Side Imaging in shallow lakes

How good do side imaging units work in shallow lakes? The lake I normally fish is 9'-10' deep on average. How far out to the sides can I expect a side imaging unit see? Trying to figure out if it would be worth the cost for shallow lakes. Thanks.

This time of year, I use mine in shallow water of <4 feet a lot. I keep the distance around 50-80 feet. I'm looking for structure. 50-80 seems to give me decent resolution for what I'm doing.

So, in 4' of water the unit will "see" 50'-80'?

mine give me a real good look. there is a 2' difference between the transom mounted and the bow mounted on the trolling motor. i have one set at 110' and the other at 150'. your cursor will tell you distance from boat and i'm working on depth at cursor. bigger screens are better.

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Originally Posted by sah

So, in 4' of water the unit will "see" 50'-80'?

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Might see further. This range is my preference most of the time.

Do to the shape of the 455khz vs the 800 khz sonar beam...I use the 455 in very shallow water....(5ft or less)...

Read here...
http://www.crappie.com/crappie/fishi...am-shapes.html

Rickie

They work fine in shallow water, just need to have it on shallow setting.. Yes you can see beds and anything else that is there. A definite time saver.

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Originally Posted by brushnjigs

They work fine in shallow water, just need to have it on shallow setting.. Yes you can see beds and anything else that is there. A definite time saver.

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What do you mean by Shallow Setting.

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Originally Posted by wilbur

What do you mean by Shallow Setting.

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Lowrance has a shallow setting,,not sure on the birds if they have it

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Originally Posted by sah

So, in 4' of water the unit will "see" 50'-80'?

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That would be 100'-160' in 4' of water or less, if what he's saying is true. I would think that if you had 160ft of 4ft water, the probability of getting useful information goes down a little. Any rise in the bottom or even structure in water that shallow will stop your scan.

In no way am I saying it doesn't work well, I'm just saying the limitations get compounded in water that shallow.