Helix Sonar

[Moveon]

Install the transducer under the trolling motor and pull the boat into the wind. Have the depth finder screen mounted in front of you where you can reach the buttons or the screen. Throw a marker buoy out as you trolling INTO THE WIND. Throw the marker out in front of the boat about 5 ft or so. That way you won't hit the marker when you are fishing the brush pile.

Now, remember this. With a 29 deg cone, the size of the cone on the bottom is about 3x the depth of the water. So if you are in 10 ft of water the cone size will be about 30 ft in diameter. It's not really a perfect circle but it helps to think like it is. It's easier to picture inside your head.

And if the fish are not biting then try coming at the brush pile from different angles maybe. Try fishing above the brush pile and then on the sides of the brush pile and then finally use a weedless jig head and fish down into the brush pile. remember to not jerk the bait up and get the hook hung up into the wood. A simple lifting up of the rod tip will snag a crappie and it won't set the hook too deep in the wood. I fish with the 1/4 oz lead on the end of the line and the hook about 18" up the line. That way I can drop the bait and the lead will pull the hook downward and out from the wood if it get's hung up. And don't forget to add scents to the bait. A crappie nibble or some Dr. Juice helps get the fish to bite better every time. And there are all kinds of new fishing scents out there these days. Give them all a try and see if they don't help you catch more fish. And wash your hands before you go fishing expecially after gasing up the boat and truck. A little bit of gasoline on your hands can turn the fish bite off.

Once you see some structure/bait ball on your FF drop a buoy. Turn 180 deg and do the same thing at the same speed. Hit that at another 90 deg increment, then 180 from that one. You should have 4 buoys marked around your structure. Do this a couple of times and you will understand what is on your screen compared to where it is in correlation to the boat. The “cone” that is shot down form the fish finder ranges in size depending on your frequency. Sometimes the “cone” diameter is the same as the depth, sometimes its 3x the depth, it all depends.

Typically what is on your screen is behind the boat, what is shown on the screen is the history of what has passed through the sonar cone. The can all vary from FF to FF though

[ON3 3Y3D WILLI3]

Thanks for all of the responses, tips, and knowledge shared.

[Duayne]

Thanks for all of the responses, tips, and knowledge shared.

I think I helped derail your thread a tad. You asked about mapping cards? I use the Navionics Hotmaps Platinum.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I use their features that allow me to transfer data back and forth from my mobile phone and my unit. I can sit at home and set waypoints on structure I want to explore on my phone, then transfer those to my unit once I get to the water. I can also transfer the new waypoints from my unit to my phone, then study them at home later.

I think the Platinum is the right amount of detail for me.