To SI, or not to SI...

[RK]

Ok so may that isn't THE question...but it's a question.

I'm finally getting with the times and upgrading my electronics to some new Humminbirds and I'm totally wound around the axle over whether or not I want to get Side Imaging.

Part of me says "well, duh..."

But part of me questions how much I'll honestly use it. I can see it being great for finding deep rocks, etc., but day in and day out is it something you rely on?

Would likely only have it at the console rather than on the bow...if that changes the answer any.

Secondary question - for those that have it, how useful have you found down imaging vs traditional 2d sonar for running off a bow mount?

Thanks for the insights...

[harvey lee]

When I fish a lake like Rainy lake with alot or rock piles and bars, I use it a fair amount.

Local lakes I fish, I rarely use it.

Nice to have when u need it but I do not know if I would pay the extra again.

I have 2 SI Bird units, maybe should have purchased just 1.

[TruthWalleyes]

I use it all the time. A prime example is to exactly follow the weedline. I don't even look at the map, on weedlines, just watch the si.

Suspended crappies...incredibly easy to find, as well as bait.

You get actual views of any type of structure. Can easily identify rocks or a tree branch vs fish, often on 2d a branch will look like a school.

Easier to identify fish size, I.e. when I'm sturgeon hunting they are easily spotted.

I never use di. Its either si or 2d and probably only 25% 2d for me.

You would be amazed at how it can help you if you learn how to use it. BBCboards are a great resource. I'll never go back, not many will. Those that will never took the time to understand the image.

[st.crioxfishin]

RK - I just jumped into the SI pool this year and don't think I'll be going back anytime soon. I have the SI unit at the console and DI up on the bow. I thought I would use the DI up on the bow more often, but find myself hardly ever using it. There may be some advantages to DI that I'm not taking advantage of, but I can read the 2d better at this point.

I use SI every time I'm on the water. One thing I'm finding that's pretty awesome is locating grass in areas that seem to change from year to year. For example, last year there was a milfoil patch in 10-12ft that held a good school of fish. Grass beds seem to be different each year; this year there was no milfoil to be found around the waypoint I had there. I starting graphing the area with the SI, found a different milfoil bed in the same general area and walla, the fish were there.

Also, on big deep flats where the grass is patchy, you can pinpoint the grass beds pretty easily which eliminates a lot of time in my opinion. The advantages seem to be endless and I still have a lot to learn. I really think it's worth the extra cost and would definitely reccomend it.

[Catfish_Nuggets]

In regards to DI, don't forget that you can do the downscan overlay on top of the broadband. This is gold if you want to differentiate what it is you are seeing on your screen, e.g. fish species,rocks, stumps and so on. Not sure if the bird has this but it is a feature on the HDS with DI/SI.

[Nick Kuhn]

More useful for muskies than bass IMO. Really let's you follow weedlines. Also makes it really easy to find the exact layout of submerged points and such. And of course if you have a lousy outing like I did yesterday you can at least say you learned a few things about a lake. I learned there's a sunken canoe in 70 feet of water for example, and that crappies will suspend 10 feet down on some lakes without rhyme or reason as to what is nearby.

[bassfshin24]

I just installed SI this year as well. I have SI on the console and DI on the bow. I can't believe I have been fishing without all these years. This thing not only finds rocks but being able to see the weed edge and pockets is unbelieveable. You can also easily tell the difference between the hard/soft bottom areas. I defintely think it is a game changer and will never go back...and I barely know what I'm doing yet haha.

[Craigums]

a SI unit came with my boat when I bought it last year. I was like you, I figured it would be cool but the novelty would wear off. I now use SI more than my 2D (console unit). If I ever upgrade the electronics you better believe I'm going to be getting another SI unit. Follow weedlines, Find bottom transitions, rock piles, logs... It's great, I would highly recommend it

[Superduty]

I'm guilty of not using my side imaging enough. I find myself fishing more than viewing and to do it right, you need to spend hours with your face in your electronics and your rods in the box. I would like to add down imaging capability to the bow of my boat. I run Lowrance units and although downscan is available to view at the bow, it comes from the structure scan transducer on the transom. Downimaging makes it a lot easier to differentiate between weeds and fish. (or fish relating to weeds) It even makes it pretty easy to determine weed type IMO.

[hockeybc69]

I find myself fishing more than viewing and to do it right, you need to spend hours with your face in your electronics and your rods in the box.

Superduty hits on a point here.

I got an 898 HB last year and thought I was going to take things much more to the next level...

As a mostly recreational fisherman in the Wright County area, its not added much to my experience. I have fished a lot of the lakes many times over the last 10 years.

When I fish, its evenings, and I have just a few hours to do it. I was hoping that SI was going to take it up a level.... I have to say, the spots I fished the last 10 years that worked, still work.... And the SI hasnt given me many new spots.

I used my SI in Canada last year, and it was pretty cool the things I saw. But for the most part where I spend my time fishing, I dont feel its been worth the $1400 investment to upgrade my previous Lowrance graph. Its "neat", but I havent reaped the benefits in my opinion.

[RK]

Hiya -

Thanks for the input guys. I think I am going to end up going with the SI on the console unit. I figure for a relatively small increased cost I will make use of it. There are some spots I fish a lot where I can't quite get a handle on why the fish are there that I'm dying to side- and down-image. Plus for deep rocks fishing smallies it'll be faster than an underwater camera, which is what I do now a lot of the time.

Just how I fish now I think it's something I'll use quite a bit, even if it means more driving than fishing sometimes. I've had fishing partners fall asleep in the passenger seat while I drove around looking for fish even with traditional 2D sonar...heh.

[bassfshin24]

I have yet to get on the big pond with my SI installed. I can not wait to get up there in the next month to explore some deep rocks.

[TruthWalleyes]

I have yet to get on the big pond with my SI installed. I can not wait to get up there in the next month to explore some deep rocks.

Here's one from 3-mile reef.

Was nailing smallmouth that weekend while i was searching for walleye. Did end up finding 50 fish days with walleyes over that 4th weekend.

[JP Z]

Truth, what am I looking at???? it's all chicken scratch to me, hence why I don't see myself getting into the SI crowd anytime soon.

[TruthWalleyes]

You see the slabs of rock with smaller rocks scattered as well as fish scattered throughout which can be identified by small bright lines with a gap between the white line and the shadow. The bright lines with shadows attached are rock.

Spend some time on bbcboards. There are many threads with pictures and fish/ objects identified. I did 90% of my learning there.

Si is not very hard to interpret if you just spend a few minutes understanding how the image is created.

[TruthWalleyes]

PS, when I have my side scan set to 171' each side of the boat, it shrinks everything down especially fish which makes them hard to see with the average eye. Here I was just checking out structure and was not as concerned in finding fish.. To better identify fish in 20 fow I would set my scan distance in the 60-80' range depending on bottom content.

[JP Z]

Sooooooooo lost.

[Dylan33]

I'm with you jpz...ZERO idea what is going on.

[TruthWalleyes]

Just YouTube some si learning videos

[bassfshin24]

I've watched a lot of YouTube videos and tutorials and that has helped out immensely.

[CHM]

Anyone here have SI mounted on the bow trolling motor? Would you do it again?

[RK]

Hiya -

Just to follow up...

So I did end up going with an SI unit.

I put a 858 HD DI on the bow and an 898 HD SI on the console.

For the 898 I added a Y cable and 2D skimmer transducer for high speed reading, although that may have been overkill as it turned out. I also networked the two together with an Ethernet cable so I can share waypoints.

So I did the install, which took a while. Lots of cables to route and I drilled a lot of holes in the boat, which I'm a lot more cavalier about with an older boat. Still install went pretty smooth and I was able to get out and test the units out last night.

For all I'd read about how fussy the SI transducer is with mounting location, I had no issues. So it's either not as hard as it seems or I got lucky. I more or less just followed the instructions and I had great images right off the bat from the SI, and the DI and 2D both read fine at top speed. I have the SI transducer mounted pretty low so I may move it up a little just to get it out of harm's way. With the skimmer I don't need the SI to read on plane anyhow.

As to actually using it... Spent an hour or so cruising around a local puddle just learning how to operate the units. It's pretty amazing technology. Surprisingly easy to figure out what you're seeing when it comes to weedlines, etc. Was also able to pick out some fun stuff like a tire on the bottom and an old dock section.

I already think I'm going to like down imaging as much as I like SI. DI worked better on the trolling motor than I'd thought it would. I'd initially planned on just getting a 2D unit on the bow but Thorne Bros was out of them so ended up getting the DI. Going to be glad I did I think. (Guys at Thornes were super helpful/knowledgeable by the way.)

One thing I hadn't anticipated but already know I'm going to like is how easy it was to pick out bottom transitions from hard to soft bottom. I can't wait to get it on some lakes with deep rocks so I can see what that looks like.

Really looking forward to getting this out on the lake my cabin is on so I can see some stuff I already know very well on the SI. I think that will really shorten the learning curve on interpreting images.

All in all...pretty stoked. Thanks for all the info those who chimed in.

Cheers,

RK

[bassfshin24]

Thats awesome RK. I had a pretty clear picture right away as well but I do have a little interference on the left side so I might have to move the ducers. But man I got super excited the first time I saw rocks. At first I was unsure what they would look like but then I went over a rock pile and its pretty obvious. The hard bottom vs. soft bottom is awesome. I've had some decent days recently on a couple small metro lakes where I found rocks in 10-12 feet. I probably would have never known they were there without SI. I'm hoping to get the skimmer transducer for next year as well. I also am going to get a SD card so I can do screen prints. Well enjoy your new toy! I certainly have this year.

[Nick Kuhn]

One thing I hadn't anticipated but already know I'm going to like is how easy it was to pick out bottom transitions from hard to soft bottom. I can't wait to get it on some lakes with deep rocks so I can see what that looks like.

I try to explain this in every SI thread. People seem more interested in other things but honestly this is so valuable and so ridiculously easy to do on SI/DI that I think it's one of it's best assets. Those spots that have always held fish for no apparent reason: you'll find out the reason.

[Cecil]

I don't have SI mounted on the trolling motor, but I can see it through the ethernet connection to the back unit. It can be quite helpful actually. A couple times this year I have looked and saw a clump of weeds in deeper water 30' away and caught fish out of it.