I have what is probably an incredibly stupid question but I can't find an answer on any of the dozens of how to use a fish finder videos I've watched on youtube.

How do I know which way the fish is going?

I just got a fish finder and I'm still learning how to use it but after watching some videos I can tell what a fish looks like. I went out this morning and fish finder is working a treat and I see what I think could be fish in the return but then I realised, I have no idea which way I should throw out my soft plastic to try and catch it. I know the fish was under my kayak but which way did it go

An answer to that assumes the fish is standing still which is probably not the case.
But if the kayak is drifting then the image on your screen is what you just drifted over so you’d have to cast back in the direction you came from for that fish, provided it has stood still.

thelastreject wrote: I know the fish was under my kayak but which way did it go

normally they are going away from your bait - plastic - jig or lure but sometimes we get lucky

Hmm I watched a very good vid on youtube once about how to read a fish finder most vids are crap, unfortunately I dont remember the name of it or the guy who made it. However basically fish fiders are made for boats that travel quite a bit faster than kayaks so they need to be read somewhat differently, first thing is you cant tell where they are or where their going unless you are moving in circles as the beam sent out by the transducer is a conical shape which picks up anything within its range, so if your transducer is in the centre of your yak the fish could be anywhere within the radius of the beam for the depth the fish is at, in saying this there is also sidescan this will tell you which side of the transducer the fish are but still not the direction they are swimming, although we yak fishermen use our sounders for locating fish im sure it's a combination of knowing the area and using the sounder to read the structure more than actually locate the fish.

I would suggest to just be patient and you will learn the tricks as you go, after 4 years of this I still dont know how to read a sounder properly but I do use mine mainly for locating structure and then I often find the fish come to me or I drift over them.

Thanks everyone for your advice. I feel like every time I go out I learn a little bit more. So far, the finder is really just helping me with water depth and how flat the bottom is but even that is helpful from where I was a week ago.

I'm not sure what area you are based in Dave, but if you have access to a spot like Altona it is really good for learning how to read a sounder. The section from the ramp at Millers over to the pier is quite shallow where you can see the bottom. It goes from sand at the ramp to reef out from the rock groyne to sand again over by the pier to weedy bottom over at Apex. You can paddle along comparing what is underneath you to the representation on the sounder.

Seasherpa wrote:I'm not sure what area you are based in Dave, but if you have access to a spot like Altona it is really good for learning how to read a sounder. The section from the ramp at Millers over to the pier is quite shallow where you can see the bottom. It goes from sand at the ramp to reef out from the rock groyne to sand again over by the pier to weedy bottom over at Apex. You can paddle along comparing what is underneath you to the representation on the sounder.

Thanks, mate. I actually am lucky enough to live in Altona and pretty much only fish (at the moment) off Millers as it is super close to home base.
i used to enjoy fishing off Maidstone before they closed off the little access ramp there.
Easy to scoot out for a quick hour or so and back in time to start work.

My main strategy at the moment is just ranging between millers and the pier and back around that little area. Sometimes, if I see a group of kayaks off to the left of Millers, I'll pedal on over and loiter around on the fringe for a while.
Friday, I did just that. Floating around, looking at the bottom, trying to spot weed beds, rocks etc.
It's been a good experience. Was lucky that the weather gods gave us a couple of good days last week. I don't think we'll be as lucky this week.

Seasherpa wrote:I'm not sure what area you are based in Dave, but if you have access to a spot like Altona it is really good for learning how to read a sounder. The section from the ramp at Millers over to the pier is quite shallow where you can see the bottom. It goes from sand at the ramp to reef out from the rock groyne to sand again over by the pier to weedy bottom over at Apex. You can paddle along comparing what is underneath you to the representation on the sounder.

This is one of the things I did when I first got my sounder, it does wonders to know whats under you. From memory you got the downview/clearview? if so try to have it runing with your normal screen as well, as this helps identify the readings much further and gives you good separation on bottom items to help tell if its fish, bait, rock and so on.