Just got my first fish finder for my kayak, a Garmin Striker 4. I have a question, and pardon me if it's a dumb question but I'm new to fish finders. I have the transducer mounted on the Scotty 141 transducer mount right behind my right side on the kayak. When a fish shows up on the screen, how do I know where exactly it is? Is it directly below me? Left or right? In front? Or do I just assume it's in a general area around and under my kayak?

17 minutes ago, BassAssassin726 said:

Just got my first fish finder for my kayak, a Garmin Striker 4. I have a question, and pardon me if it's a dumb question but I'm new to fish finders. I have the transducer mounted on the Scotty 141 transducer mount right behind my right side on the kayak. When a fish shows up on the screen, how do I know where exactly it is? Is it directly below me? Left or right? In front? Or do I just assume it's in a general area around and under my kayak?

 

Mostly the bolded above. You know it will be somewhere in "the cone of coverage," which is likely a fairly small area under the transducer; for example, typical 20 deg. cone angles cover about 1/3 the depth, so in 10 ft of water, you might only see things in a 3-4 ft circle; in 30 ft, that would be about 10 ft of coverage. This will vary though based on the frequency, and modern units often use a CHIRP or dual frequency mix that will expand that coverage area somewhat. That unit lets you upgrade CHIRP transducers, if I'm not mistaken. Also, since it is behind you, especially if you are moving forward or drifting, what you see on the screen is basically "history," meaning it is now behind you by the time you interpret it, largely. That said, you can often tell by signal strength (colors of the arch) and arch definition (full/part/etc.) whether you went right over something or if it was a little off to the side, and specific settings can let you optimize this, but that will take some time on the water and a bit of experience to get better at understanding. Lots of good resources online though to help you understand what you are seeing. 

16 minutes ago, Team9nine said:

 

Mostly the bolded above. You know it will be somewhere in "the cone of coverage," which is likely a fairly small area under the transducer; for example, typical 20 deg. cone angles cover about 1/3 the depth, so in 10 ft of water, you might only see things in a 3-4 ft circle; in 30 ft, that would be about 10 ft of coverage. This will vary though based on the frequency, and modern units often use a CHIRP or dual frequency mix that will expand that coverage area somewhat. That unit lets you upgrade CHIRP transducers, if I'm not mistaken. Also, since it is behind you, especially if you are moving forward or drifting, what you see on the screen is basically "history," meaning it is now behind you by the time you interpret it, largely. That said, you can often tell by signal strength (colors of the arch) and arch definition (full/part/etc.) whether you went right over something or if it was a little off to the side, and specific settings can let you optimize this, but that will take some time on the water and a bit of experience to get better at understanding. Lots of good resources online though to help you understand what you are seeing. 

Awesome explanation. Thank you. Another question, is it worth turning on the fish symbols? Or is it better to just learn to read and recognize what fish look like on the screen?

18 hours ago, BassAssassin726 said:

Awesome explanation. Thank you. Another question, is it worth turning on the fish symbols? Or is it better to just learn to read and recognize what fish look like on the screen?

 

No fish symbols  lol

 

A few guys use them in specific situations, but I've never been a fan. Don't think your unit has it, but running a split screen with traditional 2d sonar and DI side by side will pretty much teach you everything you need to learn about 2d interpretation. Otherwise, experience, time on the water and a jig or jigging spoon will answer an awful lot of questions about what you're seeing - lol. 

You have gotten some good answers. I also am new to fish finders and also just purchased the same plain Jane striker 4. I just returned from my 5th trip. I am just now starting to feel like I can understand and interpret the data a little bit. It is going to take some more time with, but I can identify soft or hard bottom, and kinda of watch the fish move to different areas as the morning progresses. I can also map the weed lines pretty good. 

 

On YouTube the is a channel called 1cast1fish. He has a 1 plus hour on our model. He covers the theory and some use. He does a good job on Initial setup, options with explanations, and how to choose them. I sat there with my unit powered up and set it up step by step from the video. It was a great resource for me. Your mileage may vary. 

 

For me the bottom line is just use it and learn from experience.

17 hours ago, Team9nine said:

 

No fish symbols  lol

 

A few guys use them in specific situations, but I've never been a fan. Don't think your unit has it, but running a split screen with traditional 2d sonar and DI side by side will pretty much teach you everything you need to learn about 2d interpretation. Otherwise, experience, time othe water and a jig or jigging spoon will answer an awful lot of questions about what you're seeing - lol. 

Gotcha, no fish symbols then. Lol

@Team9nine hit the nail on the head here.

 

You may want to consider moving your transducer inside your hull, though. Makes it much easier to transport/setup, reduces drag, protects it, and can center your cone to the middle of your kayak. The only downside is a slightly less accurate and slower-to-adjust temperature reading. I had my Ascend setup this way with the Striker 4. Just make a nice base of Duct Seal inside the hull and press the transducer into that being careful to not leave any air bubbles or pockets.