when
you're
far from
shore
on a
big
lake. Unless
you
mark the
school of fish when
you're
over
it,
you may
not be able to find it
again.
BAIT FISH
The
importance
of bait fish to successful
fishing
can't be over-
emphasized.
They
are the
principle
food of
game
fish in
most waters.
Bait
fish are the
plankton feeding forage
fish,
such as minnows and shad.
They
can also be the
young
of
game
fish,
such as
crappies, bluegill,
and
white
bass which also feed near the surface.
Most bait
fish are concentrated within five feet of the surface where sun-
light promotes
the
growth
of the
plankton
on which
they
feed. One
method of
fishing
is to use the X-3 to find the bait fish first.
Usually, game
fish will be
nearby—often directly
beneath the school of bait fish at 12 to
15 feet
deep.
AUTO
-
AN
N u N C IATO R
WEAK
BO1TOM—
SIGNAL
RANGE
0-96 FEET
—
Figure
3
\SURFACE,
CLUTTER
Figure
4
FISH
STRONG
-
BOTTOM
SIGNAL
To
manually adjust
the
sensitivity,
press
the AUTO
key.
The AUTO annun-
ciator will
disappear.
To increase the
sensitivity, press
and hold the
right
arrow
key>
until the
sensitivity
is
at the
desired level.
The left arrow
<
decreases
sensitivity
in the same manner. Notice how the
sensitivity
bar
moves as
you change settings.
When
you
press
the
right
arrow
key,
the
bar moves to the
right showing
an increase in
sensitivity. Pressing
the left
arrow
key
moves the bar to the
left,
showing
a decrease
in
sensitivity.
You can also see the
changes
on the
display.
Figure
3 shows a
graph
with too little
sensitivity,
while on the
right
the
sensitivity
is
adjusted
properly.
Note how the surface
signal
is
very
small,
and the bottom
signal
is also narrow on the left chart. On the
right,
the
sensitivity
is
adjusted
properly;
a
fish is
now
visible,
the surface
clutter
is more
pronounced,
and the bottom
signal
has widened. For more information on
graph
records,
see the section called
Graph Interpretation.
When the horizontal bar reaches
the far
right
hand
side
of the
screen,
the
sensitivity
level is at the maximum level. When
high
sensitivity settings
are
used,
a
second bottom echo
may appear
This is normal
and
is
caused
by
the
returning signal reflecting
off the surface of the
water,
maka second
trip
to the bottom and back.
To turn Auto
Sensitivity
back
on, press
the AUTO
key.
Remember,
the
automatic
sensitivity
control can be turned off or on at
any
time
by using
the AUTO
key.
See
Page
22 for more auto
sensitivity
features.
29
6
iiiuii
AUTO.
WIiCi.E
J
!I!fli!F
96
AUTO.
RANGING
IIIIIIIHIIIIUhIIHhII
Bo
I
AUTO.
RANGING
96
PDF compression, OCR, web-optimization with CVISION's PdfCompressor