To catch fish you need to know where to find them, and when it comes to finding fish, marine birds are the masters. Locate some diving birds, and chances there will be a school of feeding game fish just below them. When “working” birds can be spotted on the horizon, either with the naked eye or through a binocular, motoring over to get in on the action is an easy task. But what if you don’t see any birds – are you are not out of luck. Not if you have radar on board. The following tips will help you use your radar, a tool normally reserved for collision avoidance.

The first thing to think of when considering bird-tracking radar is antenna beam width. Remember that the narrower the beam width, the greater target discrimination you will have. For this reason, dome antennas are not as adept at tracking birds as a comparable open-array antenna. As the length of the antenna radiator increases, beam width becomes narrower, so a larger antenna will invariably offer better target discrimination.

For the novice, it is best to practice these techniques on a clear day with calm seas. For practice purposes, it’s easiest to start off by targeting a flock of birds that you can visually locate. To target the birds, set the radar to mid- or long-range. Next, increase the Gain control until you see “noise” on the display. This will appear as a blanket of small specks. You will need to leave the Gain turned all the way up, thus setting the receiver for maximum sensitivity in order to detect birds. Resist the temptation to turn up the AC/Sea or AC/Rain to drop out the noise. Flocks of birds may look like dense, recurring noise rather than a solid target, but you should be able to see them clearly. This is what you’ll be looking for when you don’t have any visual cues as to where the birds are feeding.

If your radar is capable of operating in True Motion, do so. You will be stabilizing the display, and you’ll be able to tell if the flock is traveling in a straight line looking for bait pods, or if the birds have found their target school and are currently feeding. When operating your radar in Head Up or True Motion mode, be sure to turn on your target trail function and set it for long trails to better track traveling flocks.

By using your equipment properly, you should be able to pinpoint feeding birds up to six miles or more away. Practice these techniques for finding birds with your radar, and in no time at all you’ll be able to pinpoint productive fishing spots just like the pros.