I'm getting a 7 inch Garmin up front. Should I get side imaging or just down?

I like down on the front more than the side but that's just me. I use side/down/sonar on my console and just down/sonar on my bow. To me it seems like side imaging on the front doesn't help as much as down imaging.

I use both side and down on the front with my Lowrance. The side can get distorted at times but you can still tell what the structure is.

I use it on my Humminbird, great for fishing around boat docks, those brush piles cannot hide.

Anyone have a Garmin striker series graph that they care to review?

I don't like side up front, I just use it when idling areas from console. DownVu certainly the most important and Panoptics pretty cool, but not required.

I use Humming bird up front and use side. I like it.

Yes. What I was told and experience. Where do you do most of your fishing from? The bow....yes, you want side imaging..
IMO ...
Lee

Side Imaging----YES, it is a fishing tool.

SideVu----depends on if it has the settings to make it a fishing tool.

Please explain. I thought it was pretty much the same tech just named differently by each company?

side imaging will show you not only fish but, structure. Any areas you would want to fish.
Just a matter of getting used to what your seeing, it is a different kind of view
Lee

I think down scan up front a must, not only spotting the structure, getting depth, and also video gaming fish. I'm still trying to wrap my head around side scan up front though, I'm not saying it doesn't work, just when it would be better than down scan because you aren't moving around a bunch up front. Down scan is still 100% effective when you aren't moving. What does side scan look like up front when not moving? I have it, so will have to test it.

If you have side scan set up right where you are seeing everything you would on down plus getting a wider view of stuff out to the side, then I would agree. Side shows everything down does, it just doesn't show it as clear, that's why I'm not sold.

Humminbirds have the adjustability to produce clear images at almost ZERO speed. A Humminbird Side Imaging unit at the bow with a Side Imaging transducer on the trolling motor is very common.

I took this screen shot while fishing along a rip rap area, You can see in the DI view that the school of shad changed direction when I turned on the trolling motor for a short burst, note the GPS speed:



Another slow screen shot:



This shows scanning a spawning area and I turned the trolling motor several times. The single bed and double beds on the left side is actually those on the right side. The motor was turned 180 degrees when those were recorded:



Adjusted correctly, the screen does not scroll fast enough to record the motor turning.


FISHING TOOL

very cool, that works great!

One more fishing tool example:
I was using the trolling motor checking a feeder creek after a summer rain storm to see if the cooler water would have fish moving from the warmer lake water. I watched the creek channel (on the right) from a distance so I would not scare any fish that may match the pattern I was looking for.

About 1/2 way down the screen shot on the right in the creek is a school of small shad next to a stump. At the top of the screen on the right side in the creek channel are some bass just being recorded. I took that screen shot, cast to them and caught several before they scattered. Note the GPS speed and the Depth.