So I cant afford to buy a really nice side imaging depth finder. Id love to and wish I could. But all I have is a Humminbird 535, pretty old model. How do I locate structure, brush piles, rock piles, under water bridges, etc with what I have???

Dude all I have is a Humminbird 535 in the bow of my boat

Read everything on this site pertaining to structure!

Scuba gear

A jig

Dude all I have is a Humminbird 535 in the bow of my boat

Read everything on this site pertaining to structure!

And then learn how to rig a Carolina rig and go fishing !!!

My lower unit usually does a good job.

google maps, sometimes you can spot out structure, points,humps etc

a carolina rig with braid, and scuba gear.

Back in the day, guys found structures, rock piles, etc with flashers. All it took was time on the water and messing around with the unit - learning how to use it. Right now you got all the tools you need to find whatever decent fish holding structure available on the water you're fishing. All you got to do is get out there and practice with it. You might want to get some structure markers. While you're looking around, you can't be afraid of losing a few jigs. Get out there and practice. The only thing that will make you confident using your electronics is time on the water and practice.

Alabama rig - Best brush pile finder ever invented.

Alabama rig - Best brush pile finder ever invented.

HA! HAHAHAHA that was pretty funny

USE YOUR HANDS, LIKE THE INDIANS DID BACK IN THE FLOUNDER SCURMISH OF 1698.

Catt gave you good advice. There is a difference between structure that makes up a lake bottom under water and structure that holds bass. Your sonar unit will indicate the depth of water and suspended objects within it's signal return field; it's up to you to determine if the structure you found is worth fishing. The next problem to solve is where the structure is located so you can return to fish it another day. Without GPS you need to observe where you are relative to visual land marks.

Tom

A jig

Yea, a 1oz jig works good.

Alabama rig - Best brush pile finder ever invented.

I second that!!!

Contour maps, find it on the map then use your graph to find it on the water.

Yup carolina rig is all you need and some sensitive line,medium heavy rod (7ft),and learn how to seperate the feel of structure VS the actual bite.

Purchase a map that has GPS coordinates for structure, creek channels, humps, ETC marked and referenced in the index. You can pick up a hand held GPS pretty cheap these days, and use it in conjunction with the map(s). Then once you get in the general area, use your sonar to read the bottom.