Thread: Mounting a 2d transducer to look forward

Many years ago I visited Reelfoot lake and had lunch in one of the local catfish restaurants. When I came out I saw a boat in the parking lot that had a strange FF/DF set up. He had a transducer on the bottom of his trolling motor and one on the shaft of the TM shaft pointing straight ahead. I waited until he came out of the restaurant and asked him about his setup. He told me he fishes mostly stumps, of which Reelfoot has an abundance. He had the second 2D FF/DF mounted up close to the bow of the boat and used it when he pulled up to a stump. It showed the stump and all the fish around it. I don't remember what brand/model he had but he said that each fish symbol had a number next to it showing how far away it was from the boat. In a normal configuration it would show the depth of each symbol.

That's what I'm aiming for...travel in search of a stump submerged. Spot lock the boat. Cast the stump. Move on to the next one. Somebody love the thump I'm addicted to seeing the bobber slipping away from me. Big grin.
Thanks for your reply

Sent from my E6810 using Crappie.com Fishing mobile app

It would take a lot of practice and experience to perfect, but in theory, would work.

The problem with 2D is that there is no perspective. If something is in the cone, you can see it, but you do not know if it is off to the side and you are just catching the edge of it, or if it is straight ahead. The cone angle will vary with distance as well, the closer you are, the smaller the cone, if you are quite a ways away, the cone can be quite large and you may have difficulty getting a bearing.

You will also only be able to see fish that are between you and the solid object. Anything off to the side or behind will be obstructed.

What about DI pointed forward and on its side? The beam would shoot like the LS. You would just have live with the line it would draw on the screen like when you are anchored over fish.

Bottom Line makes a side finder. I guess they are still in business. There are a lot of used ones out there for sale. I found they worked pretty good when they stayed working but then they didn't cost a whole lot.