Contents
Modern fishing is different from what was practiced thirty or fifty years ago. First of all, she became a science-intensive. We use special high-tech materials, baits made on sophisticated food equipment. The fish finder is no exception.
The principle of operation of the echo sounder and its device
An echo sounder is an acoustic electronic device. It consists of a transceiver, which is located under water, a signal analyzer with a screen and a control unit, optionally a separate power supply.
An echo sounder for fishing transmits sound oscillatory impulses into the water column and captures their reflection from obstacles, similar to marine navigation underwater instruments and lots. All this information is very important for the angler.
The transceiver is under water and is connected to the cable management unit. Usually this is one sensor, but there are echo sounders with two or three. It is connected to the control unit by cable or wireless.
The latter method is practiced for coastal echo sounders, which are used in feeder fishing, in particular, when marking the bottom.
The control unit contains an analyzer of information that enters the sensor. It captures the return time of the signal, its various distortions. With it, you can set a different signal frequency, the frequency of the pulse and the polling of the sensor.
It also displays information on the screen and controls the operation of the device. The screen is important for the angler, as it allows you to analyze the information received from the echo sounder and make the right decision when fishing.
Power supplies are usually located separately from the echo sounder, as they are large in size and weight. This is due to the fact that a high-quality echo sounder spends enough energy on good powerful acoustic impulses, on backlighting and heating the screen. In addition, fishing in cold weather reduces their resource and requires quick recharging. Some echo sounders, especially for winter fishing, have batteries built into the control unit, but the resource and quality of such devices are limited.
Types of echo sounders
According to the principle of operation, it is customary to distinguish between echo sounders with a small angle (bottom scanners), with a wide angle, and multibeam echo sounders. Echo sounders for shore fishing have a small sensor size that is connected to the control unit via wireless communication. The sensor is attached to the end of the fishing line and thrown into the water to explore the bottom of the reservoir.
A special group of echo sounders are structure scanners. They are designed to obtain a special, voluminous picture during fishing and are most often used when trolling. In winter fishing, both bottom scanners and wide-angle echo sounders are used. For deep-sea fishing, the so-called flashers are very good – echo sounders that show the game of the bait and the behavior of the fish around it, including careful bites.
Bottom scanners
These are the simplest echo sounders, they are designed to determine the depth and a little – the nature of the bottom. They are produced by almost all companies – Deeper, Fisher, Humminbird, Garmin, Lowrance, but Praktik is especially famous among us due to the record low price. By the way, Practitioners have a fairly wide beam, since it is more difficult to make a narrow-beam sensor for such a price. The beams from the echo sounder sensor diverge in a relatively small spectrum, about 10-15 degrees. This allows you to get a fairly accurate picture of the changing bottom directly under the boat while it is moving.
The picture will show only a small section of the bottom, but it is quite accurately able to determine the vegetation on it, and sometimes the nature of the soil.
The small radius of action is due to the narrow angle of sound propagation. For example, at a depth of 6-7 meters, it will show a patch at the bottom less than a meter in diameter.
This is great for finding a small hole where you fished last time, but works very poorly when looking for fish at depth. For example, even the depth of the thermocline will be visible on the screen, but if a flock of fish is a meter from the boat, and not under it, it will not be visible.
Wide angle echo sounders
Here the beam propagation angle is about 50-60 degrees. In this case, the coverage is somewhat larger – at a depth of 10 meters, you can capture a ten-meter section of the bottom and see what is above it. Unfortunately, the picture itself may be distorted.
The fact is that the screen will not receive a top view, but a side view projection. The fish, which is shown by the echo sounder, can stand under the boat, be to the left, to the right. Due to distortion, the echo sounder will be less accurate. It may not show algae or driftwood, or show them in the wrong way, it has a small blind spot immediately near the bottom.
Double beam echo sounder
It combines the two described above and has two beams: with a narrow angle and a wide one. It allows you to effectively find fish and at the same time carry out a high-quality depth measurement. Most modern fish finders that are not of the lowest price category are of this type, including Deeper Pro, Lowrance for feeder fishing. Unfortunately, the combination of characteristics makes them a little more difficult to use.
They are more expensive not only because of the sophisticated acoustic equipment, but also because of the large screen size. After all, it sometimes has to consider both beams at the same time, which would be impossible on a small screen. Fortunately, such models often have the ability to work in tandem with a smartphone. As a result, the angler can see everything on the screen of his mobile device, combine the study of the reservoir with automatic recording of the picture on the map in the GPS system and quickly, right on the screen, mark interesting points for fishing.
Structural Scanner
This is a type of echo sounder with a wide beam angle or dual beam, which displays the image on the screen not as a side view, but as an isometric projection when viewed slightly from above. Such a system can show the bottom topography in real time, as if the angler is flying above the ground at low altitude and sees all the bumps, grooves and holes.
For example, when fishing on a track or trolling with a conventional echo sounder, you have to scour all the time, focusing on depth indicators, so as not to lose a good edge or go exactly along the slope.
This increases the passage time of the section by one and a half to two times. When fishing with a structurer, you can accurately keep the course along the edge, while all its bends and turns will be visible.
Structural fish are not designed to work at great depths, but in the conditions of Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan and the Baltic States they usually fish at a depth of less than 25 meters. This approach allows you to navigate very well along the bottom, but structurers are even more expensive than dual-beam echo sounders, as they require a good screen with high-quality display.
Echo sounders for winter fishing
As a rule, these are pocket echo sounders. Their main function is to show the depth at the place of fishing. Usually, when drilling holes, bites go strictly at a certain depth, and very little time is spent in order to drill an underwater table when fishing for perch along the river bank, or a channel area when fishing for white fish. Both one- and two-beam echo sounders are used, the latter are also able to show fish to the left and right of the hole. There is no boat movement here, so it will not be possible to get some kind of dynamic picture of the bottom. A distinctive feature of these echo sounders is their small size and weight.
flashers
A special echo sounder designed for fishing with artificial lures in winter. It does not have a traditional screen, and the angler is guided by special LED disks that rotate. The system itself is very convenient, because even at dusk and at night everything is perfectly visible, and the day in winter is short.
Most clearly show the game of the lure, the predator that is interested in it, and the bite, allows you to adjust the game in such a way as to cause a bite directly when the fish approaches and do many other things that no ordinary fish finder is capable of. Unfortunately, they are not the smallest size and weight, and it will be difficult to catch them without using a sled-trough if you carry a flasher all day in your hands.
Echo sounder characteristics
As it already becomes clear, one of the characteristics of echo sounders is the angle of coverage. It shows what area under it the angler will see. As a rule, it is determined by the number of rays emitted by the sensor. Good sensors rarely have one type of beam, but in budget models you can often find a sonar tuned to one angle of operation. Often it can be changed if you put another sensor and work with the system settings.
The second important characteristic is the operating frequency. It differs significantly at different beam angles. For example, narrow beams operate at about 180-250 kHz, and wide beams at 80-90 kHz. The frequency is also set in the settings of the control unit or in the advanced settings of the sensor.
The system polling rate indicates how many periodic oscillations per second the system sensor sends and receives. It has little in common with the frequency of sound pulses of the echo sounder, which is many times higher. Very important for those who fish from a motorboat. For example, they will need an echo sounder that polls the sensor at least 40-60 times per second. A low polling rate will result in stepped lines under the boat instead of a clear picture. For fishing from oars or ice fishing, you can use an echo sounder with a lower sensor polling rate.
The emitter power is not always indicated in the echo sounder passport, but you can roughly find out this indicator by the maximum depth of the device. For foreign ones, which are conceived for sea fishing, it is quite large and ranges from 70 to 300 meters. It is clear that for our conditions this is not necessary at all.
For example, it will show the carpet of vegetation on the bottom as a bottom surface, unable to penetrate it. A powerful one will show not only the vegetation and the bottom, but also the fish in this carpet, where they often like to sit.
It is worth paying great attention to the screen resolution and its size. Most echo sounders have a black and white LCD screen. Usually the resolution of the scanner is greater than the resolution of the screen. Therefore, it is often impossible to see a fish five to ten centimeters from the bottom or a driftwood due to the fact that the pixels simply merge into one. With a good and clear screen, all this can be seen.
Black and white or color screen? Black and white shows everything in grayscale, and if the screen resolution is high enough, then using the setting buttons, you can identify fish or bottom snags, select algae leaves under water or their stems, determine how deep they go. A color screen is much more expensive than a black and white one for the same size and resolution. Usually it has a contrasting, flashy coloring, allows you to see objects without adjustment, but the clarity of the display will be less.
Seriously, you should take the brightness of the image on the screen. For example, a good and expensive Lowrance screen allows you to read information in bright sunlight without taking off your glasses, and at dusk, if you turn on the backlight. It is impossible to fish with an echo sounder, which you have to cover with your hand and twist your head in order to see something there. That is why the screen for it will be quite expensive.
For cold conditions, it is also necessary to select an echo sounder with a heated screen. Usually it is carried out with the help of a backlight that generates heat. Frost-resistant high-quality screen have expensive models, and there is no need for special heating. However, it is worth taking care to protect the models from the cold.
Batteries are the heaviest part of the sonar system. They are made on the basis of lead, since all others do not perform very well in high humidity. The main characteristic of the battery is the operating voltage and capacity. Operating voltage is selected in volts, capacity in ampere-hours. If you know the power consumption of the echo sounder, you can determine how much the battery will last.
For good summer fishing for two days, you need to take a battery of at least ten ampere-hours. You need to choose a suitable charger for it, which will not charge the battery too quickly and disable it. In some cases, a store of disposable elements is used, connecting them in series, especially if they do not go fishing often.
The ability to connect a GPS navigator allows you to greatly expand the capabilities of the echo sounder. By themselves, models with a built-in navigator are quite expensive and it does not always make sense to buy them. They often do not have the most convenient interface that is not compatible with all mobile devices. On the contrary, if it is possible to connect a mobile phone with a navigator, you can track the bottom not only in the vertical plane, but also in the horizontal one, record readings using a special program and do many other things.
How to watch fish on the sonar screen
It is important not only to choose the right device, but also to learn how to use it. It must be remembered that a classic echo sounder shows the bottom, objects on it, algae at the bottom and in the water column, bubbles under water. The echo sounder does not show the fish body – it displays only the swim bladder, from which the air is well reflected.
Usually, two display modes are available – in the form of fish and in the form of arcs. The last way is more correct. By the shape of the arc, you can determine which side of the boat the fish is approximately, in which direction it is moving, if it moves, guess which fish it is. The size of an arc does not always indicate its size. For example, a huge catfish at the bottom can have a small arc, and a small pike in the water column can have a large one. Here it is important to get practice when working with a particular model of echo sounder.
Mounting and transport
By itself, the fastening is carried out for the transom of the boat, for the bank, if it is an inflatable boat. A rigid type sensor stand is used so that it does not deviate when moving and always looks down. During operation, it is also important that the sensor does not protrude or almost does not protrude beyond the bottom. In this case, if the boat runs aground, the sensor will receive minimal damage. Most branded mounts have protection in which the sensor will fold upon impact, or the mount bar will break, but the device itself will remain intact.
You can also use custom mounts. Various clamps are used, with the help of which the sensor and the control unit are attached in a way convenient for the angler. At the same time, it is important to maintain the possibility of adjusting the immersion and ensure that nothing happens to the echo sounder in case of a not very strong collision with a sand bank.
Some use suction cups. It’s possible, but not completely reliable. The suction cup can always bounce when it heats up in the sun and the air under it expands, the vacuum breaks, the suction cup material deforms when heated and cooled, and an unpleasant situation can happen.
Echo sounders for shore fishing come with one that can easily be screwed onto a regular rod rest instead of a flyer.
If not, you can easily make a similar one yourself. The stand is used for a smartphone that is connected to the fish finder via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi protocol, the latter is more suitable for long distances.
It is worth remembering that the requirements for the smartphone screen will be the same as for the sonar screen: it must be clearly visible and not be afraid of water. For example, the eighth iPhone can be used, but a budget smartphone is not suitable for this purpose – it is not visible in the sun and it will break when water enters.
In a boat, a control unit with a screen is usually attached to the bank or transom. Fastening to the bank is better, since it does not interfere with catching and pulling out fish, less often it clings to the fishing line. Usually they use a clamp mount, with a special hinged stand that allows you to both adjust the angle of the screen in three planes and adjust it in height.
The battery for the echo sounder must have special protection against water. In most cases, a dedicated outboard motor battery can be used. And if they catch with him, then feed directly from him. At the same time, it is taken into account that the battery capacity will be spent both on the boat’s progress and on the operation of the echo sounder. If the battery is self-made, then you should protect it from water with great care, using epoxy, resins and a plastic casing, paying much attention to the insulation of the contacts. Nobody wants to sit in a boat with a spilled battery on the bottom.
Transportation of this entire system is carried out in a special container. It is most convenient to use a construction-type hard box. He saves the echo sounder from damage, shock. If you don’t want this, you can adapt an old thermal bag, a bag for photographic equipment, or any other sufficiently voluminous bag for transportation, lining it with polyurethane foam from the inside to protect it from minor accidental shocks. The flasher can be carried by the handle; it initially has a platform on which a clamp for attaching the sensor is placed.