Print Page | Close Window

snapper on sonar

Printed From: The Fishing Website
Category: Saltwater Fishing
Forum Name: The Briny Bar
Forum Description: The place for general chat on saltwater fishing!
URL: https://www.fishing.net.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=138683
Printed Date: 02 Mar 2026 at 5:32pm


Topic: snapper on sonar
Posted By: letsgetem
Subject: snapper on sonar
Date Posted: 17 Jul 2024 at 4:06pm
I have a Garmin late model chirp sonar. But I have never seen anything that looks like snapper on it. What do snapper look like. Someone mentioned "haystacks", but I dont know what that is.
Anyone experienced can advise me. Some examples pictures would be great.



Replies:
Posted By: Pcj
Date Posted: 17 Jul 2024 at 4:20pm
What type of garmin unit?? various models ,my striker 4  showed clumps until I read manual and went in to a side unit which has 3 or 4 different setting as to what symbols you want. symbol that shows depth on fish,  sizes you want etc



-------------
"Times up"


Posted By: letsgetem
Date Posted: 17 Jul 2024 at 4:32pm
Garmin 95SV, 3 years old. Says Chirp, but Must say I am extremely disappointed if thats all chirp is. Basically, I expected to see those individual "arcs", and havent seen one yet., in about 60 trips.


Posted By: Pcj
Date Posted: 17 Jul 2024 at 5:13pm
have seen better advice by using youtube

https://support.garmin.com/en-NZ/?faq=HAajlXN97g6UDuV4QGPDV8&identifier=529896&tab=topics" rel="nofollow - https://support.garmin.com/en-NZ/?faq=HAajlXN97g6UDuV4QGPDV8&identifier=529896&tab=topics


-------------
"Times up"


Posted By: Pcj
Date Posted: 17 Jul 2024 at 5:20pm
I used this one for my striker and worked for me.

Have definate symbols and clear,doesnt tell me if hungry today or what they are feeding on.Cry

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8V5XsZpsziM


-------------
"Times up"


Posted By: letsgetem
Date Posted: 17 Jul 2024 at 5:42pm
Thanks. What are haystacks?


Posted By: Pcj
Date Posted: 17 Jul 2024 at 6:30pm
Originally posted by letsgetem letsgetem wrote:

Thanks. What are haystacks?
I have no idea sorry, manual doesnt realyy explain stuff,and shop we brought it from not much use.

I use in 30m or less for structure details,and when it beeps as fish pass by normally get bites, seem important the beam angle as deeper you go the wider the beam,think its set to 17 degrees. Left it to boy to set up.technology is his thing.


-------------
"Times up"


Posted By: BananaBoat
Date Posted: 17 Jul 2024 at 7:32pm
Haystacks are exactly how you imagine them to be, triangular in shape hard down on your sounder, its unmistakable when you see them on your sounder.
I gather you are drifting ?
I've hardly seen a haystack at anchor, never in winter as there's not enough numbers of them to form a haystack when on mass (auckland winter) prolly different in northern waters

If on the drift & you see a haystack, stop on top of it straight away & drop down on it = instant fish, its that simple.... using sliders softies micros



Posted By: letsgetem
Date Posted: 18 Jul 2024 at 8:42am
So are haystacks a group of snapper, tight together so they dont show as separate fish on the sonar? What are they doing - not feeding?


Posted By: Tzer
Date Posted: 18 Jul 2024 at 11:35am
Originally posted by letsgetem letsgetem wrote:

I have a Garmin late model chirp sonar. But I have never seen anything that looks like snapper on it. What do snapper look like. Someone mentioned "haystacks", but I dont know what that is.
Anyone experienced can advise me. Some examples pictures would be great.


Nor all sounders will show fish marks in the same way and I would guess also which transducer you have. Below if shot I took of my Furuno 295 showing snapper & tarakihi. Bottom lock on the left and full depth scale on the right, tarakihi hard on the bottom and snapeer above.
Everybody will interpret what they are looking at differently so it can be hard to explain what you should be lookiing for.



Posted By: Kandrew
Date Posted: 18 Jul 2024 at 3:00pm
I have the same sounder as you and I don’t get the arches either, but as above I do look for haystacks on the bottom, I think to get the arches you would need to be anchored up, zoomed in, bottom locked and have no bottom clatter to see individual fish and they would have to be big specimens.

There are really good vids on YouTube that show you how to use sounder’s properly and I’ve found the Garmin guys at the boat show really good as well.

I only drift fish so I just use the standard settings work fine for me.


Posted By: smudge
Date Posted: 18 Jul 2024 at 4:25pm
Yes, haystacks are a school of snapper on the bottom. As already mentioned, you aren't likely to see them unless drifting.

-------------
Best gurnard fisherman in my street


Posted By: Troutzilla
Date Posted: 18 Jul 2024 at 4:44pm
I have a similar model Garmin 9 inch echomap ( might be the same? ) mines 3 years old too.

I get pretty good readings on mine although I don't fish really deep, mostly 50 metres or less.

I don't have many pics but heres a recent one in 23m of a snapper haystack on the bottom, you can actually see one of our lines off to the right and 
I'd say that's the softbait or jig being lifted and dropped back far right near the bottom.




-------------
It aint no use if it aint chartreuse!


Posted By: smudge
Date Posted: 18 Jul 2024 at 4:55pm
That's a perfect pic of a haystack from a well set up FF.Thank you TF

-------------
Best gurnard fisherman in my street


Posted By: Kandrew
Date Posted: 18 Jul 2024 at 6:23pm
Originally posted by Troutzilla Troutzilla wrote:

I have a similar model Garmin 9 inch echomap ( might be the same? ) mines 3 years old too.

I get pretty good readings on mine although I don't fish really deep, mostly 50 metres or less.

I don't have many pics but heres a recent one in 23m of a snapper haystack on the bottom, you can actually see one of our lines off to the right and 
I'd say that's the softbait or jig being lifted and dropped back far right near the bottom.


Very nice pick, I see you’ve got your gain on auto do you run your other sounder Settings on auto.


Posted By: cosmo
Date Posted: 18 Jul 2024 at 7:02pm
On Facebook there's a guy called Josh Western and he used to do fish finder training, on yr boat with yr gear, he took me out best 2 hrs showed me exactly how my unit worked and so on, where abouts are you based

-------------
i just want to go fishing..........amd ignore all my adult problems


Posted By: Fish Addict
Date Posted: 18 Jul 2024 at 8:16pm
I purchased the book 'How to Use an Echo Sounder / Fish Finder' by John Adams some years ago.  It's a good read.
Here is a short youtube vid from him about gain settings.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NsHebS-abw" rel="nofollow - Sensitivity Gain Control (youtube.com)  


Posted By: letsgetem
Date Posted: 19 Jul 2024 at 8:57am
Kandrew - I see you have gain on auto. When I put gain on auto the screen becomes very cluttered with extraneous stuff. 


Posted By: letsgetem
Date Posted: 19 Jul 2024 at 10:53am
And Im wondering if I should set the angle to maximum ?


Posted By: Kandrew
Date Posted: 19 Jul 2024 at 2:35pm
I think it’s really about the gain that’s what increases the signal from the transducer back to the head unit. I’ve played with zoom and gain but depth on the bottom say if it’s mud. To much and the signal will lose the bottom.

But you do have to keep playing with the gain as you drift along and change depth as you get shallower you can end up with more screen clatter.


Posted By: Kandrew
Date Posted: 19 Jul 2024 at 2:37pm
Originally posted by letsgetem letsgetem wrote:

And Im wondering if I should set the angle to maximum ?
Never tried charging the angle


Posted By: glowworms
Date Posted: 19 Jul 2024 at 6:42pm
tried adjusting your sensitivity settings? might help clear up some of that clutter


Posted By: Troutzilla
Date Posted: 19 Jul 2024 at 9:09pm
Hey mate,  from memory this day was mint, light wind, slow drift so auto settings all good.

I increase gain %, use range, zoom, scroll speed etc depending on conditions.

Its worth learning and playing around with settings as these units can defo provide great readings when tuned right for the conditions.

I believe a lot of reading quality when moving - trolling, searching etc depends on your transducer mounting.






-------------
It aint no use if it aint chartreuse!


Posted By: letsgetem
Date Posted: 20 Jul 2024 at 10:45am
Thanks, theres been useful stuff. 
I have set the gain on manual, around 60%, to remove clutter. But I see troutzilla increases the gain over 70%, even with clutter, to see fish sign more clearly. Also - John Adams advises - dont use auto, use around 75%. I will try that.

Second thing - I usually speed to wherever Im going fast, without looking at the sonar, so any fish sign will be missed. When I get where Im interested in, I either anchor, or drift fish, without looking at the sonar. so one reason I havent seen much fish sign, could be I dont look much for it! I should spend some time cruising slowly around where Im interested in, looking for fish sign, before fishing. 

More advice is welcome.


Posted By: Kandrew
Date Posted: 20 Jul 2024 at 10:57am
Your second paragraph is interesting, I have the gain on auto when I cursing looking for fish, if I increase the gain I get way too much clutter and lose the bottom.

How are other guys running their sounder’s while you are cursing hunting fish and what sort of boat speed are you doing


Posted By: The Tamure Kid
Date Posted: 20 Jul 2024 at 11:10am
Originally posted by Troutzilla Troutzilla wrote:

I have a similar model Garmin 9 inch echomap ( might be the same? ) mines 3 years old too.

I get pretty good readings on mine although I don't fish really deep, mostly 50 metres or less.

I don't have many pics but heres a recent one in 23m of a snapper haystack on the bottom, you can actually see one of our lines off to the right and 
I'd say that's the softbait or jig being lifted and dropped back far right near the bottom.

great example of a 'haystack' Jeremy. 

I remember the first time I saw one, out with Redfinger off the Kawau North Channel entrance. I wondered what he was on about, then he showed me the screen and it was unmistakable. 

My understanding is that it indicates the fish are up off the bottom, stacking up and feeding. Seems a bit counter-intuitive, as I assume snapper spread out on the bottom feeding is what you would want to see.

@letsgetem, in terms of 'arches', a penny dropped for me when I saw a YouTube tutorial that pointed out that you only see individual fish 'arches' (what I'd been told were the classic 'slugs' or 'moustache' shapes of snapper) when you're moving along scoping an area looking for sign, but when you turn the engine off and are at a standstill, they represent as waggly unbroken lines.
It's NOT that the fish have disappeared, but the way they show on the screen changes at say, 5kts versus motor off. I was getting frustrated that I could see arches when exploring an area, but as soon as I stopped and dropped lures, the fish seemed to have suddenly gone (in terms of the arches, there were only lines). So once I knew it was just to do with different speeds, I didn't get dispirited.

I've been told you want to see those lines going up and down strongly, not flatlining, again indicating fish are active and feeding. The denser the biomass registering on the sounder, the darker the colour. So big arches, or thick lines at a standstill, indicates a bigger fish - as I understand it. 

What I would also recommend is that you get skilled at understanding SideVu, which is brilliant if you're fishing a shoreline or reef area. It is superb for showing a kind of 3-d model of what's out left or right, which is more useful if softbaiting etc than what's directly under you in that situation.  I found it hard to get my head around the screen image until I watched a tutorial and learned how to interpret what I was seeing, and where the stern of the boat is on the screen, what the black area in the middle is, etc.

I sometimes need to remind myself that what I'm looking at on screen is already behind me, not directly under me. And sometimes I think it's more crucial to identify bait, given the adage 'find the bait, find the fish'. I couldn't believe this image from my Northland trip this year. I think it was golden snapper or something like that, not the big snaps I was seeking. 


Posted By: krow
Date Posted: 20 Jul 2024 at 8:10pm


Posted By: Pcj
Date Posted: 21 Jul 2024 at 6:56am
Not off my screen but exactly same as how my  garmin shows fish, how do tell they are snapper? Snapper arent always on bottom.Can be found mid water,buggered if I know what they feed on at that depth but have dropped line to bottom for nil then wound up to depth showing fish and bingo.





-------------
"Times up"


Posted By: letsgetem
Date Posted: 21 Jul 2024 at 8:46am
Glad to see some fishers still on fishing.net. Its been looking as if we are almost all dead.


Posted By: BananaBoat
Date Posted: 21 Jul 2024 at 9:16pm
Originally posted by letsgetem letsgetem wrote:

So are haystacks a group of snapper, tight together so they dont show as separate fish on the sonar? What are they doing - not feeding?
You really need to spend time on youtube & find tutorial videos of your particular brand of sounder & learn up on them in different modes, be it sonar, down image & especially side imaging
In the last 10 months or so, I've spent ages learning about my Humminbird helix on youtube & its really only now, I'm getting proper value out of my sounder

Haystacks ? This all depends on what colour palette you use & what your understanding of the different colours & patterns that show up on your sonar image
To me, this haystack is definitely NOT snapper. If it had lots of red in it, then yes, that would be snapper on my sounder
The down imaging below sonar, my understanding, shows baitfish with bigger baitfish in the mix (long lines in front of smaller stuff)


With my sounder, the 2 arches are snapper. If more red in the arches, its either bigger snaps rather than undersize or more snaps of any size in a concentrated arch


This image, with the blue circle, if I see that in the main channel (usually over 10m) on the Manukau, anchor on it, I catch snapper..... unsure if its a small shellfish bed


On a different note, I was chatting to 2 different salesmen at marine deals about targeting gurnard.
One fala said with his Garmin using 1kw transducer, the way he had it set up, zooming in on the bottom 2m in sonar mode, he would look for individual small blue dots, when he found them, he would drop down on it & catch gurnard then move on to the next one
The other sales fala had a mid range Lowrance sounder with 5-600w transducer, when he zoomed in on the bottom 2m, he would see red dots hard down, drop down on them & catch gurnard...... both guys doing it that way on the Kaipara for gurnard
So.... lots to learn about sounders & getting it to work for you & put fish in the bin


Posted By: BotStomper
Date Posted: 22 Jul 2024 at 12:07am
The little fish icons are a pisstake by the way, your sonar can't tell the difference between echoes. A literal turd drifting by would get a fish icon on it.


Posted By: Pcj
Date Posted: 22 Jul 2024 at 3:27am
Originally posted by BotStomper BotStomper wrote:

The little fish icons are a pisstake by the way, your sonar can't tell the difference between echoes. A literal turd drifting by would get a fish icon on it.
my understanding the return is air in swim bladder.your turd would be clutter.

-------------
"Times up"


Posted By: BotStomper
Date Posted: 25 Jul 2024 at 10:02am
Originally posted by Pcj Pcj wrote:

Originally posted by BotStomper BotStomper wrote:

The little fish icons are a pisstake by the way, your sonar can't tell the difference between echoes. A literal turd drifting by would get a fish icon on it.
my understanding the return is air in swim bladder.your turd would be clutter.

The "return" being the air in the swim bladder is a bit of a myth and makes zero sense if you think about it, though there is some suggestion that you may get a stronger return from the swim bladder; not to say you're not getting a return from the rest of the fish.
With a good sounder you can see each hook on a ledger rig at 30m, no swim bladder in there LOL

Have a read on how sonar works. A 6 inch turd will look exactly the same to a sonar as a 6 inch Blue Cod.



Print Page | Close Window