Side imaging ....

some of my buds use side imaging ....some of the best crappie anglers as a matter of fact use side imaging ....
heck i think all the tournament folks use side imaging as well ....
so i went ahead and used sum a dat side imaging myself the other day ...
and when i stand kinda sideways on the bank my peripheral vision tells me ...
that kinda looks like a giant bait ball up on the surface ...dont ya think ? :Rofl
mind ya i am rather serious about ketchn fish ....and with or without electronics if i am about its prolly not a good thing for the fish
but one thing for certain this post isnt really joking around .....read the water yawl ....
it isnt always a must to use electronics to find them ....look for things that might be the ticket .
some are more obvious than others .. if you can locate a food source the larger fish wont be far away
even close to the bank in the summer ...watch for fry ....a ball of fry by the bank will bring in larger fish
and in the end ......even if you only have an hour on the bank ....
it dont mean you cant ketch the fire out of them ...:ThumbsUp

I thought your wife told you to stay off that caved in concrete under that bridge? nonono :deadhorseShe gonna beat you if she sees this picture brother!

The best use for side imaging is looking under docks for dock shooting. There are some docks that hold fish all the time and others that don't so I always look first so I don't waste my time. When fishing a new part of the lake or a new lake it works really good for finding sunken brush to fish too.

I see them little shad up at the top!! I'd stop and fish that for a while

I have had side scan for a while and still not very good at seeing what is out there. I keep falling back to my down scan which only shows a small amount below the boat but sure shows what it is.

Don't leave a stick "unturned", but leave them along.

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Originally Posted by LowePro

I thought your wife told you to stay off that caved in concrete under that bridge? nonono :deadhorseShe gonna beat you if she sees this picture brother!

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that's a different bridge brother ...it only has a rock embankment ....(and the game wardens took out "Hollywood" the gator that lived right by there ) so all is good ....LOL
I have about 4 or 5 spots I can hit in less than 5 minutes from work ....
the east fork and the west fork of the trinity river run into each other in down town ft worth ....that said there are lots a bridges ....
heck there are probably another 5 or 6 others that are good that I aint got to try just yet ....I said just yet ....

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Originally Posted by LOZ Targa

The best use for side imaging is looking under docks for dock shooting. There are some docks that hold fish all the time and others that don't so I always look first so I don't waste my time. When fishing a new part of the lake or a new lake it works really good for finding sunken brush to fish too.

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I typically just pitch my jig a few times at what I think might hold them .....in this case I found number 5 of the 6 columns holding them well
I may get me an electronic side imaging unit one day ...but until then I just pitch and hope ...

You da man Ketchn! You have been slaying them!

Keep catching them. You don't need electronics

The only certainty in fishing is that you cannot buy your way to success. Side scanning may be a good thing. I'd never criticize new technology. But it is certainly not a necessity as some would have you believe. A simple 2D black & white unit (like we have) will clue you into what is going on, just as well as a $2K unit you can get at Cabelas these days. Those expensive units are nice, no disputing that, but not necessary to success. Just my $.02! :)

Well, I"ll tell you about side imaging,,I got it last year, Can't say it helped me much, It helped me find brush, but I was catching 100+ crappie a day before I got it, Still catch a 100+ a day If I dont use the side imaging, If I start using the side imaging, I catch less fish and spend too much time looking around! There you go....Any questions?

IT IS NOT THAT YOU CAN NOT CATCH THEM WITHOUT THESE UNITS,HOWEVER IF YOU WANT TO CATCH FISH IN A NEW AREA THAT ONE IS NOT USE TO THAN IT WILL SPEED UP YOUR CATCHING RATIO MUCH,THEY ARE A GREAT SEARCHING TOOL BUT THE BIGGEST PROBLEM WITH THESE UNITS IS THE PEOPLE WHO OWN THEM,MOST DO NOT KNOW HOW TO READ WHAT THE UNIT IS TELLING THEM SO RATHER THAN LEARNING THEM THEY JUST BOAST THAT THEY GOT ONE,HAVE FRIENDS THAT GOT THEM BUT HAVE NO CLUE AS TO WHAT THE UNIT IS TELLING THEM.YES THEY INPROVE MY FISHING MUCH,AFTER FINDING BP WITH THEM I CAN TELL IF FISH ARE IN BP AND IF THEY ARE BIG ENOUGH TO EVEN STOP TO FISH AND I DO THE SAME WHEN I GO BY A DOCK,LOOK HOW MUCH TIME THAT HAS SAVE BY NOT HAVING TO STOP AND SEARCH SPOT,ALSO IF NOT BITTING AND KNOW THEY ARE THERE THEN YOU DON'T MIND TRYING A WAY TO CATCH THEM

I'm guessing the majority of us started out fishing just like you did. It was kinda neat wondering just what was holding those fish under the water. Your imagination would go wild, making you eager to get back to it again the next day. Several places you can get to right after work gives you more time to fish than those like me who have to load up, hook up, travel to, unload …..etc. By then Ketchin, your basket half full. :highfive

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Originally Posted by Bronson

I'm guessing the majority of us started out fishing just like you did. It was kinda neat wondering just what was holding those fish under the water. Your imagination would go wild, making you eager to get back to it again the next day. Several places you can get to right after work gives you more time to fish than those like me who have to load up, hook up, travel to, unload …..etc. By then Ketchin, your basket half full. :highfive

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i never forgot the things i learned along the way ....not just yet anyway .....and it took me a while to figure out river crappie for sure . i post some of these things for the folks who dont have graphs and or the money for fancy equipment .....a graph with or without side imaging helps greatly for sure , but it isnt a "needed" thing to ketch crappie in my opinion ....just another tool .....:ThumbsUp