Getting someone's secret settings is like cheating on a math test!

If you have an electronic fish finder no matter the brand no matter the technology and you are lucky enough to get someone else's settings. Are you super lucky or are you cheating yourself?

Sure it's nice to have the settings from someone who knows what they're doing and knows how to use that puzzling piece of equipment that you haven't been able to master yet, but is it really doing you any good?

I watch person after person use someone else's settings and frankly when all is said and done they're a little more confused than they are confident.

See if you peek over someone's shoulder and use their settings the only person you're cheating is yourself. You might have the same settings as Brian "Bro" Brosdahl, Jason Mitchell or Tom Boley but what does that really mean? Now that you've got it set up like Brian, Jason or Tom; fish aren't just going to jump through the hole now. Not even close. 

The reason you're cheating yourself is you're not using your electronics to suit your needs. Everybody's needs are different including yours! It never fails that someone gets these fancy settings and becomes more confused. The answer and the reason for that is simple. You get someone else's settings but you don't understand why they are set that way and now you're trying to make what is comfortable to someone else comfortable to you.

It's great that you can get secret settings from multiple people but that doesn't mean you have to use them exactly the way they use them.  Instead, use the information they gave you to learn your electronics inside and out and you could take all of those little tidbits and create settings for yourself that give you the confidence to see what you are seeing and catch fish. Make sense?

⏯ Don't Go Cheating Yourself