Lowrance electronic X-3 -

SURVEYING A LAKE

The

most successful

anglers on any lake or reservoir are those who fish

day

after

day

and year after

year

until

they

learn the hot spots that pro-

duce fish consistently. They discover

through experience where,

and at

what

depth, they can

expect

to

find the

kind of fish they want at

any sea-

son. And they realize that these productive

areas change throughout the

year depending

water level, temperature, food,

and other factors.

With

the aid of the X-3, anyone can eliminate

guesswork and concen-

trate on the areas

where fish are likely

to be—even if its the first time on

the lakel

The most efficient

way to become

acquainted

with a

body of water is to

survey it with your X-3. Start out with a

map of the lake,

if

possible and

indicate the

promising

spots in relation to landmarks on shore.

you go

about

your survey, your

X-3 will tell you

the depth

and kind of

bottom, It will also reveal fish, perhaps

schools of

crappies or white bass

suspended

over deep

water, If

multiple signals

on the display

indicate a

good school, it is worth it to

stop and fish for them.

You may not get any

farther.

Keep

a few Lowrance Fish-N-Floats in the

boat, ready

to toss overboard.

When the X-3 indicates

a

school of

fish,

throw the

buoy out. The

string

will unwind until the sinker hits bottom.

Then,

because of the

marker's

flat

shape,

it won't unwind

any

farther With the school thus

marked, you can

make

your

turn and come back to fish in

exactly

the right spot.

This is

essential when you're far from shore on a big lake. Unless

you mark the

school of fish when you're over it, you may not be able to find it

again.

BAIT FISH

The

importance

of bait fish to successful fishing can't be over-

emphasized. They are the

principle

food of

game fish in most waters.

Bait

fish are the

plankton feeding forage fish,

such as minnows and shad.

They

can also be the

young

game fish,

such as crappies, bluegill, and

white bass which also feed near the surface.

Most bait

fish are concentrated within five feet of the surface where sun-

light promotes

the growth

of the

plankton on which

they

feed. One

method of

fishing is to use the X-3 to find the bait fish first. Usually, game

fish will be nearby—often directly beneath the school of bait fish at 12 to

15 feet deep.

AUTO -

N u N C IATO R

WEAK

BO1TOM—

SIGNAL

RANGE

0-96 FEET

—

Figure 3

\SURFACE,

CLUTTER

Figure

FISH

STRONG

- BOTTOM

SIGNAL

To manually adjust

the

sensitivity, press

the AUTO key. The AUTO annun-

ciator will disappear.

To increase the

sensitivity, press and hold the

right

arrow

key> until the

sensitivity

is at the

desired level.

The left arrow

<

decreases sensitivity

in the same manner. Notice how the

sensitivity

bar

moves as

you change settings. When you press

the right arrow key, the

bar moves to the right showing an increase in sensitivity. Pressing

the left

arrow

key moves the bar to the left, showing a decrease in sensitivity.

You can also see the

changes

on the display.

Figure

3 shows a

graph

with too little sensitivity, while on the right the sensitivity

is adjusted

properly. Note how the surface signal is

very small,

and the bottom signal

is also narrow on the left chart. On the right,

the

sensitivity

is adjusted

properly; a

fish is

now visible,

the surface clutter is more pronounced,

and the bottom

signal has widened. For more information on

graph

records, see the section called Graph Interpretation.

When the horizontal bar reaches

the far

right hand side of the screen,

the sensitivity

level is at the maximum level. When high sensitivity settings

are

used, a

second bottom echo may appear This is normal and is

caused by

the returning signal reflecting

off the surface of the

water,

maka second trip to the bottom and back.

To turn Auto Sensitivity

back on, press

the AUTO key. Remember, the

automatic sensitivity

control can be turned off or on at

any

time by using

the AUTO key. See Page

22 for more auto sensitivity

features.

29 6

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