Sonar troubleshooting

[RupturedDuck47]

Went out this morning 7:30-9 and trying to target lake trout on the jig, still trying to figure out the settings on my sonar, any help would be greatly appreciated. The first two pictures are of a "Fuzz" that would come and go covering surface to bottom, I couldn't even see my jig dropping down. I tried turning down the gain but to little avail. I fished these pockets of "fuz' thinking it might be bait but to no avail. I was also having a hard time deciphering the bottom, my depth reading was also jumping around a lot going through the patches. Ended up getting Skunked, trying again tomorrow morning In the rain.

 

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[spoonfed-1]

The "fuzz looks like bait to me. Thinner school on the top picture and a more dense school on the bottom picture.

[RupturedDuck47]

The "fuzz looks like bait to me. Thinner school on the top picture and a more dense school on the bottom picture.

How much area do they usually cover? These seemed to go on for one or two-hundred yards

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[spoonfed-1]

1 hour ago, RupturedDuck47 said:

How much area do they usually cover? These seemed to go on for one or two-hundred yards

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No set area or size. At times the schools are small and tightly packed and they will look like a fish mark on your graph and I've seen miles of bait non stop. Not seeing your jig could potentially be your transducer angle is tilted to far off to the back or your gain is set to low.

Edited October 2, 2021 by spoonfed-1

[Followed The Waves]

I agree with Spoonfed on the bait.  I have two Humminbird Helix 5's.  One has all the bells and whistles and one is just plain sonar.  I track my jig better on the cheaper sonar unit.  I'd start by cranking the gain all the way to max and if you get too much clutter or noise, back it off a bit.  I also have the chart speed set to max.  If you are fishing for Lakers, I'd also just focus on the bottom 25 feet or so.  The Humminbird has a Bottom Lock feature or I can also set the depth range manually with a high and a low.  Also, turn off Fish Detect or whatever feature Garmin calls it.  If you are drifting, toss the jig out ahead of the boat so that you are directly over the jig by the time the boat catches up.  The distance you toss it depends on the wind speed (more wind, farther toss).  Once you get it worked out, you should be able to see a 1 ounce jig in 140 FOW.  Hope that helps---good luck!

[bulletbob]

 I use a Garmin much like yours, and the image looks like what I see all the time.. That was a school of bait suspended  just above bottom... The mid depth clutter is a common sight as well.. It can be an area of fragmented chopped up vegetation suspended through the water column, on Cayuga it might be a concentration of fleas, or  might even be an area of thinly dispersed small bait fish.  I didn't see a lot of larger marks on the periphery of your "bait ball".. You might not have had many fish down there... OR, the bottom might have been paved with them, just lying   on or near bottom totally inactive, and not eating, pursuing,, or even moving,.. lakers can and do shut down at times, like many other fish.

 

 As far as seeing your jig, I often can't as well, and other times, it is clear as a bell, and I can see its movement in detail not matter how slightly I may move it.. If your boat is perfectly motionless, and your jig is anywhere near the sonar cone, and you still can't see it, you may want to check your transducer angle/placement..

 btw,  A fish finder is a rough guide, NOT a magic bullet that can't miss.. I have had wonderful fishing on barren looking bottom with not a bait  ball or fish echo in sight, and have had dead, dreary fishless days without ever  getting even a touch with screens that were lit up like  a Christmas tree with lots of bait, and big V marks all around it... Keep up what you are doing, find bait, look for fish near the bait, and before long, you'll hit it when the fish are active and chasing..... Then hang on.. bob

Edited October 3, 2021 by bulletbob

[RupturedDuck47]

Thanks for all of the advice! I went back out this morning and fished from 50-150fow lots of the bait balls Anda few arches mixed in. I managed to get a few to rise up to my jig, but no takers, using 1-1-1/2oz bucktails. Rain drove us off the water. Only found signs of life in ~40-60fow on the sonar. Can't wait to get out in November

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[Followed The Waves]

As far as your presentation goes, I've probably caught 10 lakers ripping the jig back to the boat for every laker I've caught "jigging."  As far as the retrieve speed back to the boat goes, I had my best luck really honking it.  Once you are able to see the fish, you can probably gauge their mood and how aggressive they may be feeding and biting.  If you see a line firing out of the mud on the bottom heading straight up to your jig, start honking it back to the boat like you are a baitfish swimming for your life once the two lines meet.  The line going up is the fish and the other line you see going down is your jig.  It's very interactive and fun to watch on the TV.  Sometimes they will grab it right at the boat.
I'm sorry to be a wet blanket but for laker jigging right now, Seneca pretty much sucks.  I see you are based in Romulus and I wasn't sure if you were fishing Cayuga or Seneca.  My boat isn't trailerable and I love my marina on Seneca, so I'm staying put for now, hoping she comes back.  I bought some trolling equipment and with some pointers from our good friend Nick O, I've been putting a few fish (mostly silvers) in the boat but most of them have been on the small side.  Meh...