If I'm only getting one SI unit is it better to be mounted on the front or the dash?

Dash/Console

Mine's on my console. I use it to find structure and look at banks as I pass them. IMO, it's impractical when going slow or sitting still such as would be when on the trolling motor.

Agree!

The console is the best place. imo. More often than not, your bow unit is in shallow water and the side units are hard to read the more shallow it gets.

console. mark a weighpoint and use gps/sonar up front. down image up front is very nice though.

Same, SI at the console and 2D sonar at the bow.

With a very befuddled expression! But, am about to purchase second SI unit, 1199 from David at Shut Up and Fish. My other unit is a 598 si DI Combo which is good but the screen is so dang small.\
Side imaging takes a LOT of practice, help from others....it's very different.
Many swear by it, LOL, some just swear!
God Bless

I'm not great with computers, Lee. It took some time and hands on instruction from a few friends, but I love SI now. Stick with it. Look up Doug Vahrenberg on the net. He has a bunch of excellent tutorials on the Birds.

Not to derail but two weeks ago I was fishing in Big Mustang on Fork. Went to a small cove with a point out front to graph and SI. I never went all the way in to graph/SI shallow but I found 6 abandoned bass beds with my SI in 9 feet of water right in the mouth of that cove. Further evidence that they don't all rush the banks and many spawn where we never see them.

That's funny

It does take some getting used to

i put mine at the console on a Johnny ray swiveleze mount. When i get up from the drivers seat, i just flip the SI unit around and walla! SI vision i can see from the front of the boat..Not as good as 2 Si units..but a lot cheaper..

Well, the 'original plan' was to just use the 598 on it's mount at the console and the Lowrance X25 that was in the bow.
The Lowrance works ok, but it's black and white and now has the transducer 'shooting through the hull'. But, the 598 is so small, and it's telling me a lot.... ????..but I have to put on my 'Mr. Magoo' glasses to see anything.
Oh, yeah, mounting it on the long RAM mount at the console. So I too, can swivel it around.
So, now we are going to get BIGGER stuff, LOL, I further don't understand BUT BIGGER!
God Bless

Both if you fish offshore.

Definitely mount it at the console. Much better for searching there. I just invested in the large ram mount so I can look at it from the bow once I'm fishing atleast until I can afford the front unit and 360 imaging

Side imaging works best when you are going at a slow, steady speed. If I only had one SI unit, it would be at the console. I have used SI at the bow and there are some good things you can do with it. However, I got a 360 on the bow and that gives me the best of both worlds.