Keeping track of your fishing coordinates is very important.
Taking it a step further, logging your fishing spots during specific times, throughout the year, will help you learn to decipher patterns and understand bottom fish behavior.
The deepwater species that we target live anywhere from 600 to 2,000 feet deep. These are creatures of habit and they will return to certain bottom structure, or stay stationary, year after year.
A good way to find productive deep dropping grounds is to watch your sonar while trolling or running – while marking waypoints.
Furthermore, if you study any fishing chart…any structure in otherwise devoid deep water area will draw baitfish and consequently the rest of the food chain.
Once you have located a productive spot, mark the area on your sonar. Determine how the wind and current will push your boat. Fishing in very deep water means fishing, you’ll want to stay as stationary as possible, calm days are best. You can also use your engines to help keep your boat in the spot, and keep your lines as close to vertical as you can. When you find the structure, whether it be a shipwreck, bank, seamount…any place with a noticeable change in depth – work a slow grid pattern. With a little luck, there’s a great chance you’ll fill your cooler.
Raymarine’s new RealVision system allow you to read bottom like you never have before.
Gyro stabilization compensates for boat movement, delivering life-like 3D sonar imagery and the RealVision 3D Transducers combine CHIRP DownVision, CHIRP SideVision, High Frequency CHIRP, and RealVision 3D into a single transducer housing so that you can easily identify structure and locate fish with real life-like clarity.
Check it out here: Raymarine Axiom RealVision