Side imaging in shallow water?

[goldeneye243]

I tend to fish shallow water, depths typically between 7 and 12 feet, in small rivers around 20-50 feet wide.

Would side imaging be useful?

[Lundexp]

Of course the side imaging would still be usefull. It will help you find the drop offs, holes, structures and etc. I use my 997 in a lake that is at average 8 ft deep, It helps me greatly in finding the dredge cuts and structures.

[okiefishman]

Side imaging in those conditions will be much better than traditional look down sonar. You will find structure and fish without getting right over them and spooking them with the boat.

[SimilarIsland]

You can also scan the whole river width in one pass with a pretty narrow setting (high detail).

[Jason Halfen]

I tend to fish shallow water, depths typically between 7 and 12 feet, in small rivers around 20-50 feet wide.

Would side imaging be useful?

Humminbird Side Imaging is an INCREDIBLY useful tool for these sorts of situations.

I've included a couple of my favorite shallow water/narrow river screen captures.

The first is a shallow (3-5 foot deep), weedy bay that is only a couple hundred feet from side to side. Humminbird Side Imaging clearly shows the weeds, the weed edges, and the weed-free open areas, present within this bay. That image was collected using a Humminbird 1197.

The second is a narrow inlet stream to one of my local reservoirs. The inlet stream is 8-10 feet deep, with rock on the right and sand on the left. The red arrow is pointing to a bed of under-water lily pads that has unfurled, and were then covered up by rising water. That image was collected using a Humminbird 997.

[Jason Halfen]

Here's another great shallow water screen capture from my Humminbird 1197. I collected this image this fall on Mille Lacs while testing out the new Humminbird-compatible Lakemaster map chips. This is a bed of cabbage in the NW corner of the lake (you can see the beds, and even individual strands of cabbage, in the Side Imaging view). The chart view, on the right, demonstrates 3 of the Humminbird-exclusive features of the Lakemaster chip [water depth offset (brown), shallow water highlight (red), and depth range highlight (green)].

[moreyes unlogged]

Yep they work awsome in shallow water, I have used mine in 3 feet of water trolling shallow flats, the SI feature scans out to the side and marks fish, humps, trees etc.....

[goldeneye243]

Sounds like it might be useful for me then, thanks for the info!

What options are there for me to buy? I have a small boat and need to take the electronics out each time, so would prefer an internal GPS. I would like as big a screen as possible, but I think I am limited by wanting an internal GPS. I am only changing because my current eagle unit has broken, so I am a little wary of Lowrance - and it works out quite expensive with the LSS-1. Would I also need 2 transducers if I go down the lowrance route?

The main reason that I would stick with lowrance is for the mapping, as I have DrDepth to create maps for me.

Which models should I be considering?

[Jason Halfen]

Dr Depth can generate maps from Humminbird data as well.

Humminbird units use only a single transducer for all sonar/imaging work.

If you are really limited to an internal transducer, then you're looking at the 798ci unit from Humminbird. Poke around on-line and you'll find those available for under $1000.

Stepping up into a larger screen size is something to consider carefully, as the details (and the fish!) that you'll pick out in Side Imaging will be much easier to see with a larger screen.

Humminbird offers 3 screen size choices above the 798: the 898 (7"), the 998 (8") and the 1197 (10.4"). I have done most of my work with the 1197 and 997, and will be adding a new 800-series unit to my boat as soon as they are released....sometime in the next few weeks.

[goldeneye243]

I guess I could make a bracket that holds the GPS receiver, and contains it with the head unit, so I perhaps don't have to be constrained by it being internal.

I am also a little limited as I live in the UK, where we don't have as many suppliers and the prices are higher (the 997 for example is around £1900, which is about $3000)

I have found a 987c for £1000, but not sure it is a good idea as it is an older model.

My other option would be to get one from ebay and have it sent to the uk.