Have a down imaging on console, and my unit on trolling motor is taking a crap. Was thinking of putting a side scan up front. Have heard good and bad reviews of doing that. Anyone use side scan on front of their boat? I'll be going with a humminbird unit
Side imaging vs down imaging on trolling motor
- Thread starter David
- Start date
Very interesting.
SilverFox
Well-Known Member
SI is much better utilized when placed at the console. Your best picture/image is going to be obtained at speeds higher than most people run their trolling motor... It's also hard to keep the trolling motor running a straight line. Any movement left or right is going to decrease image quality.
I find what ever cover/structure or schools of fish I want to fish with my side image unit on the console. I then mark it on gps with a waypoint. My SI unit is linked to my front unit and I position the boat using that waypoint and fish it then. I already know what's down there... And with greater detail since I was moving at speed and in a straight line when I saw it.
If you're set on using a SI image up front, it can be done. Humminbird units allow you to increase or decrease the chart speed which allows you to fine tune the image. I run my chart speed around 4-5 according to conditions. My boat idle speed is 3 mph. A good rule of thumb is idle speed plus one. If on the trolling motor where your speed is lower normally... And your off and on the button, it's hard to match that chart speed up with the actual speed of the boat. Most people I know use a chart speed of 1-2 when doing this.
I have a Hummnbird SI/DI unit on the console and a Humminbird 2D/DI unit on the bow. This works well for my style of fishing. There are Humminbird forums and also a forum on the BBC board that there are pretty educated guys posting on... Some actually work with Humminbird. They are just releasing the new model units now. It's a good time to purchase if you're not afraid of buying the older technology. There are some deals to be had. BBG marine is a great place to buy also. Brian is very knowledgeable about the units and usually has the best prices around. He is located in Georgia. bbgmarine.com is his website. It's best to call him for pricing. Sometimes the actual price is cheaper than the one posted since he is not a big box store the price changes often.
I find what ever cover/structure or schools of fish I want to fish with my side image unit on the console. I then mark it on gps with a waypoint. My SI unit is linked to my front unit and I position the boat using that waypoint and fish it then. I already know what's down there... And with greater detail since I was moving at speed and in a straight line when I saw it.
If you're set on using a SI image up front, it can be done. Humminbird units allow you to increase or decrease the chart speed which allows you to fine tune the image. I run my chart speed around 4-5 according to conditions. My boat idle speed is 3 mph. A good rule of thumb is idle speed plus one. If on the trolling motor where your speed is lower normally... And your off and on the button, it's hard to match that chart speed up with the actual speed of the boat. Most people I know use a chart speed of 1-2 when doing this.
I have a Hummnbird SI/DI unit on the console and a Humminbird 2D/DI unit on the bow. This works well for my style of fishing. There are Humminbird forums and also a forum on the BBC board that there are pretty educated guys posting on... Some actually work with Humminbird. They are just releasing the new model units now. It's a good time to purchase if you're not afraid of buying the older technology. There are some deals to be had. BBG marine is a great place to buy also. Brian is very knowledgeable about the units and usually has the best prices around. He is located in Georgia. bbgmarine.com is his website. It's best to call him for pricing. Sometimes the actual price is cheaper than the one posted since he is not a big box store the price changes often.
SilverFox told you right. I agree with everything he said.
In addition...something I did not know was that Humminbird regulates what price the dealers can ADVERTISE the units at...but don't really care what they sell them for. This is why you see them all for the same prices...but if you call a dealer, they can sell you one for much less. A perfect example...the new Humminbird 1199 that is replacing the 1198. We have one ordered...and got it for $2,029. The advertised price is $2,299. Deals can be gotten on the 98 series though...the 998 and 1198s are for pretty cheap right now. The 1198s can be bought for around $1,800 or so. We got our 1199 from a BBC (Bass Boat Central) forum sponsor.
I will also throw in...get the biggest screen you can afford. You will regret it if you don't. Our first unit was a 5" screen with SI...and you can't see hardly anything on it. Everything is tiny. It's like looking at TnDeer on a small mobile phone vs the PC...you can just see so much more on the bigger screen. A 6' diameter stump may look smaller than a tictac on the 5" screen....so spotting fish is almost impossible while on the water in side imaging, unless it's a rather large school of them. The way we have been using the 5" screen, is to record everything on the water...then later viewing it on the PC when we get home. You can still mark stumps, brush piles, etc but that doesn't do you any good while you are on the water. That's why we decided to get the 1199. You will want the unit at the console....and put the other one up at the trolling motor. Mostly just for 2D sonar. I'm not a big fan of D.I....I can see more from the 2D sonar on screen.
In addition...something I did not know was that Humminbird regulates what price the dealers can ADVERTISE the units at...but don't really care what they sell them for. This is why you see them all for the same prices...but if you call a dealer, they can sell you one for much less. A perfect example...the new Humminbird 1199 that is replacing the 1198. We have one ordered...and got it for $2,029. The advertised price is $2,299. Deals can be gotten on the 98 series though...the 998 and 1198s are for pretty cheap right now. The 1198s can be bought for around $1,800 or so. We got our 1199 from a BBC (Bass Boat Central) forum sponsor.
I will also throw in...get the biggest screen you can afford. You will regret it if you don't. Our first unit was a 5" screen with SI...and you can't see hardly anything on it. Everything is tiny. It's like looking at TnDeer on a small mobile phone vs the PC...you can just see so much more on the bigger screen. A 6' diameter stump may look smaller than a tictac on the 5" screen....so spotting fish is almost impossible while on the water in side imaging, unless it's a rather large school of them. The way we have been using the 5" screen, is to record everything on the water...then later viewing it on the PC when we get home. You can still mark stumps, brush piles, etc but that doesn't do you any good while you are on the water. That's why we decided to get the 1199. You will want the unit at the console....and put the other one up at the trolling motor. Mostly just for 2D sonar. I'm not a big fan of D.I....I can see more from the 2D sonar on screen.
SilverFox
Well-Known Member
The 2D/DI unit I have on the front... I got it since it was 20 or 30 dollars more than just the 2D unit. I was also not a fan of DI on the bow. I use 2D most often. What I will say is now that I've got the DI unit up front I have been split screen viewing with the 2D left and the DI right. It has helped me pick out bigger fish for when I'm crappie fishing. Several times on the couple trips I've taken this year I've seen fish swim under the boat and I've dropped a jig down at that depth and caught them. I did this some with bass this year with a drop shot but wasn't sold on it then. Now I'm having second thoughts about the possible uses of it. I may end up liking it.
Like CT said, the bigger screens are better. While the 800 series with the 7 inch screen does fine, the 10 inch screen is easier to read. I have the 7 inch screens but I also have perfect vision and don't wear glasses. If I was going to rely on anything up front for SI I'd want it to be bigger than 7 inches. If it's on the console, the 7 inch screen works well for me... You're only a short distance from it there. At the front I'm over 6 foot away... Probably 10 since I have the unit forward of my trolling motor pedal. Since I only use 2D or DI there it's not a problem with the 7 inch screen. I can split screen a gps view with 2D on it and still not have a problem seeing it for when I'm fishing a hump in the summer months.
Like CT said, the bigger screens are better. While the 800 series with the 7 inch screen does fine, the 10 inch screen is easier to read. I have the 7 inch screens but I also have perfect vision and don't wear glasses. If I was going to rely on anything up front for SI I'd want it to be bigger than 7 inches. If it's on the console, the 7 inch screen works well for me... You're only a short distance from it there. At the front I'm over 6 foot away... Probably 10 since I have the unit forward of my trolling motor pedal. Since I only use 2D or DI there it's not a problem with the 7 inch screen. I can split screen a gps view with 2D on it and still not have a problem seeing it for when I'm fishing a hump in the summer months.
Bow Man278
Well-Known Member
I agree with all the above..... Silver Fox and CT.
I am running a 997 SI/DI on my Console and a 858 w/ DI up front.
Normally my front unit is a split screen between GPS/Sonar or DI/Sonar, or GPS/DI. Depends on what I am looking at, or fishing for as to what screen I select.
Everything else has already been said....
Also check out Universal Mania for prices on Electronics
At the time I was buying they had the best prices for what I wanted, and SUUUUPER Fast Shipping!
www.universalmania.com
I am running a 997 SI/DI on my Console and a 858 w/ DI up front.
Normally my front unit is a split screen between GPS/Sonar or DI/Sonar, or GPS/DI. Depends on what I am looking at, or fishing for as to what screen I select.
Everything else has already been said....
Also check out Universal Mania for prices on Electronics
At the time I was buying they had the best prices for what I wanted, and SUUUUPER Fast Shipping!
www.universalmania.com
Winchester
Well-Known Member
Good advice so far, I too read my side scans at the console units.
ClubHead
Well-Known Member
I have a side scan on the console and a DI with Gps on the trolling motor.If Im Crappie fishing and looking for my bed,I cruise by and when I see it I chunk out my buoy on which side of the boat it appears Instantly.I rarely ever have to Gps anything with the ease of finding them.Works pretty well.
Be prepared to do a lot of riding around when you get the side scan. I just about guarantee that your first trips to the lake with it, you will spend more time scanning than you will fishing. Dad and I probably spent our first two trips scanning and never put a hook in the water. The first trip out, we were so into watching the screen, that we weren't really watching where we were going and ran up on a sand bar. LOL.
There's another plus to the bigger screen units that I didn't mention. That being...the bigger the screen, the more you can see by using a wider scan area. For example...the 5" screen units will let you scan the same distance as the big units will. But if you are scanning 100 feet off each side of the boat...well that's 200 feet of stuff on the bottom, that the unit is trying to display on a 5" screen. Actually...it's not even a 5" screen, in the way it displays the images. It's only 5" DIAGONALLY...so by the way the side imaging displays the image...you're really trying to cram 100' off each side into just an inch and a half or so. So you can imagine how SMALL it has to draw stuff trying to fit it on the screen.
To compensate for this, on the small screen units, you must reduce your scan area size....down to around 20-40 feet max. By doing this, you can't cover as big of an area with each pass...but you can actually see what's there and it draws it much larger. If you go to a lot of the forums and look at those guy's images where they are big and crystal clear, etc...you'll notice that they have shrunk the scan area down and rescanned the tree/stump or whatever it is they are wanting to show off. Another way of doing it, is to scan on one side only...that way it utilizes the whole screen to draw. I don't particularly like doing it that way; I think the whole advantage to side scan is to do both sides of the boat at the same time.
There are a few disadvantages to the big screen units though. #1 is the cost. Hard to lay down $2k+ and then worry about somebody stealing it, it going bad, etc. #2 is the sheer size of them and trying to find a place to mount them. #3 is that they still don't come with much of a warranty for such an expensive purchase...especially being an electronic device. Most of them are just a 1 yr warranty. If you buy and register through a BBC sponsor, you get an additional yr's warranty.
There's another plus to the bigger screen units that I didn't mention. That being...the bigger the screen, the more you can see by using a wider scan area. For example...the 5" screen units will let you scan the same distance as the big units will. But if you are scanning 100 feet off each side of the boat...well that's 200 feet of stuff on the bottom, that the unit is trying to display on a 5" screen. Actually...it's not even a 5" screen, in the way it displays the images. It's only 5" DIAGONALLY...so by the way the side imaging displays the image...you're really trying to cram 100' off each side into just an inch and a half or so. So you can imagine how SMALL it has to draw stuff trying to fit it on the screen.
To compensate for this, on the small screen units, you must reduce your scan area size....down to around 20-40 feet max. By doing this, you can't cover as big of an area with each pass...but you can actually see what's there and it draws it much larger. If you go to a lot of the forums and look at those guy's images where they are big and crystal clear, etc...you'll notice that they have shrunk the scan area down and rescanned the tree/stump or whatever it is they are wanting to show off. Another way of doing it, is to scan on one side only...that way it utilizes the whole screen to draw. I don't particularly like doing it that way; I think the whole advantage to side scan is to do both sides of the boat at the same time.
There are a few disadvantages to the big screen units though. #1 is the cost. Hard to lay down $2k+ and then worry about somebody stealing it, it going bad, etc. #2 is the sheer size of them and trying to find a place to mount them. #3 is that they still don't come with much of a warranty for such an expensive purchase...especially being an electronic device. Most of them are just a 1 yr warranty. If you buy and register through a BBC sponsor, you get an additional yr's warranty.
SilverFox
Well-Known Member
My normal scan is 50 off each side if I'm looking for fish. If I covering water just looking for structure or cover I'll kick it out to 100. With the different bottom types here in east TN I'm always changing settings... But I've done it so much now it's second nature.
I spend 2 or 3 times as much time at idle as I do at throttle... Maybe more. Unless I'm fishing shallow stuff I don't fish unless I'm seeing fish. In my opinion the new electronics have done more for fishing success than any other single thing in the history of fishing. I rely it on. If I'm with a buddy who doesn't have good electronics or doesn't know how to use them, I feel lost.
If you're fishing a tourney and you're not using them, you're at a big disadvantage... Unless your me. I have the tourney curse. I can catch them all day unless there is money on the line. One day I'll get over the hump maybe! I need some nerve meds on tourney day! I've fished probably 20-25 tourneys since moving here and won one. I'll well behind in donated money.
I spend 2 or 3 times as much time at idle as I do at throttle... Maybe more. Unless I'm fishing shallow stuff I don't fish unless I'm seeing fish. In my opinion the new electronics have done more for fishing success than any other single thing in the history of fishing. I rely it on. If I'm with a buddy who doesn't have good electronics or doesn't know how to use them, I feel lost.
If you're fishing a tourney and you're not using them, you're at a big disadvantage... Unless your me. I have the tourney curse. I can catch them all day unless there is money on the line. One day I'll get over the hump maybe! I need some nerve meds on tourney day! I've fished probably 20-25 tourneys since moving here and won one. I'll well behind in donated money.
