Fishfinder Tips and Tricks | My Sonar Settings for Yellowtail Fishing

Come on a fishing trip with me on my Hobie Pro Angler 14, as I use my Lowrance sonar to hunt for California Yellowtail in La Jolla. Got skunked on the YT this trip, but I cover many tips and tricks that you can try the next time you are fishing coastal California waters.
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Sonar:
Lowrance Elite 7ti2 HDI-- amzn.to/31YqDNz
Reels:
Shimano TLD 15 -- amzn.to/38Ko2rC
Daiwa Saltist 35 -- amzn.to/3iOOYv2
Rods:
Ugly Stik Tiger MH 7' -- amzn.to/3iM6OPp
Line:
Power Pro, 65# Green -- amzn.to/3gDYe3a
Izorline XXX Co-Polymer 20-50 lbs -- amzn.to/322h14o
Seaguar Flourocarbon 20-50lbs -- amzn.to/2ZX7OaD
Gear:
YakAttack Omega Rod Holder -- amzn.to/2OKE4c0
Reliable Kayak Kill Bag -- amzn.to/3jbl6ZU
Kokatat Bahia -- amzn.to/2ZcR0NO
Kokatat Splash Jacket -- amzn.to/3gLSXqi
Hisea Stockingfoot Breathable Waders -- amzn.to/2ZT1Tnh
Bombers Mega Bomb Polarized -- amzn.to/31YqqtL
Standard Horizon HX210 -- amzn.to/2AL9hZl
Igloo 150 Qt -- amzn.to/38LH8Oq
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[@markr9312]

Looked a lot like what I had on Friday. Thanks Chris for the FF tutorial. Every tip and trick is super useful into knowing what you see on the screen. I though I was one of the few, that put the screen speed on 2X. I started that on all my FF's years ago. Too bad when the wind picked up on Friday around 11:30 it made it super choppy and waves and wind hitting at a 45% angle. A little wet but would have been worse having to go head into would have curtailed the forward speed even worse. No matter the wind after 2 month of being locked up due to Covid19 it felt great to get out for the 2nd time since the Mayor reopened the water to human power.

[@saltyfresh2558]

You put the blueprint out there perfectly for yellowtail fishing at La Jolla! Really appreciate all your efforts to share the knowledge cause this is absolutely my goal this year. Be safe! Might see you out there sometime🤙🏻

[@FishingAP]

Best tutorial video on how to fish la jolla I've seen so far. Keep them coming, just subbed:)

[@leeadams5806]

seen a lot of your nice catches over the years. Thanks for breaking down your sonar knowledge and techniques. very nice!

[@socalikayakadventures6985]

Hey Chris, spent the day out of LJ yesterday. Great experience for me checking out my rig. Didn’t catch any greenbacks on the way out but got five (too big for bait probably) on the way in. Had them for dinner.

[@wagnermatzuy7994]

Thanks for another great video. Lots of info, I had to watch it about 10 times. I am looking forward to going to LJ for my first time on a kayak. Thanks for the video

[@thomasatkisson5848]

Thanks for the great educational video. I’m looking forward to making my first La Jolla trip this week and applying some of your tips.

[@randyladue8563]

Thanks for the video Chris - also just watched your interview on Roman's channel!!

[@robertlach4131]

Thanks a million. Love the video!!! Hopefully see ya down there sometime soon.

[@TheDiscoglide]

So now I’m watching all theses videos and I think I’m hooked on theses Hobie outback kayaks and fishing again. Especially locals as I live in Vista near Oceanside. I like your vids and your skills and thanks for sharing. Subscribed and liked

[@SDseva]

Yew!! Sweet tutorial, B!

[@danieltb92]

Good video! Just got into kayak fishing last year around August. The fishfinder stuff really helps out. I'm still trying for my first yellowtail. Hopefully before I move back to Texas this year.

[@williemickbillie]

was awesome seeing you out with your family a few weeks back! hope to run into you again but both hanging fish instead. Could you do more informational vids like this and like squidding and look for yellows in LJ

[@CatchingtheCraze]

Freakkkin amazing video dood! For just starting off on the video game you sure have a knack for this! I love how you gave clean concise advice/ tips while maintaining a calm yet entertaining appeal for me to keep watching. Can't wait for the next one!!!

[@CatchingtheCraze]

@@chrisblevinsfishing yeeeeaaaaahhhh dood!!!! That would be sick!

[@SoCalOutdoors]

Fantastic video!

[@nmolinaro62]

Really good information here. Glad I found your channel. Grazie.

[@webefishing1682]

Great video 🤙

[@scott2600]

Hi Chris, Wow thanks for all the great info. You really explain all your processes well. I grew up fishing southern Louisiana and now live in SD for 20+ years. I have been mostly surf fishing but just got a 17' boat and just started fishing socal coast. For now it will be Shelter Island and Mission Bay but seeing out out in the pacific gives me some confidence and lessons on how to fish it :) Tight lines man!

[@chrisblevinsfishing]

Rad! What kind of boat did you get?

[@scott2600]

@@chrisblevinsfishing 1987 17' sportsman blue fin with a 90 Johnson.

[@2010nvillanueva]

Awesome video thanks for sharing and great tips! Will be out soon lj

[@linseysala]

Nice video B! I was able to drop precisely on a mark this past weekend w scroll speed mod!

[@WhereFishLive]

Keep talking, love the new format. Very informative!

[@Gibs1833]

So much great info, thank you! Still looking for my first kayak YT. Was this last Thurs? I was out there, fog was thick.

[@tagamial]

Gonna have to watch this 10 more times . I've really got to dedicate more time to learning my ff. I have a Garmin, do you think that many of the settings are similar? I've kinda dedicated myself to La Jolla since last summer, fishing off my skiff with my son . He got his first yt cast to gaff a couple days ago . I felt like it was my first one !

[@BryanTimm]

Sooooo helpful. My settings were very similar to yours, good info on the scroll speed x2. !!

[@BryanTimm]

Chris Blevins i’m gonna look into it! The FF on my boat is the older Elite’s so idk if it has that function. Definitely will check into it. The kayak FF definitely does.

[@BryanTimm]

Chris Blevins // side note - i like running the normal 83khz and downscan side by side. The downscan will return a bright white marks for bigger fish. I noticed YT are more circular white marks and cbass are a bit longer. Macs are tiny bright dots. I think we talked about it over insta but it has helped me out a bit.

[@jude3366]

Hey Chris! Cool channel! Good to see you on here. I might be heading to Gonzaga for the 4th.

[@jude3366]

@@chrisblevinsfishing no, I heard they were turning people around in San Felipe, so I didn't want to change it. I think I'll be in Pacific Beach the week of July 20th. Lets try and hit La Jolla?

[@joseponce3674]

Cool video!! Good information.

[@chrisblevinsfishing]

Thank you Jose!

[@manuelespinoza2443]

On With you With the sealions i always look for them as well. New to your channel loving it's 🤙I'm fishing out of Rosarito baja California

[@chrisblevinsfishing]

Awesome thank you Manuel! I cant wait to get back down to baja soon. Love fishing and surfing down there. Salud Amigo!

[@briantran942]

Looks like there's a game fish preying on that bait right at 11:00!

[@cheethoe]

There's plenty of videos online of people catching, half the time they start after the hookup and provide zero context of how the got there. This one video is worth 100's of those other videos. I like to watch the whole process, from finding things on the sonar, selecting the rod/reel/bait, dropping down, the misses and the hits, to bringing it in. btw, pretty genius method for landing in the surf. Rather than bringing up your drive and using the oars, you connected your bungie to the drive so you could still use the drive to paddle in. Any reason you use 83khz vs CHIRP?

[@jbettss]

This format is bad ass. Sick of seeing people pull on fish mid battle. The prep work is where it’s at. I fish last Jolla from my boat. I’ll say hi next time I see you and will pass you some bait if ya need it.

[@chrisblevinsfishing]

Thank you JBetts! Glad you enjoy the format of the channel. I want to experiment with new kinds of content so bare with me and let me know what you like and what you don't!

[@jbettss]

@@chrisblevinsfishing With covid and a new baby I watch a ton of fishing videos from all over. For me, I really like seeing the setups people use to target fish. I know some setups like halibut etc are somewhat secretive at times, but for me I like the prep work. I also really like what precedes the hookups through the finder and pole movement, reel taking off on free spool etc. And I will never get bored with bottom footage that Greg Andrews amd others do. As a local fisherman, we all wonder what’s down there and what checks out our baits and how close really were to fish etc. Keep up the good work.

[@jtonneck]

Man awesome breakdown on the fish finder I have the Loweranve hook 7 tripleshot I just can’t figure it out as far what all the settings mean. All my friends I kayak with have the garmin it seems to mark fish better

[@chrisblevinsfishing]

Do you have 83 kHz? That I believe your FF has only 200 kHz in which case you are correct, a Garmin with 77 kHz will mark the fish better for sure.

[@jtonneck]

@@chrisblevinsfishing I have the newest

[@jtonneck]

@@chrisblevinsfishing hook reveal 7 triple shoot I believe it does have the 200khz and yes it does work better. I’ve been the most frustrated with this fish finder. I fish out of Southbay I drove down to your neck of the woods to have the guys at fast lane kayak hook me up and they took Care of me good.

[@chrisblevinsfishing]

@@jtonneck what I mean is 200 kHz doesn't work as well as the lower frequencies. 83, 77 or 50 kHz will mark the big fish much better than the 200, so I makes sense that the Garmin with 77 kHz will see the big fish. I discuss this in detail in my video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gYmrfZWEbsihfKc

[@jtonneck]

@@chrisblevinsfishing ah I see. Is the lower frequency for deeper water or? Because it seems I read good up until about 100ft after that it’s bad or goes out completely

[@bradischinger9774]

Thanks for the good info. Does anyone know if the older Lowrance Elite 5 has the option of 2x scroll speed ? Thanks

[@denniskristensen5307]

Thnx for a great video i just bought a kayakk and gonna start fishing off the coast of norway installed a fishfinder so this is gonna help me :) what kayakk are you using it seem really wide? keep it up man!

[@chrisblevinsfishing]

Rad... did you ever get a kayak to fish in norway? Its a hobie pro angler 14. Cheers!

[@losthorizonfishing107]

That was a really helpful video. Are you ever concerned about leaving your gear unattended on the beach while walking back to the parking lot to get your truck?🎣😃

[@snatchface]

Awesome videos! Does the fish finder also work well for you on freshwater?

[@chrisblevinsfishing]

Yes it works great. Typically I will use different frequencies in freshwater applications. I like a split screen with 200 and 800 kHz. I don't have a good map card unfortunately, but the lake bathymetry on the GPS charts can be the most useful tool of all, on big reservoirs at least.

[@snatchface]

@@chrisblevinsfishing Sweet. Thanks!

[@jesuslopez924]

Hey chris, I've watched almost all of your videos and I've learned so much. I just recently purchased the lowrance hook2 5 hdi and i wanted to know if you had any input on it? Tha k you again for all the info.

[@chrisblevinsfishing]

Hi Jesus, thanks for watching! Do you know which frequencies your unit has? I believe the Hook2 HDI should have 88kHz... in which case that's the ideal frequency to use for la jolla in the deeper waters. Have you used it out there yet?

[@jesuslopez924]

I'm waiting for the battery 🔋. Getting it tomorrow. Getting yak in 2 weeks.

[@jesuslopez924]

Got it. Was playing with it and did not find 88 just 200. I called lowrance and told them exactly what i was looking for including the 88 and they said I wanted the hook2 5 hdi. I purchased it from 3rd party I don't think I could do much of anything. Everyone I talk to could not give me a straight answer and I was unable to find answers I needed online.

[@rduyan774]

Hey Chris, LOVE your videos! I have learned soooo much! I just picked up a Hobie Tandem Island and am rigging it for fishing. I’m having a little trouble deciding on a fishfinder. I would like to go with a Lowrance , either: 1) 7 or 9 inch screen? 2. Side scan or no side scan? I’ll be fishing La Jolla as well as local lakes. Cost is not much of a concern as I have taken this project on to help fulfill a close friend’s, who is battling pancreatic cancer, wish to catch some yellowtail and rock fish. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Rance

[@chrisblevinsfishing]

Wow what a cool project for you and your friend, sorry to learn about the circumstances. The tandem island you got, does it have the hobie "guardian" transducer scupper? I would say 7" is more than sufficient for me. I always recommend the HDI transducer which doesn't have the side scan. Make sure the transducer has either 83 or 50 kHz. If you have the guardian, and you have the money to spend I don't see any reason not to get the side scan. I personally haven't used it. Rance do you have Instagram? If so find me on there and shoot me a DM, I'd love to help get you and your friend set up @beatrice1138

[@rduyan774]

Hey Chis, Thanks for the reply. I will setup and look for you on Instagram.

[@foreplay24]

I have the Hook2 and only have 200khz or chirp on my sonar. would you recommend 200khz? Great video by the way.

[@foreplay24]

@@chrisblevinsfishing Nope, just 200 and high chirp. Oh well, I'll just use all the other settings and see how it looks. Thanks again

[@justin606ful]

Hello nice vid! I’m looking into getting a kayak. I bought a Colorado xts pontoon for fishing the bay. Have you ever seen anyone out there in them? How do you think they would perform?

[@justin606ful]

Chris Blevins great lol you said everything I was worried about. When I got the pontoon the black sections on each side look like seals and they are full of air. I wonder how curious the shark will get out there.

[@Oskizzle_636]

What rods would you recommend for for irons (yo-yo,surface iron)

[@Oskizzle_636]

Trying to stay under 160 if possible lol

[@cudacarlos4914]

Which transducer do you have?

[@cheethoe]

@@chrisblevinsfishing Does this transducer give a better picture than the stock transducer that comes with the TIs? I have the totalscan with my 7ti.

[@ericbonofacio4695]

I have the same question. Because a lot of the Amazon reviews from you link for the Lawrence FF said, like *only one star, because the " side scan ", did not work with the stock from the box transducer. In fact the reviews also said, they paid + $300 for the transducer that works with the "side scan", do you use the side scan mode. I don't think you need it anyways because you already slay them in LJ in All your videos.. long time viewer and sub. And I'm in the market for a new setup and fish finder for saltwater and freshwater too. Thanks your a legend man 👍 ✌️

[@caseymcvicars8677]

Where is “The corner”?