I started to read the articles on the sight and I read the sonar article and went out for a couple of hours and just messed with sonar. I sucessfully got it off auto and was able to increase the sensitivity and like the article suggeseted on certain spots the sonar had been reading the tops of the weeds as the bottom The true bottom was actually 6 ft lower. Then I took off the fish ID now my 3 questions With the fish ID off(Eagle 128 Portable) how can I tell whats fish and whats not? With the sensitivity up and the fish ID on there are more fish icons than I know are fish in the cone is this what the article refered to as "noise" because I had the sensitivity too far up? They suggested to keep the speed of the graph as fast as needed to get accurate readings while going from spot to spot. I use only a 30# thrust motor guide motor on a 12ft Aluminum boat and some where between 50% and 70% speed seems to give me my best look at things is that correct for a slow mover like myself?

Dang Muddman I thought we sent you hunting. If I remeber those articles (and I may not correctly) one was describeing how to adjust the sens. by doubleing the depth setting (of the bottom) on the unit then adjusting it (the sens. control) until you get a double image of the bottom or false echo on the screen and then setting the unit back to the correct depth setting. I really would have to look at it again to make sure. Too high of a sensitivity setting can make it appear like there are fish weeds or other things  that may not  exist all the way to the point you really can not see anything. I would not see how the sensitivity would change the depth reading of the bottom.  Like you said it was reading the tops of the weeds.   Are you sure that the transducer is positioned properly?

I do not have an Eagle so none of this may apply to yours. When I turn mine off of auto I no longer can use fish ID. And by turning it (Id) back on it also switches back to auto. I also use mine on the fastest setting. This adjusts the number of times that the transducer sends and recieves the signals.

The unit may read fish several different ways in manual, arcs, semi arcs, dots, verticle lines, some bait fish look like balls or clouds of grass that are usually off of the bottom, Where the problem comes is that other things give the some of same signals standing timber can also produce verticle lines or dots. However the unit is often fooled by these even on auto, so not everything that it shows is a fish.