Fish Finders - Post Your Experience / Tips

[Lenny Rat]

Just dropped some coin on a boat with a Pro FF.

There are one or two threads out there pontificating upon the merits of whether these units are of any use or just a pretty picture that tells you, "fish here and you might catch something".

What has been your experience and what tips can you provide if you have had success using them:

1) Do they scan in front, to the side (s), or in the back of the boat? The FF sits slightly on the right; is it scanning directly in front of its location?

2) Do they scan below the boat or some distance away from the boat? For instance, do you cast away from the boat a certain distance or simply unwind your line to drop your bait straight down (for a bottom rod).

Let's hear from all of you that have had some time to test them.

[alohastone]

Originally posted by Lenny Rat:

2) Do they scan below the boat or some distance away from the boat? For instance, do you cast away from the boat a certain distance or simply unwind your line to drop your bait straight down (for a bottom rod).

I haven't really tried out the sonars much. But from my personal and my friends experience, as well as some googling I did, sonars / fish finders usually shoot straight down, and scan the area below your boat in a cone-shape.

See attached image:

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/7a/8f/24/7a8f24947726ee930bdcb8b3911469d8.jpg

So if you see fish on your sonar, you'd have to drop your match / bottom rod straight down. I tried this with the catfish in germany, and it seems to work quite nicely.

If you'd want to go with spinning, I guess you'd have to drive back a bit, and retrieve your lure through the area your boat was at when you saw the fish.

More experienced players & fishermen might correct me if I'm wrong, but I guess this is the way it works.

[Lenny Rat]

I used it for the first time yesterday, and although the boat is anchored and not moving, the display clearly continues to move as I can see the bottom contours changing. This would seem to indicted that the FF has a 360 degree rotating view that turns continuously; scanning outwards from the boat in all directions.

Unfortunately, the FF does not provide a directional compass to tell me which way the FF is currently facing in its rotation when a fish is spotted. Does anybody know if the top of the line FF has a compass?

[Cpl Tunnel]

sonars in the game only show boat speed,water surface temp,and depth.
the compass is at top of screen.
You can also mark the spot you're over with a marker buoy,then move off and cast to it
sonar will keep scrolling even when you're stopped.It scans the bottom rather then looking
at it like a TV

[Lenny Rat]

Originally posted by Cpl Tunnel:

sonars in the game only show boat speed,water surface temp,and depth.
the compass is at top of screen.
You can also mark the spot you're over with a marker buoy,then move off and cast to it
sonar will keep scrolling even when you're stopped.

I am working with the Pro FF; are you using the OEM version? OEM seems to be the best in game (highest level Bass Boat).

Are you saying your FF has an actual compass at the top of the screen, or are you speaking figuratively? The Pro has no compass.

[Cpl Tunnel]

Originally posted by Lenny Rat:

Originally posted by Cpl Tunnel:

sonars in the game only show boat speed,water surface temp,and depth.
the compass is at top of screen.
You can also mark the spot you're over with a marker buoy,then move off and cast to it
sonar will keep scrolling even when you're stopped.

I am working with the Pro FF; are you using the OEM version? OEM seems to be the best in game (highest level Bass Boat).

Are you saying your FF has an actual compass at the top of the screen, or are you speaking figuratively? The Pro has no compass.

Sorry,I meant to say the top of your computer screen which really has nothing to do with the sonar unit
I think the 2 bass boats with trolling motors have the same sonar units on them

[Maj.Tryhard]

The sonar doesn't actually move. The way it works is that it's constantly pinging down below, sending back an echo of anything it hits. That's why the screen looks like it's scrolling to the side. When your boat is sitting still, the depth/bottom contours shouldn't be changing.

[Lenny Rat]

Originally posted by Maj.Tryhard:

The sonar doesn't actually move. The way it works is that it's constantly pinging down below, sending back an echo of anything it hits. That's why the screen looks like it's scrolling to the side. When your boat is sitting still, the depth/bottom contours shouldn't be changing.

I'm in Russia right now, and the bottom contours and vegetation definitely change as if the unit rotates.

[Maj.Tryhard]

Hmm. I don't think that's supposed to happen. I know it wasn't happening for me last time I played.

[Marshall_maz]

Originally posted by Lenny Rat:

Originally posted by Maj.Tryhard:

The sonar doesn't actually move. The way it works is that it's constantly pinging down below, sending back an echo of anything it hits. That's why the screen looks like it's scrolling to the side. When your boat is sitting still, the depth/bottom contours shouldn't be changing.

I'm in Russia right now, and the bottom contours and vegetation definitely change as if the unit rotates.

+1 Happens to me as well at all lakes. The contours constantly changes when boat is standing still and I am also confused by it.

[Lenny Rat]

Originally posted by Marshall_maz:

Originally posted by Lenny Rat:

I'm in Russia right now, and the bottom contours and vegetation definitely change as if the unit rotates.

+1 Happens to me as well at all lakes. The contours constantly changes when boat is standing still and I am also confused by it.

I just checked it again this morning; I drove to the edge of a drop-off on the map and dropped anchor as soon as I saw the bottom coming up. Normally I will see very short or no vegetation at all on the bottom of deep holes; as you near shore the vegetation will get higher.

The bottom contour stabilized but the contours of vegetation continued to rise and fall as if the FF is rotating 360 degrees. The short (bottom) vegetation eventually made its way back onto the FF giving more credence to the possibility that this unit rotates.

Regardless of whether it is proven or not, I added this post to the Ideas and Suggestions subforum to see if I can get a response from the Dev's:

https://steamcommunity.com/app/380600/discussions/3/1643168364664249433/

[Luucipher]

Originally posted by Lenny Rat:

Originally posted by Marshall_maz:

+1 Happens to me as well at all lakes. The contours constantly changes when boat is standing still and I am also confused by it.

I just checked it again this morning; I drove to the edge of a drop-off on the map and dropped anchor as soon as I saw the bottom coming up. Normally I will see very short or no vegetation at all on the bottom of deep holes; as you near shore the vegetation will get higher.

The bottom contour stabilized but the contours of vegetation continued to rise and fall as if the FF is rotating 360 degrees. The short (bottom) vegetation eventually made its way back onto the FF giving more credence to the possibility that this unit rotates.

Regardless of whether it is proven or not, I added this post to the Ideas and Suggestions subforum to see if I can get a response from the Dev's:

https://steamcommunity.com/app/380600/discussions/3/1643168364664249433/

Your boat isn't slowly moving slightly side to side with wind or current is it? This would give the impression that the sonar is rotating giving slight changes in contour/vegetation as it scans

[Lenny Rat]

Originally posted by Luucipher:

Originally posted by Lenny Rat:

I just checked it again this morning; I drove to the edge of a drop-off on the map and dropped anchor as soon as I saw the bottom coming up. Normally I will see very short or no vegetation at all on the bottom of deep holes; as you near shore the vegetation will get higher.

The bottom contour stabilized but the contours of vegetation continued to rise and fall as if the FF is rotating 360 degrees. The short (bottom) vegetation eventually made its way back onto the FF giving more credence to the possibility that this unit rotates.

Regardless of whether it is proven or not, I added this post to the Ideas and Suggestions subforum to see if I can get a response from the Dev's:

https://steamcommunity.com/app/380600/discussions/3/1643168364664249433/

Your boat isn't slowly moving slightly side to side with wind or current is it? This would give the impression that the sonar is rotating giving slight changes in contour/vegetation as it scans

Of course not. Anchor is down.

[i50]

I couldn't catch an 11.1 lb catfish for a mission so I decided to try sonar and it worked. So, after finding and marking the area, I caught a 12 lb catfish and completed the mission. This video just displays the sonar view and the marked area.

https://youtu.be/bxJ2pZ1tGrg

Note: Best viewed at full screen. Takes about 20 seconds to focus.

[Lenny Rat]

Originally posted by i50:

I couldn't catch an 11.1 lb catfish for a mission so I decided to try sonar and it worked. So, after finding and marking the area, I caught a 12 lb catfish and completed the mission. This video just displays the sonar view and the marked area.

That's a lot of fish! Thanks for posting, @i50. Since we are trying to understand if the FF (sonar) rotates 360 degrees, can you tell us what side of the boat you selected to fish on and what side brought you the big fish? Did you have to try several different sides?

[i50]

Originally posted by Lenny Rat:

That's a lot of fish! Thanks for posting, @i50. Since we are trying to understand if the FF (sonar) rotates 360 degrees, can you tell us what side of the boat you selected to fish on and what side brought you the big fish? Did you have to try several different sides?

Hi again Lenny,

Unfortunately, I do not think my response will answer any of your questions but here goes:

"Does the FF (sonar) rotates 360 degrees?"
Although I thought it did before, I do not think it does now. If you notice when I was stationary, the terrain did not move; however, when I move, the terrain appears to change.

"Can you tell us what side of the boat you selected to fish on and what side brought you the big fish? Did you have to try several different sides?"
That massive fish stream was not restricted to a tiny area so I just stopped somewhere in the middle of it, set down a marker, backed up a bit, casted out to the marker (front of boat) and caught my 12 lb fish on the first try. Actually, I was so happy to catch it, I didn't try again, I just left.

In summary, IMHO, I think the developers must have had a tough time trying to replicate exactly how real sonar maps the bottom terrain so what we have is (most likely) the best they can do.

Cheers,

i50