Depth finder for lakes

My family had a cabin at a high-elevation lake in NE Oregon. We fished it for years. Until I started using a depth finder, I never knew that parts of the lake were nearly 40 feet deep. There are other resources that provide depth charts for most lakes but I never looked to see if this was one of them. The depth finder, sinking lines, and fly patterns that I have learned from this website have enabled me to vastly increase my catch rate. The lighter battery that I posted earlier in this thread will allow me to use it more places. Sometimes I don’t use it, but like @Smalma said, it’s a tool for my lake fishing arsenal.
 
A great many of the bathymetric lake maps are 75+ years old, and the measuring methods of the day were primitive and relied upon extensive interpolation of limited data points to establish depth contours. Throw in eutrophication, varying sediment contribution from tributaries, changes in watershed land use, and the maps are no more than a vague starting point. Quite a few simply have never been mapped.

As an example, I know of one lake that superficially resembled most of the highly eutrophic very shallow (max depth 15' to 20') meadow lakes that abound in EWA farm land. Like many of those lakes it possesses no surface tributaries or exit streams...and should present very limited opportunities to responsibly C&R before the summer heat precludes that activity.

On my first trip to the lake equipped with a FF I discovered that there were places in the lake over 60' deep and, even more importantly (to me anyway) the entire lake was significantly cooler than many of the higher elevation mountain lakes that I put on the 'back burner' until fall cooldown. I had managed to find not only a lake that was extremely productive and yielding large fish, much closer to home, and possessing a longer responsible C&R season.

Appearances can be deceiving!
 
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I like this discussion. I'm pretty certain that if/when I get a small boat/trailer it will have an electric motor and a sounder. For now I think I do well enough, sometimes it's frustrating, but I kind of enjoy the hunt.
 
Strikers my go to on current and previous two skiffs...summer on Crane Prairie, finding the 14' bottom of what are mostly 13' channels to retrieve a balanced leech with trailer chrom can make a difference between hooking up or not.
I keep a small float with rolled up weighted tag line ready to deploy, if I run across a pod of fish that goes over the side to mark them, then I set-up casting distance away and have at it.
And I like having the upgraded Tempress chair, insulated lunch box, four racked rods , choice of beverages, tackle bag, clothing options, and most importantly, having the ability to just piss over the side.
The only thing I miss from those decades of kicking a WoodsRiver about was how much younger I was
 
krusty said:
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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Mark Twain auto-rec engaged!

Don't forget "How high's the water Momma?"
 
Tom Butler said:
I like this discussion. I'm pretty certain that if/when I get a small boat/trailer it will have an electric motor and a sounder. For now I think I do well enough, sometimes it's frustrating, but I kind of enjoy the hunt.
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Oh the hunt is still there! Nothing like knowing your fly is plainly in the zone, surrounded by a shitload of fish....and the little SOBs could care less what fly or presentation you're using!
 
krusty said:
Oh the hunt is still there! Nothing like knowing your fly is plainly in the zone, surrounded by a shitload of fish....and the little SOBs could care less what fly or presentation you're using!
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Yeah, I guess that really is the game, isn't it. If you know they are there you get to play what do you want? And if you don't you move on thinking no ones home, let's go over there and see if one wants to play. Either way, it's fishing, love it.
 
I would wait a year or two before buying one. The new ones coming out will all have AI. They will be able to identify fish, type and size of fish, what they are eating, all the thermoclines, structures and springs in the basic model. The higher priced units will include GPS as well as where to fish, take into account the wind, wave patterns, currents and provide logistical/tactical information on best place to cast so that the fly will end up in from of the fishes mouth...
 
RCF said:
I would wait a year or two before buying one. The new ones coming out will all have AI. They will be able to identify fish, type and size of fish, what they are eating, all the thermoclines, structures and springs in the basic model. The higher priced units will include GPS as well as where to fish, take into account the wind, wave patterns, currents and provide logistical/tactical information on best place to cast so that the fly will end up in from of the fishes mouth...
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Then they, along with all the other robots, will rise up and wipe the human stain from the face of the earth.
 
I like it when a website's AI ask me if I am a robot. I just wish the question had multiple choice answers, Yes, No, Cyborg. I am wondering though if this is how we get identified for future subjugation.

When they ask me to select all the photos with bicycles or traffic lights I select all the others three times in a row just to fuck with them. If AI ever develops a sense of humor you can blame me.
 
Matt B said:
Can we see a picture of this creation of yours?
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I may be able to send a pic of how I mounted the transducer to the telescoping end, would that suffice? It was actually pretty straightforward. Just a case of gutting the unit and threading the wires through. An added touch was sticking a bubble level on top.
 
joefromchicago said:
I may be able to send a pic of how I mounted the transducer to the telescoping end, would that suffice? It was actually pretty straightforward. Just a case of gutting the unit and threading the wires through. An added touch was sticking a bubble level on top.
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I guess I don't know what telescoping thing you're using?
 
Then hopefully these will clear things up:
The first picture shows the transducer mounting on the bottom end. Remember that this is just the old, standard 170 model Humminbird that had the monitor attached at top and a joint with a locking ring halfway down so that you could lower the unit further into the water column. As far as I can remember, had to grind that flat and initially glued it with contact cement, making sure to line it up with the handle, then later added a short set screw. Another thing I seem to remember is, because it was double slotted I pulled it out and turned it 180° to get a better substrate for the screw.
Next is the mounting platform for the monitor. Birders will probably recognize that as a suet cage for bird feed. Amazingly, the mounting holes on the foot fit the four opening holes perfectly, it's solid as a rock.
Finally the top, showing the bubble mounting. Had to saw off and finish the mounting tabs for the old scanner. Enlarged the side hole to allow the connector to pass through as well. Another side benefit is you can unscrew the top and it becomes a little container.
Might add here, at the end of it's life, was having issues with poor performance and when I took the guts out, found the coiled extending cord badly degraded. If anyone has been having issues and haven't checked this area, it's worth taking a look see.
20240208_150044.jpg20240208_150652.jpg20240208_151108.jpg
 
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joefromchicago said:
Then hopefully these will clear things up:
The first picture shows the transducer mounting on the bottom end. Remember that this is just the old, standard 170 model Humminbird that had the monitor attached at top and a joint with a locking ring halfway down so that you could lower the unit further into the water column. As far as I can remember, had to grind that flat and initially glued it with contact cement, making sure to line it up with the handle, then later added a short set screw.
Next is the mounting platform for the monitor. Birders will probably recognize that as a suet cage for bird feed. Amazingly, the mounting holes on the foot fit the four opening holes perfectly, it's solid as a rock.
Finally the top, showing the bubble mounting. Had to saw off and finish the mounting tabs for the old scanner. Enlarged the side hole to allow the connector to pass through as well. Another side benefit is you can unscrew the top and it becomes a little container.
Might add here, at the end of it's life, was having issues with poor performance and when I took the guts out, found the coiled extending cord badly degraded. If anyone has been having issues and haven't checked this area, it's worth taking a look see.
View attachment 102631View attachment 102630View attachment 102629
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I mounted mine using the Scotty extension arm, bracket etcetera for a kayak that I adapted to my Outcast Clearwater. Yours is pretty nice.
 
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