Fishfinder - to reef or not to reef

I've been told by tbe guys working at the Capitola boat  & bait shop that the majority of their reefs look pretty flat on fish finders. Not sure if everyone commenting has noted this as true or not?

I've been told by tbe guys working at the Capitola boat  & bait shop that the majority of their reefs look pretty flat on fish finders. Not sure if everyone commenting has noted this as true or not?

This is exactly why I started this thread. It all looks flat or bumpy to me. So for me, definitely TRUE. OK, it's good to know it's not all me.

Thanks everyone for your input. I am more confident now and hopefully that equates to Fish On!

I've been told by tbe guys working at the Capitola boat  & bait shop that the majority of their reefs look pretty flat on fish finders. Not sure if everyone commenting has noted this as true or not?

If you go to pleasure point at a low tide, the rock outcropping a are pretty close to what the reefs look like.  A lot of sandstone, flat rocks with ledges but still hard bottom. 

Reefs won't always be these huge piles of rocks.  Fish will hold above or near even small changes as little as 1-2' tall (or smaller) depending on the area.  I've caught good size fish back in Florida that were holding underneath a floating 50 gallon drum some 40 miles offshore.  Doesn;t take much to hold bait & bait holds bigger game fish & so on.

Your transducer can't penetrate hard rocky bottom as well as it penetrates soft sandy mud bottom. So look at the thickness of the bottom line. If it's really thick (height-wise) then the bottom is probably soft like sand or mud. If the bottom line is skinny then it's probably hard rocky substrate.

Your transducer can't penetrate hard rocky bottom as well as it penetrates soft sandy mud bottom. So look at the thickness of the bottom line. If it's really thick (height-wise) then the bottom is probably soft like sand or mud. If the bottom line is skinny then it's probably hard rocky substrate.

+1

This has been a very helpful thread, and it helped me find some nice spots to fish on Sunday at Shelter Cove. 

This has been a very helpful thread, and it helped me find some nice spots to fish on Sunday at Shelter Cove. 

Yeah, Thanks to all the inputs. Glad it helped you, saw your GS9 report. Very cool.

I have a Humminbird 386ci and I have trouble determining if I'm over a reef or not. Especially in Capitola. In Santa Cruz, it's a little easier. I see jagged red rock formations. For Capitola, most of the bottom looks red and yellow. Other than the gps coords on the map given by Capitola Boat Rental, how do you know if you are over a reef? Do I need a better fishfinder or is this a lack of experience user problem?

The way I use a FF to locate reefs is by watching the depth changes.  In SC, Cap, MBK etc you have a nice sandy launch, with gradual contours that slowly increase in depth as you paddle away from land, like 35feet...37feet...38feet....40.. whatever and disregarding the height changes due to swell.  Then suddenly you see it start to increase, or jump up 3-5 feet you know your on top of something, or going up and over a pinnacle etc.  Use your jig to figure out if it's hard and rocky, or sandy and muddy. 

I have a new 386ci FF too...been learning to use it also...I don't want too thread highjack but I have wanted to ask....

yesterday I was out fishing and found some good structure and marked fish at 75'

my question is this..since lings sometimes or usually don't show up on the screen due to hiding in the structure were the fish I marked not Lings..but perhaps suspended rockfish

I noticed other times I have seen similar returns on the screen , dropped down and hooked up lings ,other times rockfish , other times no returns but dropped down on the structure and hooked lings like yesterday( caught two small ones threw them back).

Which leads me to this ... I turned off the fish alarm ( can be annoying)just wondering ( I think I already know the answer duh)if I could leave it on when over structure so it will alarm even if I don't see a return or just screw it and make my drift over the structure .

I noticed there have been times I don't see a fish but the alarm sounds over structures but don't see anything of significance ,small bait fish ?

FWIW ... The 83khz is awesome to use when lake fishing for Kokanee

Yeah, I don't like the fish alarm. It's pretty annoying. I do have it on but set to the one large fish instead of the three small fish. It hardly goes off now. Hopefully, when I am over a large fish it will go off. Hasn't happened yet cause I still have trouble finding the reefs. Yes, you are right. Lings don't mark. The only fish that marks for me are suspend fish (schools of rockfish and bait ball). I'd say leave the fish alarm on but set it to the one large fish. I really don't think the fish alarm is very useful for rockfish and lings, but definitely useful for the one big WSB under the kayak.

Be wary of the fish alarm/ID. As VK alluded to, it can be very misleading. Both the alarm and ID can be triggered by "shapes" that the unit is programmed to recognize and interpret as fish. Unfortunately, structure, weeds, kelp, logs, or even suspended crud in the water column can mimic those shapes and give you false fish returns. The first time I used my old Humminbird,  I marked what appeared to be a school of fish suspended vertically over some rocks. After losing several lures and catching zero fish, I switched off the Fish ID function and the school of "fish" was actually branches from a submerged tree that was now home to my lost lures. 

Long story short, sometimes its better to turn those functions off and just look for arcs.