sidefinders

[Kevin]

A fishing partner of mine was asking me about a fishfinder with a sidefinder on it. I have never used one and was curious if anyone here might be and what you thought of them? Good, bad, suggestions? Thanx.

[JCarp]

Bump

[Ray]

I have a bottom line tournament master HR with side finder and I love this unit. I find the side finder to be a big help in the spring hunting for steelhead while off shore on lake ontario. When my sidefinder goes off and telling me there is fish there it is time to place some lures in the upper 10 feet. Side finder do work but you have to put your faith in it. The pros don't seem to be pushing this type of technology. I don't know why. Everything today is dual cone tranducers. Also you can't beat bottom line for their coustomer service and they give you a big screen. Not like the other units on the market today. Ray

[Starfish]

I also use a Bottomline sidefinder (Tournament Champion HR) and find it's most useful for steelhead and trout fishing. I definitely find a correlation between catching fish and seeing numerous fish on the sidefinder, whether trolling or drift fishing. I haven't seen as much benefit while walleye fishing.

[Cangl]

Good option on deepwater suspended fish through the ice, sometimes all you have to do is move 10ft one way or another to find the fish, right or left can be spun with the transducer. True bottom readings of fish close to bottom can be pretty "hairy".

[JCarp]

Thanks for the info.

Starfish - I have been considering a unit for helping me figure out when I should try running high lines at erie (walleye). I'm curious why you rate it better for trout than eyes? Don't mean to interrogate you, just hoping to glean whatever I can from someone with experience. Didn't remember where your stomping grounds are (prev. posts). Are you fishing water's with notable "high" walleye bites? I'll truely appreciate any additional input.

jc

[GENETRON]

KEVIN. WE RECEIVED AN E-MAIL FROM SOMEONE REGARDING YOUR QUESTION. IN A PREVIOUS POST, ARCHIVE 12619, LAST MODIFIED ON DEC. 4 WE ADDRESSED YOUR QUESTION ABOUT SIDEFINDING TRANSDUCERS. PERHAPS IT WILL GIVE YOU SOME INFO THAT YOU SEEK THANKS DICK KNUTSON GENETRON

[Doug Burns]

I have been amember of the Bottom Line ProStaff for six years now. When I first joined up with them I was very skeptical about sidefinders. I fished mostly rivers and Lake of the Woods where suspended fish are mostly non-existent, therefore I didn't see the use. Since I began tournament fishing for walleyes and expanding my search for other species, like stripers and hybrid stripers, that suspend i have come to rely on my sidefinders a great deal. Anytime there are suspended fish the more water you can cover with electronics the better off you are and the faster you can search.
Let's say I'm on Erie and the sidefinders consistly show fish 45 feet off to the sides, while than I am definetely going to run at least one planer board out that far. If they are showing farther out I extend my spread to reach the desired distance. Sidefinders can also show fish up on flats while I search the dropoff with downlooking sonar.
Yes sidefinders are limited in their use bt then so are downlooking only sonar units. It seems to me if another tool for fishfinding is available it is only wise to use it. Any specific question about sidefinders feel free to email me at iaguide@rconnect.com. I also do depthfinder seminars around the country and my schedule will soon be available on my pro page.

Doug Burns

[Starfish]

I usually fish in rivers-- Columbia and Snake in Washington, mostly-- and I confess, I'm a lot better at steelhead and salmon than I am at walleye. I haven't seen walleyes suspending in current much, but the steelhead definitely do.

My experiences with trout showing on the sidefinder have mostly been at Potholes reservoir in Washington, which also has a lot of walleye and which sometimes will have suspended fish. But there are so many trout that when you're into a school of fish showing on the sidefinder, you can't keep the trout off. Great fishing for the kids, but I'd really rather eat a walleye! (Though the trout are pretty nice too-- 15-24"). I haven't fished it since summertime though; this year's salmon and steelhead runs on the rivers have been too good to pass up. My five-year-old caught and released a wild 12-pound steelhead yesterday, and my 11- and 9-year olds each caught smaller keepers.

In summary, I'm sure the sidefinder would be very effective anywhere walleyes suspend a lot, but I don't happen to target those areas very often.

Hope this helps-- good luck!