Depth finders......or not!

Much has been bandied about lately concerning depth finders.......no question about they can be a great asset. But they are not "the be all, end all". Quite a few folk enter canoe country without one. If that is you and you still want to catch a few fish for dinner or a diversion........well fear not!

Use your noogin as Marlin used to say.......(I talked with him yesterday......he seems to be doing fine.......not sure why he quit us)

A few things to bear in mind.......first and most important, fish are going to gravitate to where they are most comfortable. If you can find an old recliner that someone has sunk........Think food first! Fish want to eat and they don't want to travel real far to do it. Soooo where are the groceries? I like diverse habitats......Mud and sand bottoms, weed growth, gravelly fist sized rocks etc all hold life forms that fish can eat.

Avoid the smooth rock that is so very common in the shield lakes. Even a crawdad would have a tough time making a living there. For the most part you can also avoid the steep plunging dropoffs (although I have caught a few fish on them).

But you don't have a depthfinder.........how do you find such spots? Use your eyes and use your God given intelligence. I always look at the topography of the shoreline to ascertain clues as to what may lie beneath the waters. Is there a steep ridge on that west shoreline? Chances are it continues on down into the depths. That long rocky rubbly point is probably quite similar out into the water.

See where the point goes out and then a bit later up pops an island and then perhaps another? It is likely it is all part of the same point system. You get the idea.......pretty simple actually.

Wind and currents can also impact bait and fish in a big way. Below a falls is a fish magnet.......no depth finder required. That windy shoreline where bugs and baitfish have congregated is also a fish magnet. How about a slot between islands where the wind has been blowing........One thing to keep in mind about wind generated bites......the longer the wind has been blowing onto a shoreline the more likely the food chain is in high gear. After that all day blow wait until it calms a bit and slide toward the snotty side not that peaceful calm cove (Be SAFE!!).

What about lures? Topwaters can drag fish up from quite a distance and often they can be nice ones that fall for them. I like trolling and it can still be down without a depthfinder. A rod holder is helpful as the information the lure sends when it hits weeds or rocks is much easier to interpret. On a diving lure I advise taking off the front treble and replacing the rear with the next size larger. You are apt not to have so many hang ups that way.......don't worry, you will still catch plenty of fish and taking the hook out is much safer and easier.

There is still more to be said and I invite comment and further suggestion. But don't let the lack of a depth finder discourage you from fishing. Use you senses and a bit of contemplating and you to can catch plenty of fish with the least amount of gear.

Agreed, you can definitely catch fish without a depthfinder, but it's a heck of a lot easier with one.  What it mostly does is allow you to stay in the productive fishing zone for whatever you are targeting for a MUCH higher percentage of the time.  Also eliminates a lot of snags which maximizes fishing time and minimizes frustration.  It also allows you to find those highly productive spots like small fingers and slots around the edges of reefs that often attract and hold the most fish. 

Plus it's just plain fun to see what's down there.  MT is right that shorelines often give good clues to what you'll find underwater but quite often the shoreline tells baldface lies.  There are many areas where the shoreline looks like it gently slopes into deeper water but there is actually an underwater cliff just offshore. Or the opposite, where the shoreline is a cliff, but the base of the cliff is a mere 10' underwater.  You'll find underwater reef systems and sunken islands that never break the surface at all and are thus VERY lightly fished, often holding some of the biggest fish of your trip.

What it comes down to is this:  If successful fishing is a big factor in your enjoyment of a trip, it's the most useful piece of equipment you can bring save for your rod, reel, and a few lures.  And it pays to work on your setup so it's easy to store and deploy it before and after portages.  If it's a PITA to set it up and put it away, you're less likely to use it on travel days.

Tis true the depth finder is a handy, fun and extremely effective tool. I have to be little careful or else I will spend my canoe trip staring at a little electronic screen for hours on end while I follow a contour line instead of the real reason I am out there

PJ and SD have made an excellent case for serious consideration for electronics..............
But this tip is not for the serious fisherman......fisherwoman? How about fisherperson!! This tip is for the person who may be considering doing a little bit of fishing and is certainly not interested in bringing even a lightweight depth finder. I am here to encourage those types of people that fish can still be caught relatively well without electronic support. Set your camp up and go out for the evening paddle/photo session..............put your rod in a rod holder and throw back a lure while your at it..........who knows?

i for one have never used a depth finder on my trips. ive been seriously considering getting one of the smaller units with a display screen for my canoe though. ive been pretty lucky in finding great fish producing spots through the years based off everything MT listed. i can read the shorelines really well and trolling a deep lure tells you a lot also. if my budget allows i might get a depth finder for this years trip.

another really good thing to use, cheaper and more easily used than a depth finder is a pair of polarized fishing glasses. i have a cheap pair from walmart ($5) that work great! it cuts the glare off the water and you can see those submerged reefs pretty well on a sunny day. id say glasses are the 3rd most important thing in fishing. (#1 rod, # lure, #3 glasses)

As has been pointed out, you can certainly catch fish without a depth finder.  But say you want to fish 20 to 30 feet of water as you troll.  If you are too shallow, your lure will hit bottom and you know it is less than 20 feet.  But if the water drops off to 60 feet, I want to know that I am now in water much deeper than I intended to fish.  Plus sometimes it is cool to know the water is 200 feet deep.

Westwood