®
Summer 2019
page 62
SCREENSHOT #4
Another feature many anglers overlook helps you determine how fish are relating to structure so you know how to effectively fish for them.
Top Center: Note in Screenshot #4, a smallmouth bass image is starting to appear at the 21-foot mark (black line indicating a weak signal due to the bass not being directly under the boat).
Now, look at the DownScan image taken with my 3D StructureScan set to use the FishReveal feature.
That same bass is shown in the orange and red line just to the left of a steel boat dry-dock that fell off a barge into Lake Washington.
The important point in using technology and multiple views is in learning whether a bass is likely catchable or not. Most anglers would not stop to fish for the suspended bass shown in the top center panel. But when I saw that fish was relating to the sunken dry-dock, I vertically dropped 25-feet deep a Yamamoto Shad Shaped worm on a dropshot rig with a 1/4 oz. QuickDrop weight and landed that 3-pound smallmouth bass.
THE BEST LESSON YET
Probably the hardest thing to do while out fishing is to keep the rods in the rod locker and concentrate on learning to use your electronics. We measure our success by how many fish we catch each and every trip.
When was the last time a friend or family member asked you when you returned home how many new structures did you find?
Yet, I contend that if you invest in good electronics and put time in learning to use them, you will find it enjoyable to go hunting and not just fishing on the water.
Even more rewarding will be when you discover that honey-hole loaded with hungry bass, and nobody else knows about it.
Hopefully these Image Interpretation articles show you some of the possibilities, and result in you enjoying hunting, fishing, and catching more bass.
Ciao, Marc Marcantonio. •