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Large fish will arch, but turn the sensitivity up in deeper water to see the
arch. Because of water conditions, such as heavy surface clutter,
thermoclines, etc., the sensitivity sometimes cannot be increased
enough to get fish arches.
One of the best ways to get fish arches is to expand or “zoom” a
segment of the water. For example, from 45 to 60 feet. The smaller the
segment, the better the screen resolution will be. The easiest way to do
this on the X-45 is with the Zoom feature. This feature expands the
echoes, making it easier to see detail. For the best results, turn the
sensitivity up as high as possible without getting too much noise on the
screen. In medium to deep water, this method should work to display
fish arches.
If you see fish signals when the unit is in the manual mode, but don't get
fish symbols when Fish I.D. is on, try increasing the sensitivity.
WATER TEMPERATURE AND THERMOCLINESWATER TEMPERATURE AND THERMOCLINES
WATER TEMPERATURE AND THERMOCLINESWATER TEMPERATURE AND THERMOCLINES
WATER TEMPERATURE AND THERMOCLINES
Water temperature has an important-if not controlling-influence upon the
activities of all fish. Fish are cold blooded and their bodies are always
the temperature of the surrounding water. During the winter, colder
water slows down their metabolism. At this time, they need about a
fourth as much food as they consume in the summer.
Most fish don’t spawn unless the water temperature is within rather
narrow limits. The surface temperature meter built into the X-45 helps
identify the desired surface water spawning temperatures for various
species. Trout can’t survive in streams that get too warm. Bass and
other fish eventually die out when stocked in lakes that remain too cold
during the summer. While some fish have a wider temperature toler-
ance than others, each has a certain range within which it tries to stay.
Schooling fish suspended over deep water lie at the level that provides
this temperature. We assume they are the most comfortable here.
The temperature of water in the lake is seldom constant from top to
bottom. Layers of different temperatures form, and the junction of a
warm and cool layer of water is called a thermocline. The depth and
thickness of the thermocline can vary with the season or time of day. In
deep lakes there may be two or more at different depths. Thermoclines
are important to fishermen because they are areas where fish are active.
Many times bait fish will be above the thermocline while larger game fish
will suspend in or just below it.
