Kayak Fishing Adventures on Big Water’s Edge - View Single Post

Mr. NiceGuy · 06-13-2017, 12:21 PM

Another thing to remember is that viewing the bottom on your FF is relative to your position on the surface and your speed.

In other words, on a calm day your image of the bottom will be relatively flat, or more even in reading depths, hardness, softness, structure, kelp, etc.

I went out last Saturday and it was rough. I was up by Black's Beach between 20'-60' to see if the previous night's grunion run was affecting the bite. The bottom is as flat as a pancake there, open sand.

According to my FF, the bottom was wild sharp zig-zags up and down, which meant my kayak was all over the place like a yo-yo. It does NOT mean I'm looking at a jagged bottom.

Learning to read nuances of my FF has been a confusing and slow learning curve for me. For the most part, I think it's safe to say I still don't know WTF I'm looking at. Nevertheless, I study it all the time when I'm on the water. Trying to interpret what I'm looking at still falls in the category of "it depends," "maybe," and "I don't know."

Yes, look up Chris138. He was active and generous in a thread about this and his comments helped me a lot. Kevin Nakada (Sea Samurai) gave a talk at Fastlane Hobie Center in Mission Bay and I thought his depth of knowledge was very good. You might check with them for future events. Keep your eye peeled for seminars by local guides on this subject at the fish & boat shows. Check with Lowrance to see if they have anything coming up.

Good luck! Please report back and let us know what you learn.

06-13-2017, 12:21 PM	#9
Mr. NiceGuy Manic for Life Join Date: May 2015 Location: San Diego Posts: 838	Another thing to remember is that viewing the bottom on your FF is relative to your position on the surface and your speed. In other words, on a calm day your image of the bottom will be relatively flat, or more even in reading depths, hardness, softness, structure, kelp, etc. I went out last Saturday and it was rough. I was up by Black's Beach between 20'-60' to see if the previous night's grunion run was affecting the bite. The bottom is as flat as a pancake there, open sand. According to my FF, the bottom was wild sharp zig-zags up and down, which meant my kayak was all over the place like a yo-yo. It does NOT mean I'm looking at a jagged bottom. Learning to read nuances of my FF has been a confusing and slow learning curve for me. For the most part, I think it's safe to say I still don't know WTF I'm looking at. Nevertheless, I study it all the time when I'm on the water. Trying to interpret what I'm looking at still falls in the category of "it depends," "maybe," and "I don't know." Yes, look up Chris138. He was active and generous in a thread about this and his comments helped me a lot. Kevin Nakada (Sea Samurai) gave a talk at Fastlane Hobie Center in Mission Bay and I thought his depth of knowledge was very good. You might check with them for future events. Keep your eye peeled for seminars by local guides on this subject at the fish & boat shows. Check with Lowrance to see if they have anything coming up. Good luck! Please report back and let us know what you learn. __________________ Another ho-hum day in Paradise Last edited by Mr. NiceGuy; 06-13-2017 at 12:45 PM.