Sounds like a movie title or something ;D

I have been told that I can use my "flasher" to find thermoclines. I normally use the flasher on my Lowrance 480LMS, but since I have finally gotten the GPS portion of the unit to work, I started using the old fashioned flasher. A buddy mentioned that I could keep the Map pulled up on my Lowrance, and use the flasher to find thermoclines.

Can anyone tell me (in a VERY basic way) how to do this? I am having some trouble figuring out how the flasher works and how much to adjust it.

thanks, as always, for your help!

If you got an 2006 BPS Master Catalog flip to page 425 on the right of the page. That fuzzy line at the 10 ft mark should be the thermocline the dark line at the 14ft mark should be a fish. The the fuzzy stuff and large dark line at the top 0-2ft mark should be the surface and clutter. It has been awhile since I had one but I think I am correct.

A question for us northern bassers just learning to use a depth finder. Doesn't the thermocline break up during turnover, the reset deeper for the winter?

The thermocline is a depth of water where the cold and warm water mix and has a unified temp. When you have a turnover you have a larger area that is uniform to the same temp. When the water reaches a certain point (temp) then the thermocline is more defined. In the winter the thermocline tends to be deeper unless you have a warm trend or Indian summer.

Thanks Chris. I bought an eagle unit in the spring finally trying to learn how to use it. The 2 most important things I have learned so far is to turn off all the fish icons and alarams and to call it a depth finder not a fish finder.

Guys - the "flasher" to which I refer is the "old fashioned" flaskhing red line.  the guage is built in to my console.  I've been told that I can use that to find the thermocline.

ooppsss sorry dont know anything about those!

this is the flasher I was talking about

http://www.basspro.com/servlet/catalog.TextId?hvarTextId=52525&hvarSearchValue2=520&hvarSearchValue3=184&hvarSearchValue4=00&hvarTarget=search&AFID=&sourceid=&cmCat=SEARCHRESULTS

The thermocline should be defined as a single line or up to 3 or 4 lines at a continuous depth. I rarely find active bass below this level, so it eliminates quite a chunk of lake.

A flasher will show any and everything a LCD will, it just does it in realtime and does not make a history of what it see's.  It's just a matter of knowing what you are seeing when you see all those little lines.  First to see the thermocline, you will need to have the gain fairly high.  The thermocline can show up as one heavy line or a number of narrow lines close together but will basically maintain the same depth as you are moving.  

Turn the sensitivity all the way up then back it off slowly until you see one line that is the bottum and a gradation of intensity upward. If you have a definable thermocline...thats the key "definable" because sometimes a thermocline is so gradual its almost impossible to define. Try this first in the deepest spot in the lake, because sometimes the thermocline can range anywhere from 7-8ft all the way down to 60 or 80 ft. Once you find it in the deep parts of the lake it should be easier to define it as you move shallower. Understand that you are looking for a change in h2o density. The higher you turn up the sensitivity on your flasher the more clearly it will show slight changes in density.

As previously stated, on most depth sounders you'll have to set the Gain near maximum sensitivity

to display the thermocline. On CRT and LCD units, the thermocline will appear as an obscure

horizontal band across the entire screen, like submerged surface clutter.

       One other thing, all lakes do not stratify, thus some will not display a thermocline.

After the fall turnover, when the water is homogenous, no lake will display a thermocline.

Roger