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**Jim Laumann** · January 15th, 2008, 03:16 AM posted to rec.outdoors.fishing.bass

On Sat, 12 Jan 2008 19:53:15 -0500, (BIG FISH
2006) wrote:

I was reading somewhere about fish locators that you can see your bait
on the screen. Have any of you guys seen or have one like that? I want
one that I can see the fish make contact with the bait.

Bigfish

This is how we do it on hard water (ice) - fishing vertical
(jigging).....

First off, you are going to want a flasher - not a graph. A flasher
will give you instant feedback. I've got a Marcum LX-3 and a Vexilar
FL8. Other models from both companies will work, as will other brands
- ie Zercoms, the old Lowrance green boxes...

With the flashers I've got, you drop your bait, jig, spoon, etc in the
water, and then adjust your gain. Usually a setting of about 2 is
enough.

On my Marcum (w/ the TC upgrade), you would want the bait, spoon, jig
to show up on the dial as a yellow blip w/ slight green tinge.

When the fish show up, depending on where they are in the sound
cone, they may start yellow, but as they get closer to the center of
the cone they will turn green and then red (same concept on the Vex,
but the colors are green, then yellow and then red).

When your offering turns red - the fish either has your offering in
its mouth or is sitting so close to it that the sonar can't seperate
them. You should be expecting a hit, and if it doesn't come, its
entirely possible the fish is mouthing your bait so lightly you can't
feel it - a spring bobber is handy in this situation. You can also
try a very gentle lift (feeling for weight), or just try setting the
hook.

On the Zercom - the one I have uses shades of gray to mark the
targets in the water column. Black is a big target (fish) vs light and
dark gray.....

Now - should the yellow blip w/ a slight tinge of green turn all
yellow, the fish has stripped your bait.

Keep in mind that ice is a perfect platform for using sonar - there is
no movement. I'm sure you could do the same thing fishing vertical
from a boat, but there is always going to be some movement and it will
be harder to spot the targets changing color and staying changed.

Ido know some guys who have used their flashers in the
late fall while fishing a harbor for panfish - in that instance, the
docks provided a platform w/ results similar to ice.

I've tryed marking a jig w/ my graph during soft water (vertical), so
far, w/ limited sucess.

HTH

Jim