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Well I've had my eagle cuda 168 out on the water 3 times now.
The problems that I'm having are: that it almost always has fish on the screen. It's not uncommon for the whole screen to fill with fish several times throughout the day, that is with FISH ID on. When the fish are showing up on the screen with FISH ID on, I turn FISH ID off and there is nothing but garbage on the screen. I've messed around with all the settings (sensitivity, noise control ect.) and moving the transducer around (which I have at a 90 deg angle) and it doesnt change a thing.
The first time I had it out, I was in 5ft of water and I was marking a screen full of fish at 2-3 feet. How is that possible when I'm not catching anything and cant even snag one.
Yesterday I had it out and I went over what I know is a tree and it the screen filled with fish. It was a tree, not fish.
And with FISH ID off, it looks nothing like it does in simulator mode. The fish arches are not even comparable.
So far this unit has not helped me catch one fish.
Anyone else have this problem before? Should I return it?
Please do me the favor of not say that they are really fish[  ]
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TubeDude is your man for this question. He has an Eagle Cuda 168 and he loves it. I'm sure before long he'll respond here. It's probably a configuration problem or a low battery or something easy to fix.
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[cool][#0000ff]If you have already tried to adjust the sensitivity, I would guess that you simply have a defective unit.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Most sonars will not differentiate between fish or other objects in the water. Tree branches will register as targets that stop the signal and show up as the fish icons. As far as all of the other false signals, I have no explanation to offer. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]On some of the more sensitive "high end" units, you see more detailed readouts and in "real time". You can accurately see the relative size of the fish and you can actually see them rising up to look at your lure, which may also be visible as a rising and falling line across the screen as you move it.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I have bought and used several different Eagle sonars for float tubes. I have always been fortunate to get units that have worked well, out of the box. But, I have known of some that needed to be replaced, and they will replace them. It is a pain, but better than having to buy a new one.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Good Luck. Let us know how you do and whether your replacement unit works better.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]And, for what it's worth, it is customary to see fish on your sonar that you do not catch. Finding them is only part of the battle. That is the one big downside of having sonar. It humbles you to find fish and then not be able to catch them. I have become very good at saying "I'm seeing a lot more than I'm catching."[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]While I do use the sonar to help find underwater contours, and to determine what depths the fish are using, I seldom catch fish right below me that I see on the screen. Only while vertical jigging in deeper water does the sonar help put me on structure oriented fish in a defined spot.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I have been looking at the Eagle 320, with larger display area and more pixels. I saw one listed for about $160, and they also have the temp guage, which I have come to really appreciate.[/#0000ff]
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Hey Bassmaster! TD is right about the unit. Some electronics can be calibrated incorrectly from the factory. It happens quite often.
The hardest concept to understand about using a fish finder is that you are not looking as much for fish as you are looking for depth, contour and water temperature. The fishfinder helps you understand where the thermoclines are as well.
You can have a hundred fish hanging out next to a big underwater log and not see them but if you know that it is a major structure where your favorite species will hang out, then you are better using your fishfinder as a valuable tool.[cool]
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Well I went and returned it today. Hopefully this one will work.
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Let me sound off here also. With the common transducer (18-20 degrees) in 5" of water you were probably reading a circle on the bottom of about 1.75 feet in dimameter. The general rule is, take the depth and devide it by 3 to give you the actual area you viewing. So if you were viewing some thing at two or three feet below you that cover the screen that object might not have been 8" - 12".
One thing you need to remember is that "arches" are formed as you pass over a target while moving and not all target are fish as TD has stated. Whats more, same goes for the "fish ID" because all it actually does is change the signal on screen to a fish rather than a straight or arched line. It simply dont show only fish. When setting dead still or slowly moving along in a tube I rarely see a complete "arch" if any while over a target. More commonly its a straight line that appears to travel up and down if at all. I've used several Eagles over my many moons and found them to be a good unit. Lately how ever I've went to a 4100 Bottomline simply as a change of pace.
One more thing to concide, Bait fish commonly swim in schools and if your screen fills with targets while fishing deeper water then empties I'd believe you passed or a school of bait, or they passed under you. In shallow water clutter such as free floating moss and algie may show up on your finder even when the setting are turned down..
It takes a while to get to know your finder. None of them a fool proof but with time and practice you'll learn to ignore what not a true target, and recognize what hopefully is.
Good Luck Bass Master! You'll get the hang of it!
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Thanks for the info. I tried the new one out on sunday and it works 100% better. The other one was definetly faulty.
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Good ta hear that!
Its always a pain in the backside when things dont run smooth. And when it comes ta fishing we all want our toys running as smooooothly as possible. No matter what others might say or think its our toys that make us starter than fishies, or so some of us like to believe..[laugh]
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[cool][#0000ff]Thanks for the good input, Don. I like the new pic of your "Coldfooter Hilton". You gettin about ready to take it out on the ice this year?[/#0000ff]
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[cool]Hey Pat, is that Eagle 320 unit that you were talking about one of the "high end" units that has real time, temp guage, where you can see your lure while jigging, etc? Just curious.
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[cool][#0000ff]I doubt that it has the horsepower to show the real time jig location. It runs only about $159 dollars. It is kind of a larger screen version of the Cuda 168. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]It should be entirely adequate for open water use, from boats, tubes or toons. It does have the temp guage feature, which really helps when transition period fish are seeking out water with only a couple of degrees more warmth.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]If you are looking for something for ice fishing, however, to give you the visual ability to instantly adapt to what the fish are doing, in relation to your lure, you should look at the flashers we have been discussing on the Utah Board. Otherwise, plan to spend an equal amount of money for a higher end LCD unit with more wattage.[/#0000ff]
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Your welcome & Thanks Pat. Its a little under sized of the actual Hilton but only by about 80%.
As ya know I was born to spend countless hours day or night standing on the hard deck (or better yet, setting/sleeping in the Hilton) while rinsing the scent off a sweetened something and keeping the coffee hot.
Am I getting ready? You know it [ ]
The ice it is a callin'! Snap!, Crackle!, POP!!!
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