Depth finder for lakes

It will be interesting to see how the vows to never use a depth finder and never fish chironomids play out in old age. Perhaps sitting in a rocker watching re-runs of Lawrence Welk or Jeopardy is more appealing than watching a bobber on a productive lake but if able I prefer to watch a bobber. If I last for 2 more years I will have been fishing for 8 decades and although I still kick or row for miles every season I am very content to just stop at times and soak cronies. It is very productive and last year I bought a heavier rod to handle the big fish that were taking mids and blobs under an indicator. You won't get that kind of action in a Barcalounger.

Develop those skills now, don't get caught napping when Father Time catches up with you.
 
I can see the advantages a depth finder gives you, but I also appreciate the simplicity of the string and weight approach.
To me at least, depth finders just adds another level of shit I need to bring fishing and god forbid that people used to catch fish on chironomids without using them.….and still do. 😂
SF
 
Stonedfish said:
I can see the advantages a depth finder gives you, but I also appreciate the simplicity of the string and weight approach.
To me at least, depth finders just adds another level of shit I need to bring fishing and god forbid that people used to catch fish on chironomids without using them.….and still do. 😂
SF
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Even a blind hog occasionally finds an acorn! 🤣
 
Stonedfish said:
I can see the advantages a depth finder gives you, but I also appreciate the simplicity of the string and weight approach.
To me at least, depth finders just adds another level of shit I need to bring fishing and god forbid that people used to catch fish on chironomids without using them.….and still do. 😂
SF
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That's the loop going through my head. It sure would make it easier to find the brush piles or other structure though.
 
RCF said:
That is what hook snags are for....
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Exactly, I know when I find what I'm looking for through feedback, fish, stick, weed, long count, hangup, whatever.
 
I'm trying to figure out what is simple about using a string and a weight to determine depth. It seems like you have to store the line somehow to prevent it getting involved with a fly line, you have to pick it up and drop it overboard, let it sink then determine the depth by looking at a series of marks on the line then pull it back up and stow it until needed again. What have I missed? Perhaps that you are not fishing while doing all of this because it is difficult to pull up a string with only one hand. So how is this an improvement over glancing at a screen with a digital readout that you can read in a tenth of a second? It is just like looking at a digital speedometer in your car, you can glance at it and in less than a second determine what speed you are going.

It makes me wonder, how many of you bow hunters are still knapping your own flint or obsidian?
 
iveofione said:
I'm trying to figure out what is simple about using a string and a weight to determine depth. It seems like you have to store the line somehow to prevent it getting involved with a fly line, you have to pick it up and drop it overboard, let it sink then determine the depth by looking at a series of marks on the line then pull it back up and stow it until needed again. What have I missed? Perhaps that you are not fishing while doing all of this because it is difficult to pull up a string with only one hand. So how is this an improvement over glancing at a screen with a digital readout that you can read in a tenth of a second? It is just like looking at a digital speedometer in your car, you can glance at it and in less than a second determine what speed you are going.

It makes me wonder, how many of you bow hunters are still knapping your own flint or obsidian?
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If you use a fishfinder you don't get to yell out cool stuff like "mark twain", "steady as you go", "reverse thrusters!" "brace for impact!", or "Let go of my line you stupid loon!" every time you throw the ol' sounding line out. 😁
 
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I can’t wait for the “I’ve given up my depth finder thread“ because…….
You know it’s coming. It’s just a matter of time. 😂
SF

PS…..Mike, I hope you find a depth finder that meets for requirement.
sorry for the thread drift. 😉
 
Stonedfish said:
I can see the advantages a depth finder gives you, but I also appreciate the simplicity of the string and weight approach.
To me at least, depth finders just adds another level of shit I need to bring fishing and god forbid that people used to catch fish on chironomids without using them.….and still do. 😂
SF
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Brian -
I fished deep water vertically with a full sink line for years before sonar. We'd clip our hemostat to the fly, slowly lower it till we felt bottom, reel up any slack the strip in the line, remove the hemostat and know if we made a roll cast our fly would be near bottom. Every time we moved, we'd repeat this. It worked very well for us. And still does when I forget my Humminbird. With a strike indicator and long leader, the use of hemostat becomes a bit more tedious.

I think one area where these cheating electronic devices do shine is showing contour changes, drop offs and even fish (although with the old HB 120 sometimes I think I get false positives). Being able to kick along in my float tube or rowing around in my pram, seeing the depth instantaneously is an advantage. Necessary to catch fish? Nope. Does it help? I think so.

@Zak - your rationale for not using sonar cracked me up. An old fart (older than I am) I used to fish with called them cheating blankety blanks. ;-)
 
One thing a fishfinder most certainly does for me is make me much more cognizant of a lake's thermal situation as the season progresses.

Sure, I could use the thermometer, but the fishfinder's temperature display constantly lets me know when a lake is shortly going to no longer be a choice for responsible catch and release until my favorite trout flyfishing time of the year arrives....autumn.
 
People fish for many different reasons including filling a freezer thereby reducing their food costs, for the enjoyment of the numbers and/or and size of fish caught, to being out in nature and the magic it presents as well as to allowing some to remove a stress(es) from their work environment. Each of us fish for different reasons. I am sure there are lots of other reasons in this continuum.

I have vivid memories of catching fish in Alabama with a bamboo stick, string and hook when I was very young, catching my first steelhead on the Dose and how great it tasted for dinner that night in the 70's, to fishing in BC with my dad in his waning years of his life. Can I match or exceed those memories ---> No. Yet when my kids were younger they would fish with me. They loved feeling the 'tug', let me play the fish to the net, and then 'pet' the fish because it was ' so pretty'.

Some are gear fisherman, some are fly fisherman, some are both. Some choose to troll, others to use bobbers/indicators, while others are dry fly aficionado's...

Some like the KISS method. Others want to use the latest and greatest and that is usually technology.

Some enjoy figuring out a lake/river and all the trials and tribulations that it presents. Somewhat like unwrapping a Christmas/Birthday present. Others like to 'get at it now' and solve Rubik's cube in 10 twists. Some don't care to solve anything and enjoy just what transpires.

Are any of them wrong in their reasoning ---> the answer should be NO. We all have different reasons and all should be accepted even if they are not our reasons.

Find what is right for you. Learn as you go.... If you find the path you are on does not meet what you want, make course adjustments as needed.

Just do not judge me nor make me what you envision is 'right'....
 
RCF said:
People fish for many different reasons including filling a freezer thereby reducing their food costs, for the enjoyment of the numbers and/or and size of fish caught, to being out in nature and the magic it presents as well as to allowing some to remove a stress(es) from their work environment. Each of us fish for different reasons. I am sure there are lots of other reasons in this continuum.

I have vivid memories of catching fish in Alabama with a bamboo stick, string and hook when I was very young, catching my first steelhead on the Dose and how great it tasted for dinner that night in the 70's, to fishing in BC with my dad in his waning years of his life. Can I match or exceed those memories ---> No. Yet when my kids were younger they would fish with me. They loved feeling the 'tug', let me play the fish to the net, and then 'pet' the fish because it was ' so pretty'.

Some are gear fisherman, some are fly fisherman, some are both. Some choose to troll, others to use bobbers/indicators, while others are dry fly aficionado's...

Some like the KISS method. Others want to use the latest and greatest and that is usually technology.

Some enjoy figuring out a lake/river and all the trials and tribulations that it presents. Somewhat like unwrapping a Christmas/Birthday present. Others like to 'get at it now' and solve Rubik's cube in 10 twists. Some don't care to solve anything and enjoy just what transpires.

Are any of them wrong in their reasoning ---> the answer should be NO. We all have different reasons and all should be accepted even if they are not our reasons.

Find what is right for you. Learn as you go.... If you find the path you are on does not meet what you want, make course adjustments as needed.

Just do not judge me nor make me what you envision is 'right'....
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Yup. Just so long as you don't flyfish from a SUP. That's just crazy talk. 😃
 
When started my fly-fishing career more than 65 years ago I fished floating lines exclusively and flies tied primarily with natural materials (furs, feathers, etc.). With experience a lot of fish were caught but with time and the improvement in rod and line designs, improving leader material, a vast improvement and diversity in fly tying material and hooks, development of a wide array of diverse fly patterns, improving small fishing craft, development of sonar units (fish finders) suitable for small boat use, etc. my lake fishing has become more complex, efficient, and ultimately successful. While it remains fun to go back to fishing with floating lines and flies of mostly natural materials, I quickly find myself missing some of the above refinements.

I now fish with a small "fish finder" on my pram which may or may not be turned on in my fishing. Find it a valuable tool in exploring a new lake, locating specific depths, finding weed lines, drop offs, and fish concentrations. Even on frequent fished lakes where I have a good handle on fishing depths and locations my "fish finder" becomes a valuable tool on those tough days that a refinement is needed in my fishing approach for success. Just like a well stock fly box(es), a variety of lines and leaders, my two anchors, etc. my depth finder is a tool that I may use in day's fishing.

Curt
 
+1 for Garmin Striker 4. I started using one in 2018 and my dad followed suit a few years later. It’s not going to help you target and catch an individual fish. It will give you information that will help you catch more fish, avoid the skunk, and avoid fishing where the fish aren’t holding. My dad and I have fished the same lake for 30+ years and put in more hours than anyone else on it day and night. I thought we knew the lake inside and out, but in the last 5 years since I got my Garmin I have learned at least as much about the lake and the fish as I did in the previous 25 years combined. The majority of big fish I’ve caught in the last 5 years I probably would have caught anyway, but I can say with certainty that I never would have caught my PB wild rainbow without the Garmin because I never would have been fishing in 25’ of water 100’ off shore if I hadn’t seen the fish sitting there all week on the screen.

Pros:
-Quick read on general depth
-Lightweight enough for backpacking a mile or two
-Tells you the general holding areas for fish
-Surface temp reading
-Picks up rocks and snags
-Improves knowledge of lakes and fish behavior

Cons:
-I don’t trust it for exact depth. Muddy bottoms can be deceptive. I still use hemostats if I’m trying to get my fly 1ft off the bottom
-More stuff to pack
-Electronics…eww
 
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