Side imaging=catch more bass?

The title says it all, but for those of you ahead of me on the technology curve. I have traditional 2D and Down scan only. Do you truly think side scan has increased the amount of bass you caught over the years?

yes

Yep! I honestly think 2D, down scan, and side scan are plenty to catch fish.

If you have structure offshore, then yes it helps. If you beat the banks, prob not much help. I mostly say that, because if you only beat the bank, you prob won’t take the time to learn what SI is showing you.


Now if you really want to increase your odds, add livescope and learn how to use it. (Unless you’re a bank beater)

Absolutely

Works so well that both units on my console have side imaging transducers. Set one to left only and the other to right only. Cover twice the water that way with more detail.

Yes. The main thing it does is save a ton of time = more time fishing prime stuff.

That’s pretty much what I expected to hear. Just wanted to confirm before I start donating organs for the money needed lol.

There are several 3#-5# bass "over there" to the right that 2D sonar and Down Imaging would not have shown:

You can buy used Gen2 or Gen3 Lowrance HDS with structure scan for way less than the going rate for a kidney.

See them as low as $200 from time to time

This shows the school of bass were not on the brushpile on the right side but on the left side of the boat.

no question about it side when you learn to use it is awsome

What? Why would you need two transducers?

TFF....where there's no telling what new and interesting rigging secrets you will learn about!

With helix you can display left and right like he claims but you dont need two transducers, you just need to select those views to display.

You can do the same with Lowrance. As for having 2 transducer, why not. If one fails or gets damages I still have the second one.

Absolutely, but only if you fish in 6+ feet of water.

For me, No... But that because of my style... The places I fish on the Ohio River are shallow creeks, 3 feet or less... But hey, I have the technology if I ever need it... Dan

With Side Imaging (a Humminbird thing) all you need is the transducer not buried in the bottom and the bottom flat enough to get some range.







I caught the bass shown at the lower left side in this screen shot:



360 is a rotating Side Imaging transducer, I was using the trolling motor as a shallow water anchor (motor touching bottom) while the 360 was scanning as I was looking for bass that were spawning near logs and stumps. Wasn't getting a depth reading since the transducer was buried in the bottom mud:

Yes.

Whe. I go full screen on my g3n helix for side it gets a bit fuzzy. Ive messed with the settings but not really able to clear it up to look like what others are getting. Maybe its a water clarity issue?

What’s your range? I usually stay under 60’ unless really looking for deep brush piles etc.

Let’s see a pic. Of how your have them mounted.

Why not, because if you tear one off in some wood you very likely can tear them both off at the same time. I keep My spare ducer in my rv.

Pre fishing for me on new water is usually riding around mid day the first day and side scanning marking brush rock ledges etc.

Then I’ll use that Info to decide where to start in the am.

I have one mounted on my transom and the second one is on the jackplate on the opposite side of the transom. Chances of both getting damages at the same time are slime to none. Boats kept in storage so next time I haul it out I'll try to create a Kodak moment for you.

Always love looking at all the skeg marks in the mud with side imaging going up the river at Worth. Side imaging has definitely helped me put more fish in the boat and shorten the learning curve on new waters.

I have caught a handful of fish off of brushpiles I've marked with sidescan. However, my lakemaster chip has allowed me to catch more fish offshore than anything else.

I tend to look for contour irregularities offshore. On most lakes I can hit a couple different places at different depths and figure out what depth seems to be working the best for me. After catching a few fish, I can typically look at the chart and pick several places across the lake where I can duplicate the pattern.

I do recall 1 day on Lake Texoma where we couldn't catch a fish relating to structure. We were finding isolated brush piles on large flats and in the middle of creek channels and catching fish on almost every brush pile. That day we certainly caught way more fish because of the side scan.

Here ya go Jeff

My Garmin gives me a good enough picture to find structure, but I never get images good enough to pinpoint Bass in open water....I can see fish, but I guess there’s not enough pixels in my unit to get a super clear image.

...which begs the question, how many of you guys are looking for fish with side scan vs. looking for structure. My tendency now is to find structure and get enough piles and rocks to work a rotation. I can’t actually see fish on the structure anyways and fish in open water that I mark are never there when I go back to them...

Just some thoughts....

100 percent