What is the most effective way to.......

[big pike dreamer]

Hi all, im about to fish a resevoir that I haven't fished before and I would like to know what is the most effective & accurate way to gage the depths? it's not massive but would take me a fair few hours I would say, I plan on going tmoz night, not to fish but to simply gage the above, any advice would be much appreciated, Thanks all!!

Matt.

[Maddison_Twatter]

Id probably just use a marker float, then just sketch a rough map with reference points ,features, depths ect

[big pike dreamer]

Hi mate, so id simply se how long the marker takes to rise and gage the depth in that way?

Matt

[Maddison_Twatter]

Originally Posted by big pike dreamer

Hi mate, so id simply se how long the marker takes to rise and gage the depth in that way?

Matt

With out going into too much detail .
measure a foot from your reel face and mark this point with tip ex on your rod.
Set the marker float up same as a running lead but instead of a hook tie a 2 oz ledger and instead of the lead use your marker.
now simply cast in, reel in softly until the marker float meets the ledger.
Now release the line a foot at a time using your tippexed mark until you see the marker float again, this will give you a good idea, marker floats can be used for many things , have a look on youtube, google ect for a better explanation.

[big pike dreamer]

Cheers mate, I have often used one to see what the bottom is like simply by reeling in slow with a heavy lead on, gravel,silt,sand etc etc, (untill I went over a muscle and caught the bugger as it closed on my line!) but as im quite shit with gauging (ive been VERY wrong in the past!) I was intrigued to see what other methods ppl use ;-) I could do with buying a military sonar!!!!! Thanks Madison.

Matt

[Maddison_Twatter]

Originally Posted by big pike dreamer

Cheers mate, I have often used one to see what the bottom is like simply by reeling in slow with a heavy lead on, gravel,silt,sand etc etc, (untill I went over a muscle and caught the bugger as it closed on my line!) but as im quite shit with gauging (ive been VERY wrong in the past!) I was intrigued to see what other methods ppl use ;-) I could do with buying a military sonar!!!!! Thanks Madison.

Matt

I must admit ,I rarely do this myself. Im too lazy lol , I mainly river fish so I just chuck in and hope for the best

[big pike dreamer]

Same here, most of the pits I fish are small (ish) which belong to the club im in so they generally inform you of depths/under water features etc if you care to ask (which I do) but im starting to venture out further a field and fish unknown and much larger waters, hence my question ;-) will try the marker and let you know how I get on mate.

Matt

[NICK R]

Originally Posted by big pike dreamer

Cheers mate, I have often used one to see what the bottom is like simply by reeling in slow with a heavy lead on, gravel,silt,sand etc etc, (untill I went over a muscle and caught the bugger as it closed on my line!) but as im quite shit with gauging (ive been VERY wrong in the past!) I was intrigued to see what other methods ppl use ;-) I could do with buying a military sonar!!!!! Thanks Madison.

Matt

I could do with buying a military sonar!!!!! buy a bait boat lol

Knowing what depth / the lake bed is like is as important as bait

take a jotter and draw a map of the lake ,then mark off the depth , plateau,s /bars etc

EDIT

use a spod rod , the heavier the tc the better
also mark off in 6"and 12"

[big pike dreamer]

Thanks Nick, will go as planned tmoz night and do my best, I could always go for a swim & a dive for a very accurate result lol ;-) I need to get myself one of them fish finder radar things!! that should do the trick!! Im sure there will be a few guys fishing up there tmoz but you can bet your bottom dollar that wont divulge any info!! unlike me who is nice and freindly ;-(

Matt