Sure wish I could afford one of them new Humminbird 987c SI Combo Sidescanning depth Finders right about now. That would help anyone find those secrete brush piles and ditches with ease.

I have a Garmin eTrex VISTA GPS unit and I loaded the Patoka Lake Fishing Hot Spots Digital Map in my VISTA's memory. I use the Track Up Feature and Auto Zoom so that I can automatically see where I am located on my map view and also see a waypoint that I am going to. As I approach the waypoint the map view automaticall zooms into a more detailed view. I think that 20ft is the min view size. Sometimes I am fishing and looking for a single small scrub that is in 20ft of water. With my present depth finder I can't see very much of the bottom of the lake in 20ft of water so that makes it hard for me to find that lone tree under the water. My depth finder's cone angle is only 20 deg. Now if I had a multile frequency (cone angles) type depth finder or a side scanner type then I could easily find those small stumps or small single trees. So I need a new tool. LOL
:( only problem is that they cost almost 2 grand.

With my Vista and the FHS map displayed on the map view I can see 10ft contour lines and find the bends in the old river channel. I would not use the map to navigate though the upper river reaches as it full of submerged trees who's tops are right at or right below the water's surface. (depends on the lakes level) I went up to Kings bridge one time with Larry and the lake was at winter pool level of 533 ft and we could see the tops of the trees and find the old river channel and stayed in that channel most of the way. But that old river channel twists and bends around a lot and it was hard to follow it that day. We got out of the channel a few times. You have to really pay attention to the water to find your way though the channel or you will end up in a forest of tree tops.

I did use the digital map to find several bends in the old river channel on the main lake where it's much easier to navigate around. I told Jon about one spot that is a ditch that comes off a big bend in the old river channel and then runs up into a small bay. There are a series of ditches that run out of both side of the bay and then combine into one large ditch that runs all the way into the old river channel. This is a prime hot spot and we have caught fish here numerous times. But this spot is a well know spot and most of the fish are only 8" long. You can see the large ditch and the river bend on the FHS Patoka Lake Paper and Digital maps but these maps won't show you the other smaller ditches. But if you had a side scanning depth finder like the humminbird you may be able to see those ditchs and figure out where the fish are hiding on any particular day. Brush piles and ditches show up as it you took a picture of the landscape. Someday in the future when the price drops you will find that everyone that is a true fishermen will have one of these units if they are not outlawed first. It would almost be like having crystal clear water where you could look into the lake and see the fish and all the bottom in one small section of the lake at a time.

Finding a large flat or river bend on a paper map and then figuring out the long and lat of such a site to use as a waypoint would work.

Do you guys know what the cone angle of your depth finder is? Some cover a lot more of the bottom than others. Most are standard 20deg cone angles but others may cover 40deg or more. Still others have muti cone angles (multifrequency or phased array types) that show much more of the bottom. Some of the humminbird units show a 3d screen view of the lake bottom.

Regards,

Moose1am