I bought myself a new toy…Lowrance HDS Live 9 in. for my flats boat. For a long time I thought that side imaging wasn’t important for the fishing I do or at least wouldn’t matter much. I have been doing more bass fishing and decided I wanted to get better at structure fishing and catch more fish off of ledges in deep water. This was my reasoning or excuse to upgrade my electronics.
Wow what a difference this upgrade has made for me. I have been fishing here for 13 years but now it is like I am fishing new water for the first time. I am seeing so many new spots to fish, ledges, stick ups, lay downs, etc I am amazed. These are places that have been next to my boat all 13 years but I take the same routes and only have been able to see directly below my boat.
I was skeptical if I would be able to find fish on the side imaging and wanted to use it to scan docks as I cruise down a creek to see if reds are holding beneath a certain dock. In the past I would just start at the top of the creek and hit every dock until I found one that regularly produces.
I decided to go to some spots that I “know like the back of my hand” and image them to see if I can pick fish out. Also it would help me compare what I thought I knew to what I find on the new sonar. Typically when I hit a spot or “”Honey Hole” I fish just the spot I know I have caught before, occasionally fan casting the area if it doesn’t produce.
I side imaged the honey hole and I saw what I thought could be a redfish in the middle of the bend further back than where I normally fish. This was a little white speck toward the bank but it stood out because it didn’t relate to the structure.
I started fishing the spot where I normally catch them and nothing hit. Most of the time I would pull anchor and go to the next spot. I decided instead to throw in the area I saw the white speck. Sure enough I got a nice hit from a redfish. This was 15 feet from where I started fishing the spot.
Below is the sidescan image from my lowrance. The red lines point to possib
Excellent story! Really cool to make the technology work. I got the Garmin Echomap a year ago and have been experimenting with the same functions you have.
THE MORE YOU PLAY THE MORE AMASED YOU’LL BE AT WHAT YOU’VE BEEN MISSING AND HOW TO READ AND UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENT IMAGES ;ie SHADOWS OF BAIT BALLS , FISH HIDING IN AND AROUND STRUCTURE , FLOUNDER LYING ON THE MUD ECT…I’VE HAD MINE FOR 4 YEARS NOW AND LEARN SOMETHING NEW ABOUT IT EVERY TIME I GO OUT…ITS REALLY INTERESTING TO GO OUT TO ONE OF THE NEAR SHORE ARTIE REEFS AND SCAN OUT OVER THE STRUCTURE FIELD 
George McDonald
US Navy Seabees,Retired,
MAD, Charleston Chapter
[http://www.militaryappreciationday.org
When you see “Old Glory” waving in the breeze, know that it is the dying breaths of our fallen hero’s that makes it wave.
author unknown
Knock me over with a feather if I can pick up a flounder on this thing.
quote:ON A MUD BOTTOM ITS FAIRLY EASY , THE BODY DENSITY OF FLAT FISH , SKATES OR RAYS WILL SHOW UP AS A DARKER IMAGE "SOMETIMES ALMOST WHITE" AGAINST THE SOFTER MUD , NOT SO MUCH ON HARD SAND ......YA JUST GOTTA PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO THE SLIGHTEST DETAIL... SAW A POST THAT SOMEONE POSTED OF A GATOR LYING ON THE BOTTOM IN VERY CLEAR DETAIL , LONG TAIL BODY,LEGS AND POINTED HEAD/NOSE......ONE THING YOU'LL LEARN RATHER QUICKLY IS THE SLOWER THE BOAT SPEED AND A STRAIGHT COURSE THE BETTER THE DETAILS STAND OUT , A TURNING OR ROCKING BOAT SCRAMBLES/BLURES THE IMAGES SOMEWHAT....
Originally posted by EpresKnock me over with a feather if I can pick up a flounder on this thing.</font id=“red”>
George McDonald
US Navy Seabees,Retired,
MAD, Charleston Chapter
[http://www.militaryappreciationday.org
When you see “Old Glory” waving in the breeze, know that it is the dying breaths of our fallen hero’s that makes it wave.
author unknown
I’ve got my first side image unit on the way and can’t wait.
Key West 2300 Bluewater
I love mine. Its truly amazing what you find that you never knew. I have yet to get good at locating fish, but you have inspired me to look closer!
1966 13’ Boston Whaler “Flatty”
2018 Sportsman Masters 207
www.eyestrikefishing.com #predatorsstriketheeye
I’m just starting to try and find fish myself. All I know is to look for tiny white specks or dark shadows. I’m going to places I know well and look for them. I’m sure when the bait shows back up the challenge will be finding reds or trout and separating them from big mullet or ladyfish etc.
Are you using a TotalScan/LSS2 or the new Active Imaging transducer?
Active imaging 3 in 1
DON’T KNOW WHAT THE OTHERS ARE USING FOR TRANS. AND I ADMIT I DIDN’T LIKE THE TRANSOM MOUNT SO I OPTED TO INVEST IN A THRU HULL TRANS. MOUNTED CENTER LINE ABOUT 2-3 FEET IN FRONT OF MOTOR… I GET CRYSTAL CLEAR SCREEN RESOLUTION EVEN AT WOT. THERE IS A LEARNING CURVE IN SIDE SCAN AS TO THE BEST IMAGES… LIKE I MENTIONED EARLIER, SIDE IMAGE IS BEST IN A STRAIGHT LINE COURSE MOVING UNDER 3-6 MPH FOR MY UNIT…AVOID TRYING TO SCAN IN SHARP TURNS OR DURING HARD CHOPPY ROCKING OF THE BOAT… SPEED AND WATER DEPTH SEEMS TO AFFECT IMAGE MORE THAN OTHER CONDITIONS , THE DEEPER YOU GO THE SLOWER YOU GO… I COULD GO ON AND ON TALKING ABOUT THE DIFFERENT THINGS YOU’LL SEE THAT WILL PUZZLE THE HELL OUT OF YOU BUT TWO THINGS TO REMEMBER , WHEN SCANNING A BAIT BALL OR A SCHOOL OF TARGET FISH THEY WILL APPEAR AS TWO VERY DISTINCT IMAGES ; THE CLOSEST IMAGE IS THE BAIT OR TARGET THE FURTHEREST IMAGE WILL APPEAR ON THE BOTTOM “DISTANCE IS DETERMINED BY WATER DEPTH” THIS IS THE SHADOW OF THE BAIT OR TARGET, DON’T MISREAD THIS IMAGE AND TRY TO FISH OR NET THE SHADOW[:0] AN IDEAL LESSON TO LEARN IS GAINED BY CRUISING ALONG SIDE OF BRIDGE AND DOCK PILEINGS OR SUPPORTS TO GET AN ABOVE AND BELOW WATERLINE VIEW…
I KNOW I’M BOREING THE H#LL OUT OF YALL SO I’LL SHUT UP FOR NOW , GO CATCH EM UP AND POST PICS…
George McDonald
US Navy Seabees,Retired,
MAD, Charleston Chapter
[http://www.militaryappreciationday.org
When you see “Old Glory” waving in the breeze, know that it is the dying breaths of our fallen hero’s that makes it wave.
author unknown
Leave your rods at home some time and study the machine! You will learn alot!
^^^^^^^^^^^VEEEEEEERY GOOD ADVICE^^^^^^^^^^^^^IF YOU GOT A SWEET WATER LAKE FULL OF STUMPS / TREES ITS A BLAST JUST RIDING AROUND AND WATCHING THE SCREEN:sunglasses:
George McDonald
US Navy Seabees,Retired,
MAD, Charleston Chapter
[http://www.militaryappreciationday.org
When you see “Old Glory” waving in the breeze, know that it is the dying breaths of our fallen hero’s that makes it wave.
author unknown
I have been wanting to get one but was worried if I would even be able to understand what I am looking at. This helps but still a little confused.
The image with the white spots I assume is the starboard side?
I assume the vertical numbers are depth & the horizontal numbers are how far away from the boat it is showing?
One thing I am not clear on is am I looking behind the boat or beside the boat?
Example, if I was on the bow & wanted to cast to the top two white dots where would I cast in relation to the bow?
Yes everything on the screen is history or behind the boat jus like sonar. Instead of the picture moving right to left the picture moves from top to bottom. Check out some YouTube videos. That helped me a lot.!
REEL DRAG, I’LL TRY TO HELP CLEAR UP A COUPLE OF YOUR QUESTIONS IF I CAN…
1ST , ALL SCREEN VIEW IMAGES ARE AS YOU SIT CENTER LINE LOOKING STRAIGHT ACROSS THE CENTER OF THE BOW ( FOR ILLUSTRATION I’LL ASSUME A CC BOAT WITH THE TRANSDUCER MOUNTED CENTER LINE OF HULL 3 FEET IN FRONT OF MOTOR AS I DESCRIBED MY BOAT EARLIER IN THIS THREAD ). THE WHITE SPOTS YOU QUESTION ARE ON STARBOARD ABOUT 7 FEET DEEP APPROX 30 FEET OUT IN A SMALL BRUSH PILE… REMEMBER THIS</font id=“red”> ! THE VERY TOP OF THE SCREEN IMAGE ON SIDE VIEW IS AT 90 DEG TO THE TRANSDUCER LEFT OR RIGHT DEPENDING ON THE SIDE YOU’RE VIEWING… IF YOU WANTED TO CAST TO THESE 2 TARGETS THEY WOULD BE APPROX 30 FEET OUT AND 10-15 FEET BEHIND THE BOAT BECAUSE REMEMBER;</font id=“red”> THE TRANS IS 3 FT IN FRONT OF THE MOTOR ; THE IMAGE DOES NOT SHOW UNTIL IT IS STRAIGHT OUT FROM THE TRANS… ALWAYS REFERENCE ALL IMAGE VIEWS FROM THE TRANSDUCER 90 DEGREES LEFT OR 90 DEGREES RIGHT FROM YOUR LINE OF TRAVEL…THE VERY TOP OF THE SCREEN IMAGE IS LEFT - RIGHT - BELOW THE TRANSDUCER !!! THE CENTER IMAGE IS THE DOWN VIEW WHICH IS THE COMMON VIEW DIRECTLY BELOW THE BOAT …
CLEAR AS MUD NOW AIN’T IT:smiley: IF YOU STILL HAVE QUESTIONS OR DON’T UNDERSTAND MY RAMBLINGS SHOOT ME A PM AND MAYBE WE CAN CHAT ON THE PHONE !!!
George McDonald
US Navy Seabees,Retired,
MAD, Charleston Chapter
[http://www.militaryappreciationday.org
When you see “Old Glory” waving in the breeze, know that it is the dying breaths of our fallen hero’s that makes it wave.
author unknown
You can also put a cursor on a spot on the side image and set a waypoint. It will then show up on your plotter and you can navigate back to it. For example, you can mark the boundaries of a structured area.
1966 13’ Boston Whaler “Flatty”
2018 Sportsman Masters 207
www.eyestrikefishing.com #predatorsstriketheeye
YEP , IF YOU’RE LUCKY ENOUGH TO MARK SEVERAL FLOUNDER CLOSE TOGETHER SET UP A DRIFT OR ANCHOR UP AND DRAG SOME TREATS OVER THEM FOR SOME FAST ACTION…
George McDonald
US Navy Seabees,Retired,
MAD, Charleston Chapter
[http://www.militaryappreciationday.org
When you see “Old Glory” waving in the breeze, know that it is the dying breaths of our fallen hero’s that makes it wave.
author unknown
IF YOU WANT TO VIEW SOME INTERESTING SIDE VIEWS MOTOR ALONG ABOUT 30 FT FROM THE JETTYS WHEN ITS CALM ENOUGH TO GET CLEAR IMAGES…
George McDonald
US Navy Seabees,Retired,
MAD, Charleston Chapter
[http://www.militaryappreciationday.org
When you see “Old Glory” waving in the breeze, know that it is the dying breaths of our fallen hero’s that makes it wave.
author unknown
Thanks for the help guys, it makes a little more sense now.