Fish Depth Finder – Transducers GPS

A fish depth finder is a high tech device that’s used to help fisherman find the best places to make a catch. Once a great tool for professionals who needed an extra bit of help when earning their keep, fish finders are now in use commercially by sports fisherman all over the world.

Even those who go fishing only as the most occasional hobby have been known to keep this type of device on hand in their tackle box.

Fish Depth Finder Shapes and Sizes

Fish finders come in various shapes and sizes. The old style models, and some of the better equipped ones that you may find on board a commercial fishing liner, are large advanced looking computers. Fish finders  can be as small as a cell phone and fit in a pocket and can cost anywhere from thirty to forty bucks all the way up to thousands of dollars.

The Fish Finder Looks

Fish finders these days actually look like little hand held video game systems. They normally have large digital displays that show the user the needed information. In lower end models the display would look old fashioned and monotone while the better ones are full color; though, the type of display doesn’t really reflect too much on the quality and practicality of the device in any way.

More about Operating the Device

When operating a fish finder, the user can quickly acquire a lot of useful information about the area he or she is fishing in. First of all, the device will show the depth of the water. This is important for many reasons, and for hobbyists that’s especially true when fishing in areas closer to shore. It can help determine everything from what type of fish are more likely to be around to where the boat can go.

Then, of course, the fish finder will find fish. These are displayed on the screen generally as discolored areas, indicating there is something there. All is displayed on a chart and often an actual map, which makes it possible to translate the blips on the screen into actual fish locations in the water.

GPS Incorporated Fish Finders

The basics on which a fishfinder works are pretty simple, the device is nothing more or less than an echoing device that transmits a sound wave into the water and a receiver to pick up the echo or reflection. Sophisticated software computes the time differences between the incoming echoes and draws up a map of the underwater world beneath the boat. That way it’s possible to measure depth, the speed of the boat in relation to the bottom, water temperatures and objects floating around in the water. So we are now able to actually spot fish underwater.

This sounds very simple but it’s only because of developments in computer technology fish depth finders became really useful additions for the amateur fisherman. The problem with “phantom” images had to be solved and with the addition of GPS and a chartplotter to the device you can constantly track actual bottom conditions to charted bottom imagery and so filter out another source of interference.

It’s important to remember that even the most advanced fish finders aren’t the simplest tools to use. Most people will need to spend some time with the instruction manual or, better yet, with an experienced user so as to be able to take what they find on the display and turn it into useful information for their day’s fishing.

Featured products:

• Garmin 400c Fish Finder