Can an inexperience fisher man use fish finder?

I've been started fishing very recently. Not experienced enough.


Though whenever I go for fishing I do catch good enough fishes (my good enough equal is 2 to 5). :)


Now yesterday I heard about a fishing accessory called fishing finder, and I wonder how much it's gonna be effective for me, since I'm a newbie.


Is it important to become expert in fishing to use a fish finder, or any random person can use it to find where the fishes are hiding.


One thing I must say, I've found the fish finding devices very awesome here. And would looking forward to experience opinions to use it!

If you are fishing from the shore, a "fish finder" is of little value. If you are fishing on the water, with a boat or on ice, it is very helpful. Not only is it a safety feature for a boat in shallow water but a good one will tell what the bottom looks like, the structure of the bottom is a key factor in finding fish. You will not find any fish if there isn't structure in which to hide in, they will not be there. The structure also makes it difficult for the "fish finder" to see the fish. So, in a nutshell, that is what it amounts to. If you have a boat or ice fish, it is best to get a good one and learn how to read it. The better ones are easier to read.

It's not necessary to be an expert fisherman to use a fish finder to FIND fish, but it helps if you have fishing skills to CATCH them. There are tutorials on YouTube for reading fish finders and for catching various species, but the best lessons might be learned by hiring a professional guide and having him show you how he uses the device, as well as how he rigs for different kinds of fish. Then, when you're on your own, you can just replicate that experience and build upon the knowledge that you gained from the professional. Like FlyGuy said, though -- a fish finder is only usable from a boat and hasn't any value for a shore-bound fisherman.

I would luv to see some side scan fishfinders used on the GSPPier ;-)

Isn't there one on the market that clips on your line like a float and you view the image on an app? Sounds like a cool idea if it would actually work.

Before there were apps, there was ( and may still be ) a large float type fish finder. The ones that I saw used on Lake Guntersville were cabled, not wifi, and clumsy, with the feed to a viewer that was not very clear. Having said that, for the few of us that fished there year in and year out, even a bad image was helpful! A wireless, digital device could be a game changer.

I've got an older model Humminbird 997 with dual beam and side scan. I'm not a spring chicken, but the side scan is essentially unusable TO ME in bright daylight - the detail is essentially impossible to see. I can record a scan and see a fair amount of detail later on my computer, but I would be just as well off with a $100 bottom machine 99% of the time.

The GPS mapping function is very necessary if you are moving about. If you are going to go out and anchor, then minimal GPS will do you.

They may have improved the side scan, but I would see one on the water before I spent the money. I use mine in my business as a recorder and it is dang good for that. The learning curve is pretty steep, you've got to study quite a bit to get your $$ worth.

Thanks everyone for sharing valuable thoughts. I appreciate all the instructions. I'm just getting an idea to use fish finder device or not. Anyways, since I'm going to fish in shore, so for this time I'll avoid to use it.