Fish finders to locate fish from fly fishers?Whats happened to watercraft skill in finding fish.If I have to turn to using this Im afraid I would give the sport up as its not only desperation but teaches us to use less skill and will not make us better anglers.Are we getting so desperate to catch a fish to resort to this.Bit like the old ultrabite a few years ago.put it on your fly and fish will bite your hand off to get it,but many went out and got it,For me it only encourages fishmongering in my mind and takes both the pleasure and what fly fishing is about right out of it.
It would and will take alot to convince me otherwise on this one.
Never never never.

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Kevin

For all you fish finder fans, the next time you use one, see how many "fish" you find at mid depth ie 6ft in 12ft and 10 ft in 20ft of water.
For your interest, they aren't fish, so don't bother trying to catch them.

I am with you 100% of the way here. The notion of such a device is utter anathema to me, yet another horrid development. What daft contraption is next around the corner.

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"A homeward tramp thro' mist wrapped night,
With heart and creel in common light,
Complete content, the day has brought it,
They fished for pleasure - and they caught it"

P F Morgan
taken from the catch record book at Llanthony Hotel, Honddu Valley, Aug 1942

www.monnowlogue.com
www.monnow.org.uk

The duo?!!!!!!!

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Trout fishermen revere the trout; trout, on the other hand, unaware of their sublime standing in man's world, revere nothing, including man, a creature they seem to view with special contempt. Nihilism is a rare trait in fish but trout are full of it. The old men liked that.

Ok, Ok, OK,

Hands up - I've got a fish finder.

1. Only ever used it when fly fishing once as it was bought for trolling from the inflatable or Canadian. A fish finder / depth sounder is almost essential when trolling if you are using any kind of sinker or diver as you MUST know when to raise the terminal tackle or lose it.

2. They do work but won't catch you a fish. All they do is let you know you are not fishing in a fishless area.

3. If you're getting clutter at mid depth, the finder is probaby set up wrong or malfunctioning.

4. I'll bet there are more folk on here who've got one but ain't prepared to admit it. I believe a few comp boys were interested in one a while back in order to " map the depths and contours " of course.

This isn't supposed to be inflamatory, but I know some guys will object to them from a traditionalist point of view. However can an analogy between the Browns / Bows argument not be drawn wherein if it is legal then surely it's a personal choice.

Which is why of course, the topic starter is perfectly entitled to adopt the position where he will never use one when fly fishing and I respect the stance he has taken on the subject.

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Tight Lines. :)

If you're talking about you and CF again, I'll gladly give that corner a swerve.

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"A homeward tramp thro' mist wrapped night,
With heart and creel in common light,
Complete content, the day has brought it,
They fished for pleasure - and they caught it"

P F Morgan
taken from the catch record book at Llanthony Hotel, Honddu Valley, Aug 1942

www.monnowlogue.com
www.monnow.org.uk

I see your point but that could be put to any type of fishing not just fly fishing. I think it is just one of those things that can be used universally (in the fishing universe anyway).

I have always thought of fish finders to be used to find structure from a boat rather than finding actual fish despite the name.

Using watercraft is essential for any sort of fishing and especially for fishing rivers and also stillwaters from the shore as you are able to see structures in the water close to the bank or the way terrain lies which will give you a good idea of the way the river will be flowing or if the bank you are fishing has a deep drop off or will be shallow. However if you are fishing in the middle of one of our large reservoirs or large rivers or the sea even (obviously not now taking soley about fly fishing) I think a fish finder will come in very handy as there are no obvious signs as to what lies below in the depths unless you get out the scuba gear.

To me a fish finder would just add to your skills as you will be able to determine the best looking structure that will hold the type of fish you are targeting. If you don't have a fish finder and do not know the lake / river you are fishing you could spend much of your time flogging water that may only have the sole fish swim through it all day. If you were to use a fish finder you would be able to pick out certain structure (drop offs / peaks) that are likely to hold fish and target them.

I think "fishmongering" is a bit of a strong term as although it may put you on top of the fish, the angler still has get the tactics right in order to hook into the fish.

I've never used a fish finder and never plan to while fly fishing as I fish small rivers and from the bank on stillwaters so have no need. But I wouldn't say no to using one on the likes of Kielder water or Windermere. And would quite happily use one in other forms of fishing if the conditions allowed, i.e. fishing from a boat for pike or fishing from a boat or kayak in the sea.

Just my 2pennies worth and hope it made sense.

Cheers

Gary

Hi Black don
I agree it is personal choice and if I ever knew of any competition anglers using them and I know you can get watches with them on it now Im afraid I would not rate them as any good at all as an angler.
I can see the use of them at sea where it is used as a living essential,but for the sport of fly fishing and the challenge of man against fish and skills this goes beyond it.
Mapping the depths and things like that ,how was it done before these contraptions came out.Bob church never had one,charles jardine never had one and many more respected anglers never used them,but the knowledge of what they learned through angling.
This is something as in previous posts just encourages the attitudes of the old brown v rainbow and fishmongers and stockie basher attitude and if the use of these continues and grows then for me I isnstead of being in the middle and arguing for both sides and understanding both sides ,being an angler for all game fish and not preferring one or the other,would have to say I agree with those who write about stockie bashers.
If you need a fish finder to find fish go to Tecos or asda itll make it easier.Im sorry but its a big no no for me just the same as when ultrabite came out and nothing will change my mind and if it upsets anyone who uses them within flyfishing just to find fish instead of skills which is what its all about.im sorry,in fact ,no, im not Im being totally honest.

PS tkd7 a river flows one way,you using a wading stick to find and feel for contours and deeps and also look at the water for swirls which tell you something is below causing it,overhanging trees normally have fish below as food falls from them to waiting fish,just a few examples ,all skills and learning through the years, not instant learning.keilder and windermere are large waters but its about searching and fishing to find fish ,not motoring about with a fish finder to find them and then dropping a fly down them.Do you really need to catch a fish everytime you go out blanking is all part of fishing and learning from it to make you better the next time you go.sorry not convinced me here.

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Kevin

tigermoth you make it sound as if fishfinders were a recent innovation.....been aroungd ages, but haven't really been targetted at fly fishers.
I do have one for pike fishing and it really is an invaluable aid, wouldn'y set afloat without it. However, its not really for finding fish to cast to. It tells you the depth, shows drop offs etc, can tell you whether the bottom is mud or rock and finds shoal fish like perch etc, all valuable info.Wouldn't need it for loch style trouting but if you were into ruddering or bottom fishing or trolling then they would be great.

I use a "depth finder" on still waters where I am not familiar with the sub surface contours.

As a "fish finder" it has always struck me that seeing a fish on the screen tells you very little. All it says is that at a particular moment in time, there was a fish below the boat. It gives no useful information about where the fish is now - did it swim one way or the other - which direction would you cast to intercept it?

Unlike sea fishing where you will drop your line directly down, the information is useless.

Jeff

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