Bass Fishing Forum - Westernbass.com

side imaging on bow/trolling motor ?,I am planning to set my boat up with a humminbird si unit on the consol !,my question',would it be worth it to go with a bow si unit as well, I know you can mount the si transducer on the trolling mtr.!any one have any info ?.....

If you mount it side ways on the TM you now have front /rear view

From my experience with my Humminbird SI, it only reads well when you're moving at least 3mph, and stops around 7mph.
I would think that, unless you're power fishing at full TM, the SI wouldn't read well enought to help.
I have it on my console, and use it to look at structure and find baitfish when I'm motoring into coves, or along the main lake.
If I see something interesting, I turn around and fish it.
I have the Lowrance HD5 on the bow, and it works fine. If I'm fishing alone, I pivot the SI unit on it's ram mount so I can see it, too, from the bow, but that's just for the sonar part, or to use the mapping feature as I'm fishing.
Scott Sweet is the guy to ask. He is a rep. for Humminbird, and posts here.
Do a search for his name, and you'll find contact info.

i tried the trolloing motor route once already.

dont waste your time it will not work properly unless your crusing very fast.
much better too use from the drivers seat.

my two cents.

Walt

I'm an oddball. I like Side Imaging on the Trolling motor. You can be moving ZERO MPH and see fish no problem... To make out structure you just need to be moving 3mph which is about normal speed I run the trolling motor on. Take note of the speed of these Side Imaging/Down Imaging shots.

As you can see from Triton Mike's post, it does work and I do know of some who have done it.

That being said, SI for structure requires you to be moving and you won't be able to move the trolling motor too much (left/right) to keep your SI sharp. You will see fish and can show more information than the normal 2D sonar. Certainly the downimaging is a real plus!

Personally, I happen to really like the Quad beam better. Few people remember what the Quad Beam can give you and it is an exclusive to Humminbird. Basically is gives you 2X the depth for your cone angle and it can decipher between what is to the left or right of the boat in its own sonar image. It is kinda cool because your 2D dual beam may show nothing, but the Quad beam will show fish to the side of the boat...maybe telling you the fish are deeper or shallower than you thought! Also structure will appear, say a brush line or what have you.

As suggested by Mark, if you really want to know what is going on, flip your console graph to face the bow of the boat for your SI while you are moving.

If you have any specific questions, feel free to PM or email me. Happy to help!

I have a HB 798 DI/SI. What are the settings you recommend to see the lure like a drops in the graph like the image in Triton Mikes post?

Then is 2D the best view for this technique?

Smorrow0816 wrote:I have a HB 798 DI/SI. What are the settings you recommend to see the lure like a drops in the graph like the image in Triton Mikes post?

Then is 2D the best view for this technique?

2D would be best. Put your chart speed to 10 and your sensitivity to where you get a good image of your bait and have fun video game fishing