Fish Symbols vs. Full Sonar Chart
You may have noticed in the quick reference we used fish arches in full sonar chart mode for our example and not the popular Fish I.D.™ fish symbol feature. Here is why.
Fish I.D. is an easier way for a sonar novice to recognize a fishy signal return when he sees it. But locating fish by symbol only has some limi- tations.
Your sonar unit's microprocessor is remarkably powerful, but it can be fooled. Some of the echoes calculated to be fish could be tree limbs or turtles. To see under your boat in maximum detail, we recommend you turn off Fish I.D. and begin learning to interpret fish arches.
Fish I.D. is most handy when you are in another part of the boat or per- forming a task that prevents you from watching the sonar screen. While in Fish I.D. mode, you can turn on the audible fish alarm, so when a fish swims under your boat, you will hear it!
Fish I.D. can also be useful when you want to screen out some of the sonar detail. In one case, a fishermen in San Francisco Bay saw clouds of clutter in the water but no fish arches. When a downrigger was pulled up, it brought up several small jellyfish. The fishermen switched his sonar to Fish I.D., which screened out the schools of jellyfish and clearly showed game fish as fish symbols.
Other Free Training Aids
The following section discusses in greater detail, Fish I.D. and fish alarms among other features. If you or a friend has Internet access, you can also learn more about interpreting what you see on your sonar screen. Visit our web site, WWW.EAGLESONAR.COM. Be sure to check out the free Sonar Tutorial, which includes animated illustrations and more pictures of actual sonar returns, all described in detail. There's even a printer friendly version of the tutorial available on our web site. It makes a great supplement to this operation manual.
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