Fish Finders 101 - Basics of Side Scan and How to Identify Fish
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 15 มิ.ย. 2024
- Almost all fish finders today come with side scan yet very few anglers fully understand what they looking at in side scan mode.
This video goes in depth to show you how to read side scan sonar on your fish finder and understand how to find fish using your side scan as well as understanding the proper settings to get the most out of your fish finder while using side scan.
Great video. I think I learned more in a few minutes with your video than I have in countless hours of floating around pushing buttons!
🙌 I’m glad it was helpful!
Excellent video. I’m new to the side scan game and this was extremely helpful. Appreciate your time and effort to help educate us. Looking forward to using your info on the water soon.
That is the best explanation I have ever watched to help someone understand side scan, Great job brother. You need to help me set mine up now!
Thanks brother!! Yessir!
Great explanation! Side scan is a game changer when you know how to read it correctly
Thanks brother!!
The best in depth video on sides can I’ve seen great work and thanks for the info 💯👌
The best SS explanation I have seen. Now I know why bridge piers shadow's look like they do. Thanks so much.
Thank you for your video of I'm new to side scan and I've watched a lot of videos but this has been one of the most helpful videos I've ever seen. Thank you so much
Awesome man glad it was helpful!!
Very informative video. I think what you said you think is a rock bed in the ship wreck picture is actually just more debris it's directly across from the wreck itself. You can see it forming on the hump just in front of the wreck in the left pic and it continues onto the same hump in the right pic.
Thank you very much. I have a much better understanding about my side scan now!😊
Thank you for watching, glad it was helpful.
Finally a good explaination how fish looks like in SI.
Thanks!!
Excellent explanation of side scan. Thank you.
Thank you sir!
Thank you very much. Great job explaining side scan!
Thank you I appreciate it!!
Nicely produced video, very helpful thx! ✌️
Thanks man!
Thank you best video I've seen yet for beginners
Thanks man I’m glad you found some good info in it!
Great job man, what’s ur favorite combo screen to look at if you’re fishing and exploring? And of the combo which is your primary screen? Would it be side scan with 2d and down scan?
GreAt job, I actually TH-cam a few videos a few years back to learn how to use it, but hands down better much better job! Keep up the awesome videos and Tightlines
Thanks brother I appreciate it!!
Thanks for adding this video, i'm trying to get to ubdrstand the side scan on my baiboat and this video helped me a lot.
Awesome I’m glad it helped!!
Thanks pal. Very informative on a level easily understood.
Glad you found it helpful!!
Good video. I've had side scan for a little bit now, but never really rely on it. I will try to use it more.
Thank you and tight lines!
Great video! Very well explained.
Thank you!
This is the most helpful video.
Awesome glad it helped
I'm new to this stuff and I really didn't get side scan so this was really helpful, especially the dark stuff in the center being the distance to the bottom. The only criticism I have is that your cursor was so small I had a hard time seeing where you were talking about. Really good though. Thanks
Thanks man glad you found it helpful. I’m not real sure how to highlight or enlarge my cursor. I’ll take that into consideration for the next one.
11:31 AM 6/22/2023
In Win 10: Go to Start/ Settings/ Devices/ Mouse/ Adjust mouse and cursor size/ Change pointer size (adjust accordingly).
Win 11: Start/ Settings/ Bluetooth & devices/ Mouse/ Related settings _Mouse pointer/ size (adjust accordingly).
BTW... excellent video and explanation! Just what I was looking for using my Garmin echomap 45DV. Can't wait for the rain to stop so I can go setup.
On your second image. Think about the structure as being a bridge over a creek bed.
Yes that is definitely a bridge not a ship.
A ship wrecked the pillar of the bridge
Lots of info that gave me better info..thanks
Awesome, glad you found it helpful!
This video was excellent.
Yesterday thank you sir!
Good stuff, very informative
Thank you!
Good video. I'm new to all this stuff. I'm just wandering what hz I should use here in Alaska. I got a Garmin 56UHD with a Garmin 8610. I will be looking for fish anywhere from 80-300' of water. 5-6-700 feet of water is common.
The second image you did, you said was a boat I personally think is a bridge which is the reason why for the dark shadow at the top because it’s a bridge connecting to high spots in a creek that runs underneath it or an old riverbed. Also the riverbed is darker because it’s softer bottom where as the rock you mentioned all that area on the bottom side of the bridge is really bright because it’s harder bottom. I could be wrong about the bridge if you know for sure it’s of ship but sure does seem like a bridge connecting to pieces of land over a river.
You may be right about that. I love your take on it!
Why build a bridge 13 feet underwater?
@@falconeaterf15 part of the infrastructure bill.
@@falconeaterf15 The bridge would have been built before the dam was constructed. It is now an artifact from a time before the reservior or man made lake was created. Other features might be found, such as building foundations, walls, and road beds.
none of these "how- to's" on Side Scan show the way myself, and all of my fishing buddies use it: we are on a large chain of reservoirs that do not allow motors. Yes, we are on rowboats on 1000 and up acres of water. It is basically flooded farmland, and because of that, there are multitudes of stone walls that were just covered, and these are the main "highways" of the fish. Therefore, we use a feature of the Humminbird that is unique to it, that being, TURNING CONTOUR MODE OFF!.....By doing that, we can actually align ourselves with these walls and literally follow them wherever they go, staying on them for maximum chance of contact with the fish. The reason why this is so important is because on some days and conditions, time of season, etc., the strike window of the fish might be so limited that they are almost glued to these walls, and if you are 5-10 away from them on either side, they won't go for the lure. With contour mode off, it is easy to follow the walls, and do this, again, a feature that other company's side scans do NOT have. Edges of roadbeds, are similar, and can also be followed in this manner.
thanks for the explanation
Than you for watching!
@@southernsalt you're welcome, ill be watching more for sure, my channel is pretty decent if you're interested in giving it a look, thanks
Water column thats the black space also can find fish in there or in shadows of structures
Very helpful.
Thank you!
That’s all well and good but how do you know where objects are in relation to your boat?
Thank you
Appreciate your coaching on this issue, but would
suggest that the object classification as a "shipwreck"
is incorrect. To me, it looks like the remnants of a small
shed. It appears that it has come apart with one wall
remaining embedded in the upper-left, as it unfolded
in a clock-wise rotation, ripping apart the remaing walls
until it came to rest, with only the flooring intact.
I'm a novice here...what do you think? Am I interpreting
this all wrong?
So if the range includes my depth..then at 40 ft to my side is really including the vertical depth too??
I'm curious... you just talked about idle speed and going 1.5 mph would make the images blurrier than 3mph. Is that because your unit (Lowrance?) doesn't have a tunable chart speed? I know on Humminbirds, which do have a chart speed, the slower your boat goes and the slower the chart speed (chart speed matches boat speed) the better the image
I think I've seen that you run Raymarine. Does it work well for you? Any pros/cons you could share? Maybe a video on that could be good!
I was looking at the Elemernt 7 but then West Marine had a sale on the 9. I paid $50 more the the Element 9 instead of the 7.
Great video as always! 👍
I am currently running the element 9 as well. I love the unit but think I’ll be moving to a lowrance HDS soon so I can get active target forward facing sonar.
Nice video. I wonder is one can recognize metal objects (aluminum) at a dept of 60ft (2/3' diameter) and at which distance from the boat. How much Watt would be needed? Which frequency?
If you’re running past some docks, will you use side scan to view under them on pilings
If the dock is in water deeper than 10 feet yes.
the black area in the center was referred to as the depth of the water. I get that so my question is since the depth is 23 feet the left and right side adds up to 46 feet that is dead space for side imaging? in other words the side image doesnt appear for 23 feet on the side of the boat in this reference? The 46 feet will have to be scanned on the down sonar?
look up Midwest Outdoor Experience. He uses a cardboard cutout to explain it. It's a good video for understanding the "water column" part of the side scan feature.
also look up BassfishingHQ he does an explanation with props as well. Listed under "what a WINNING spot looks like // Side imaging crash course...
My only complaint about sidescan is that the black part is the depth straight down, so the two edges on both sides are directly under your boat, not to the side. If they pushed the images together and got rid of the black centerline it would be more intuitive.
I agree, it's strange at first. But there is a lot of info in that water column also. Bait balls, grass, fish, depth, etc.
Saw a vid on here where someone explained it with a piece of cardboard, and folded it so the water column was facing up, like an upside down T. After that, it clicked in my brain and I can't unsee it that way.
Thank you.
🙌
Would you please clarify: If you are set to scan 60ft to each side and the water depth is 20ft (showing black on each side out to the 20ft mark). So the 20ft mark displays 20ft from the 40ft mark. You see a fish at the 40ft mark. Is the 40ft mark actually just 20ft from the boat, or is it 40ft from the boat? Great video, I hit the "like" button.
40 feet would be 40feet. The distances are exact. This is due to the fact that side scan sonar pings at an angle coming out of the transducer
@@madisonbk It is a good question. If 40 ft is showing 40 ft from the boat and the black area shows the 20ft depth, how do you see 20ft from the boat?
@@RoyalWulfje you can’t see from 0-20ft… you see from 20-40ft. That’s why 0-20 is black
My understanding is that in your scenario the fish would actually only be 20ft from your boat, even though it shows at 40ft, it's only 20 because the water depth (black area of 20ft) must be subtracted from the 40.
The black space is not a "blind spot" 20 feet each side of your boat - an image showing on the edge of the black area where it first becomes visible is directly under your boat, more or less. Personally I think they should just get rid of the black space and pull the images together into one image.
Wow thank you
🙌
Awesome video! My understanding was way off. Couple of questions:
1. You mentioned if a boat is moving too slow, say 1 to 2 mph, the images could be distorted. Does that limit the usefulness of SI for kayakers who only paddle, as in no motor of any type?
2. You mentioned DI and 2D sonar were easier methods than SI to identify fish. The obvious question is when is SI preferable? I assume since SI covers approximately 100 feet to each side of the boat whereas DI would be limited to immediately beneath the boat, you’d use SI first to find interesting structures to then see better with DI. Is this correct?
You couldn’t use SI paddling. You would be better to get the 360. Trying to do what a boat does without movement of constant speed just isn’t happening. The 360 setup is all a kayak user would need. In fact it can do SI as well.
@@Hawk-iy2iz Some imaging sonars allow you to adjust the ping rate so in theory they might work at kayak speeds
I believe that the black space is there because your transducer shoots down at a 45 degree angle so it doesn't start picking up the bottom right away like down scan.
If that was the case the black space would be significantly greater than the actual depth. But this is not the case, the black space will always match the exact depth of the water column. If it were at a 45 degree angle you would have a 1/3 of the distance increase.
@@southernsalt I'm no expert but I think you're both right - the transducer shoots down at an angle to create imaging (thus the shadows), AND it also shoots a beam straight down to give you a water depth (black space). Personally I think its confusing and that they should do away with the black space on the display and pull the images together into one image.
I ran a side scan sonar system for the US Navy for a lot of years. I gotta tell you, the shipwreck you're showing is a bridge. Look at the shadow to the left of the image. That is the spar support system of a bridge. You even showed the hard surface at either end of the shipwreck, that's the road bed.
There ain't even enough timber or lumber to be a ship. No masts, no engines, no ballards, no cleats. The edge of the channel just happens to be at either end of the bridge.
It appears this bridge crossed the small river that got dammed up downstream for hydroelectric power. When the water backed up, it swallowed everything. I've seen entire communities, complete with churches and graveyards, at the bottom of lakes (Lake Murray, Columbia, SC). I've seen WWII B29 bombers in the bottom of the same lake.
Otherwise, your analysis was spot on. You covered the material well and it is easily understood. 😊🇺🇸🏴☠️
Well it’s good to know the rest of the video was accurate! I actually had a few others State that it was a bridge and looked at it again and definitely agree that I was incorrect on that portion.
Hello - I am thoroughly confused about side imaging! We have had fishing boats for over 45 years. We fish in lakes in Upstate NY. I have a fishing pontoon boat. I currently have a Humminbird Helix 9 Mega DI, G3N unit. I have the transducer correctly mounted on the back of the boat, to the right of my Yamaha 60HP outboard. We typically fish for deep water fish (Salmon, Lake Trout, etc.). Recently, we decided to also fish for other fish, like Walleye, Perch, Northern Pike, etc. I read and saw on TH-cam that if you have a Side Imaging Transducer, mounted on the back of the boat, the images on the screen, will be "behind" the boat! Is that true?
I have spent a fair amount of time trying to get information of transducer placement for Side Imaging (SI). I saw your video and am sending you that video:
th-cam.com/video/0EUWEOLYO5E/w-d-xo.html
I don't want to spend $1,600 plus on a new unit until I have all the information I need. I would appreciate your feedback.
Thanks, Bernie
geez, I have a hook 2 reveal and my images dont get that clear. Do transducers wear out?
How do u determine witch way a fish is swimming if u cannot see the fork in the tail? As the page always scrolls down from the top to bottom of your sounder?
I never know weather to cast in front or behind my boat!
Get active target
The image at 5:53 shows a depth of 13.7 ft. which is about twice the depth at the lower right hand corner of the ship wreck. Which would show that at the lower right corner of the wreck the depth would be about 6.5 ft. This must be a manufactured and not a real image used. At 6:18 the shadow of the bait ball as described is on both sides of the bait ball. How is that possible when all other shadows only cast in the direction they are on?
Knocked it out of the park with this one.
🙌 thank you
Great review till the ending comment. SI is the easiest way to find fish. I totally don't understand your comment say 2D or DI is the best way to find fish. It might be the hardest to learn but you can break down an area very quick with SI and most of time figure out how big the fish are. 2D and DI will also miss fish glue to the bottom.
Someone told me shadows have significance. Do you think they do?
Absolutely, that’s the easiest way to identify fish and structure as pointed out in this video
Hello..
Thanks for your effort..
I do miss two valuable information ..
1. What part of the side image is the one just beneath the boat ?
2. Can this sid3 image be used in water at a deph of 400 feed to 800 feed ?
It sond as a tasty chocolate 🍫 to see side view bud as sounder that can give side view demand an investment between 700 to 1000 dolar and the fisherman that are fishing commercialy for living as me don't mas with bass and shalow water fish lake fish and river fish that live in water less than 200 feed deep wat.
Question.
Can a sounder present the same quality side view for deph above 200 feed and up di 800 feed and above and what brand and model of sounder can give me that view ?
all side scan in shallow water
how it works in 30 to 50 feet of water ?
I think you may be misinformed about the beam of the transducer shooting straight down I think when you're in 20 ft of water that Beam is shooting twenty feet to the left and 20 ft to the right therefore I think you do not see 40ft of the bottom under your boat that proof maybe in your second picture with the tip of the boat in the black on the left you should also see that tip on the right in the black if the beam is shooting straight down also that oval shaped yellow on the right in the black should be on the left in the black one way to prove this is to go directly over a big rock in 20 ft of water and I do not think you will see it on sidescan
5:20 if that section of the ship was sticking up out of the water, I don’t believe side scan would show it at all
Hello, im looking for a fishfinder to do bass fishing, and i can't decide wether a side scanner would be actually helpful for me, considering ill be fishing shallow waters, could you give me a suggestion of an unit i could get? Budget is around 400$
I had a hard time following your curser at times. Like a small dot . Can you make it larger
You said Y'all 5 times in the first 17 seconds of the video. Thats a y'all every 3.4 seconds.
That would be, “Y’all said y’all five times . . ..”
Only its not a shipwreck lol . That's a collapsed bridge spanning a river, creek or draw.
Maybe so. Looking at it from your perspective that’s what it could be.
Is this not about how the fish finder works and not so much as if it's a Frickin bridge or a shipwreck ridiculous you people are how aggravating. Nice job ON HOW THE SI FINDER WORKS I appreciate your video thank you AS FOR THE DEADHEADS 😤
@@MrNoBolderdash be correct when you're educating.
@@pipeliner345 damn my life is over now lol
@@MrNoBolderdash lol! It may very well be for many of us if things don't change in this country soon.
Can't hear you you need to turn it up or put a little bass in your voice, Shane I know in missing out on some good stuff
I think you should learn how to adjust your speaker
You're jerking your cursor around too fast. Obviously you know where it is, but by the time we even locate it on the screen, you're moving around again. Let it dwell in on spot, make your point, but when you jerk it around it actually makes it less visible.
Talk louder a d use a better pointer
No
Unwatchable. This guy talks to us as if we were idiots. At least twice as long as it needs to be. Editing! Write a script in advance!
😂 😂
I don’t have to talk to you like you’re an idiot, you do it all on your own
Lots and lots of folks in the comments disagree with you and say they found the video to be really useful. I personally disagree with you and the video is helping me understand how to use side scan to visualize the bottom.
You need a larger cursor. This is hard to follow.
Excellent video. I’m new to the side scan game and this was extremely helpful. Appreciate your time and effort to help educate us. Looking forward to using your info on the water soon.
Awesome glad it was helpful!!