Side Imaging or Live Scope…What’s Best For Me

Hello everyone, I’m a new member to the site and looking to confirm some gut feelings on which way to go as I’m about to buy new electronics. I’ve taken many wilderness fishing trips to Canada, spent a lot of years trolling for salmon on Lake Michigan, and I’ve caught a lot of great gamefish in my life, but I’ve come to a point where the most satisfying thing for me now is casually casting a jig for crappie, or relaxing in front of a spread of bobbers and minnows.

I am in my last boat which is only a 16 1/2 footer with a tiller Yamaha motor, therefore I prefer to keep a new electronics set up to one monitor. I have a seasonal camper in northern Wisconsin where I fish natural lakes, most of which have their deepest basins in the 25-50’ depths, with clear weed lines in the 5-10’ depths. I spend most of my time looking for crappies and bluegills, but I have only an outdated 2D sonar, and I am not real proficient at finding fish in these many lakes, which average 500-1000 acres, with many smaller and some bigger.

My biggest problem is I waste too much time fishing unproductive boat docks and boat houses, and I cannot locate fish cribs and other submerged wood and structures which crappie relate to. I catch a few fish here and there when I get lucky and set up on the right spot, but I might only hit one or two “right” spots out of how lever many spots I try, largely fishing structure I can see above water.

I want to stick to my relaxed style of fishing, where I cast jigs with a single pole or kick back with bobber sets while looking around and enjoying my surroundings. I have watched many live scope videos, and that is clearly the most effective for yanking crappie out of the water, but every video shows fishermen with an inordinate amount of time spent with his head down looking at a screen.

I think I’d really like to unlock the secrets of these lakes by finding fish cribs, downed trees and rock piles, as well as giving myself the ability to eliminate lots and lots of boat docks and boat houses that don’t have fish on them, without having to fish every one of them to do so.

My gut feeling tells me a side scan unit can give me what I’m looking for by revealing many more productive places in a shorter period of time to throw a spread of bobbers, as opposed to throwing them out with a hope and a prayer. On the other hand, you guys with live scope catch fish like nobody’s business so I wonder if I’m going to regret not going that route.

As a side note, spending the least amount of money will be a lot easier to get past my better half. I’ve kind of got my eye on the Garmin Echomap UHD 93SV with the newest GT56 transducer. What do you guys think? Am I thinking right for my situation?

Forward facing sonar is absolutely a game changer .not all but a lot of the forward facing sonar guys use a good Si unit to find their fish then zero in on their target ! With a good Si unit you will be able to cover much more water in less time than you would if you live scoped every target ! :twocents I personally wouldn’t go with anything less than a 10” screen and if the money is their I would go with a solix if not then at least a helix !

Side imaging will make a huge difference in being able to find the structure you want to fish. I have a 93sv unit but I have LiveScope only running on it. If you buy the Garmin unit with side imaging you could later add the LiveScope if you chose to.
I side scan with a Hummingbird helix 10 and toss a marker buoy then use LiveScope to set up on it and determine if there are fish present, I do spend considerable time watching the graph but honestly it’s more to see how the fish act and react to how I am presenting the jig or minnow. It is amazing sometimes to watch how many times a fish will make an approach to a bait and for whatever reason not bite it. It is also exceptionally frustrating to be watching a school of fish and they will not bite.

ThinBlueLine,

I live in northern Wisconsin and fish river systems right near my house. With a 2D fish finder I have a heck of a time locating cribs and rock piles. The bottom of the river is NOT nice and flat, so it's hard to tell if it is structure or a feature I am looking for. This summer I got to see a side imaging unit first hand. A couple of guys from out of town found all the rock piles and hammered the smallmouth bass. I talked to them for quite awhile and they took me into their boat and out to the channel to see the rock piles. It was amazing. They didn't know about the rock piles, they just happened to see them on their side imaging. They had a Hummingbird system that was pre-Helix, and even that dated system was amazing.

I am a river rat and only have a 14' Lund with a 10Hp. I have my Helix 7 Mega SI already ordered and will have it early next month. The 7" fits my budget and is great for a 14' boat.

Seeing was believing for me.

If your thinking of SI, I would go with a Humminbird Helix 9” or 10” G4N model as fished with a 9 for a few years. Humminbird is super clear so get their latest which would be the G4N models. If you ever decide to add another, then you have the ability to network the 2 as well as you have the ability to add Mega 360 and/or Mega Live. Been using Mega 360 since it came out in Dec of 2019 and I can do side scan with it besides the full 360 of seeing fish all around me. When you learn to use SI you find blue gill and other fish beds, it will show all structure and submerged weed beds,,,you name it. You will also have Down Imagining and 2D as well as fishing charts. The helix models are push button and fairly easy to use as you will learn to adjust it when in soft or hard bottoms. Side Scan is hard to beat. Mega 360 rocks to where I seldom use SI anymore. Mega Live will give live viewing of fish in motion. Go as large a screen as you can because once you learn and use SI, your hooked and wish you had went bigger. Check a retailer out that has units working and on for you to play with as well as you will be able to compare Humminbird, Lowrance and Garmin all at the same time. I now have a Helix 12 DI, Helix 10 DI up front for Mega 360 and Mega Live along with a Helix 7 DI for charts/2D. The helix 9 SI is on the back when I run my 16’ g3 jon. Electronics is additive. Everything is networked also.

You will see more detail with the larger screens also.

I'd go with the side scan, based on your intro and chosen method of fishing. As mentioned above, get the biggest screen you can afford; it will pay big dividends. I'd say the 9" would be about as small as I'd want to go for good detail with SI.

It sounds like you are an older Dude like me when it comes to SI size does really matter, if you want to find just structure smaller is OK but if you want to pick out fish then a Helix 12 is what you want, so much easier because of the size of the image. A fish only being 2-4 pixels on a smaller unit may be 9-17 pixels. Humminbird has the best SI out there. I have had true blue Lowrance guys in my boat and they admit Hbirds SI is much better.

I can take a run thru 20-25 cribs and tell you which cribs have fish if any, SI has taught me how much these fish move from one crib to the next with in a few hours or here today gone tomorrow. Open water suspended fish SI can find them, where I fish these are normally the bigger Crappies.

It hurts to spend $2,500 on a depth finder, if you keep your eyes open there are good used units Humminbird Helix 12 SI Gen 3`s out there in that $1,600. I know because I have updated to two Gen 3`s for that amount each. You could also find a Helix 12 SI Gen 1 for $800 and they will more then get the job done not as sharp an image but nothing wrong with them as long as you do not plan to update to Mega 360 or Mega Imaging.

Once you purchase one take the time to actually learn how to use and read it. What I had to finally do is leave my rods at home and spent the day doing nothing but playing with my SI. To start I went along a shoreline I kind of new and looked at my screen and compared to what I see on the shore. Would make multiple passes changing settings until it looked the way I wanted it. Did this over different types of bottom structure changing settings as I went with multiple passes. Find some fish do the same thing adjusting settings as I went over them many times.

Learning your electronics and how to set them up according to conditions is the best thing and hardest to do, once you get it then life and catching is so much easier.

Sidescan for my vote as well. As has been said the biggest you can afford

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Originally Posted by Bricks

It sounds like you are an older Dude like me when it comes to SI size does really matter, if you want to find just structure smaller is OK but if you want to pick out fish then a Helix 12 is what you want, so much easier because of the size of the image. A fish only being 2-4 pixels on a smaller unit may be 9-17 pixels. Humminbird has the best SI out there. I have had true blue Lowrance guys in my boat and they admit Hbirds SI is much better.

I can take a run thru 20-25 cribs and tell you which cribs have fish if any, SI has taught me how much these fish move from one crib to the next with in a few hours or here today gone tomorrow. Open water suspended fish SI can find them, where I fish these are normally the bigger Crappies.

It hurts to spend $2,500 on a depth finder, if you keep your eyes open there are good used units Humminbird Helix 12 SI Gen 3`s out there in that $1,600. I know because I have updated to two Gen 3`s for that amount each. You could also find a Helix 12 SI Gen 1 for $800 and they will more then get the job done not as sharp an image but nothing wrong with them as long as you do not plan to update to Mega 360 or Mega Imaging.

Once you purchase one take the time to actually learn how to use and read it. What I had to finally do is leave my rods at home and spent the day doing nothing but playing with my SI. To start I went along a shoreline I kind of new and looked at my screen and compared to what I see on the shore. Would make multiple passes changing settings until it looked the way I wanted it. Did this over different types of bottom structure changing settings as I went with multiple passes. Find some fish do the same thing adjusting settings as I went over them many times.

Learning your electronics and how to set them up according to conditions is the best thing and hardest to do, once you get it then life and catching is so much easier.

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m

I’m not too much of an older dude, just crossing the half century mark a year ago, but if you knew my wife, you’d know why I’m not likely to be buying anymore boats, and it took some fast and sweet talking to get approval for an $1,100 unit in the Garmin, lol. I would love to have the luxury of the larger and more advanced units, but there are some other non-recreation things I actually need to spend money on, such as a broken down riding lawnmower I need to replace, and an ancient a/c unit on my house.

I have an Humminbird 1199si at the helm to idle around searching for those spots and a 898si and Garmin 1022 w/ Livescope (that I've used once in 8 months) on the deck. They all have their place it seems but you're right about the cost for sure. From fishing with guys with the scopes that know what they're doing, it's an amazing tool to have.

Sent from my SM-G970U using Crappie.com Fishing mobile app

Side imaging will find the crib while Livescope will tell you if anyone is at home. I like your idea of getting the Garmin 93sv with transducer. You can always add Livescope to the system down the road if you choose.

si will get it done , once you understand the shadows it will tell you if fish are there and show what is holding them
a 99 cent pair of readers will blow up a small screen as well
live sonagram technology is great , but it isnt what i would use to find fish and its pricey .
you can get a decent si unit pretty cheap and most have decent di on them to use when you are up close
my 2 cents

I too fish northern Wisconsin, Eagle River area. I upgraded to a used boat and outfitted it with all new electronics. Side Imaging is the best for the money. you get 2D, Down Imaging, and Side Imaging with the Side Imaging unit. I went with Helix 9 units. Mega Side Imaging. You can see fish, structure, cover, weeds, etc. Plus you can create your own lake maps with hard/soft bottom transition, weeds edges, etc. IF you buy a IPilot Link trolling motor, it will follow the contour line, follow the weed edge, follow the hard/soft bottom, etc. Plus if you buy the LakeMaster SmartStrike mapping cards it will show you the best locations to fish. All of these option are available on the Humminbird/MinnKota/LakeMaster products. They are all made by Johson and made to work together. A real game changer.

Mega 360 will show you everything around the boat. It's like Side Imagine (SI), but always turning in a circle. SI only shows out to either side. SI works best while moving up to 5mph or so. M360 works best while less than 1mph. Live Scope is to target a specific spot at less than 1mph. For what you described, SI would be the way to go and pair it to a MinnKota I-Pilot Link trolling motor, then buy a LakeMaster SmartStrike mapping card.

Which area are you fishing?

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Originally Posted by Hanr3

I too fish northern Wisconsin, Eagle River area. I upgraded to a used boat and outfitted it with all new electronics. Side Imaging is the best for the money. you get 2D, Down Imaging, and Side Imaging with the Side Imaging unit. I went with Helix 9 units. Mega Side Imaging. You can see fish, structure, cover, weeds, etc. Plus you can create your own lake maps with hard/soft bottom transition, weeds edges, etc. IF you buy a IPilot Link trolling motor, it will follow the contour line, follow the weed edge, follow the hard/soft bottom, etc. Plus if you buy the LakeMaster SmartStrike mapping cards it will show you the best locations to fish. All of these option are available on the Humminbird/MinnKota/LakeMaster products. They are all made by Johson and made to work together. A real game changer.

Mega 360 will show you everything around the boat. It's like Side Imagine (SI), but always turning in a circle. SI only shows out to either side. SI works best while moving up to 5mph or so. M360 works best while less than 1mph. Live Scope is to target a specific spot at less than 1mph. For what you described, SI would be the way to go and pair it to a MinnKota I-Pilot Link trolling motor, then buy a LakeMaster SmartStrike mapping card.

Which area are you fishing?

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I have a camper on a seasonal site at the Chain O’ Lakes Campground in Eagle River. The campground is on Cranberry Lake on the Eagle River chain of lakes, but I try to fish one new lake in the vicinity each time I go up there.

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Originally Posted by Hanr3

I too fish northern Wisconsin, Eagle River area. I upgraded to a used boat and outfitted it with all new electronics. Side Imaging is the best for the money. you get 2D, Down Imaging, and Side Imaging with the Side Imaging unit. I went with Helix 9 units. Mega Side Imaging. You can see fish, structure, cover, weeds, etc. Plus you can create your own lake maps with hard/soft bottom transition, weeds edges, etc. IF you buy a IPilot Link trolling motor, it will follow the contour line, follow the weed edge, follow the hard/soft bottom, etc. Plus if you buy the LakeMaster SmartStrike mapping cards it will show you the best locations to fish. All of these option are available on the Humminbird/MinnKota/LakeMaster products. They are all made by Johson and made to work together. A real game changer.

Mega 360 will show you everything around the boat. It's like Side Imagine (SI), but always turning in a circle. SI only shows out to either side. SI works best while moving up to 5mph or so. M360 works best while less than 1mph. Live Scope is to target a specific spot at less than 1mph. For what you described, SI would be the way to go and pair it to a MinnKota I-Pilot Link trolling motor, then buy a LakeMaster SmartStrike mapping card.

Which area are you fishing?

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I have a camper on a seasonal site at the Chain O’ Lakes Campground in Eagle River. The campground is on Cranberry Lake on the Eagle River chain of lakes, but I try to fish one new lake in the vicinity each time I go up there.

You'll not regret live sonar, but that's only part of the puzzle. Side scan to find them from afar and a little faster, scope em to zero in on them, roughly confirm what they are, and kill them lol

There is fishing and there is catching.

I have come to realize that I like catching more.

Fish move, alot.

That hot dock,brush pile or tree today can be a dud tomorrow.

Fish the high percentage cover for better catching.

A good looking tree image on SI with bare branches will probably get a pass.

That same tree that appears to be in full bloom with leaves (fish) will get noticed and probably fished.

Hunting with SI at 3-5 mph will cut down the search time immensely, especially with a tiller since you can sight left or right as the transducer on the transom passes by the structure, you can get a landmark bearing or just toss a float quickly.

Trolling motor integration with side imagining is key to me, as Hanr3 described with the Ipilot and SI.

I would rather have a newer trolling motor with spot lock, jog and Ipilot and connected to my old 998SI unit, than do without the trolling motor integration and run a newer graph.


Even with the newer Helix units, I still run 455khz for the extra range during the hunt.

If something is of interest I can always get closer on another pass at 1200khz if I want a pretty picture or to verify the amount of fish.

Point is, find the fish fast and then work out the catching details.

Once you found a spot where you feel pretty confident there are fish, then you can decide if you want to really catch them fast and furious or just toss out a couple of rods and kick back and relax.

Some days you may feel like the hunter and some days like the couch potato.

No matter your effort decided for the day, fishing empty water is just fishing and the hunter or couch potato will catch the same.

If you do get a new SI unit, I would suggest a spending few days on the water right after ice out if possible.

This will be the cleanest water to learn your new unit and as the season progresses and the water gets turbid, you will be able see the differences and the effects on the clarity of your SI returns.

Good luck and feel free to ask questions.

There is a wealth of knowledge and experience here.

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Originally Posted by Thinblueline

Hello everyone, I’m a new member to the site and looking to confirm some gut feelings on which way to go as I’m about to buy new electronics. I’ve taken many wilderness fishing trips to Canada, spent a lot of years trolling for salmon on Lake Michigan, and I’ve caught a lot of great gamefish in my life, but I’ve come to a point where the most satisfying thing for me now is casually casting a jig for crappie, or relaxing in front of a spread of bobbers and minnows.

I am in my last boat which is only a 16 1/2 footer with a tiller Yamaha motor, therefore I prefer to keep a new electronics set up to one monitor. I have a seasonal camper in northern Wisconsin where I fish natural lakes, most of which have their deepest basins in the 25-50’ depths, with clear weed lines in the 5-10’ depths. I spend most of my time looking for crappies and bluegills, but I have only an outdated 2D sonar, and I am not real proficient at finding fish in these many lakes, which average 500-1000 acres, with many smaller and some bigger.

My biggest problem is I waste too much time fishing unproductive boat docks and boat houses, and I cannot locate fish cribs and other submerged wood and structures which crappie relate to. I catch a few fish here and there when I get lucky and set up on the right spot, but I might only hit one or two “right” spots out of how lever many spots I try, largely fishing structure I can see above water.

I want to stick to my relaxed style of fishing, where I cast jigs with a single pole or kick back with bobber sets while looking around and enjoying my surroundings. I have watched many live scope videos, and that is clearly the most effective for yanking crappie out of the water, but every video shows fishermen with an inordinate amount of time spent with his head down looking at a screen.

I think I’d really like to unlock the secrets of these lakes by finding fish cribs, downed trees and rock piles, as well as giving myself the ability to eliminate lots and lots of boat docks and boat houses that don’t have fish on them, without having to fish every one of them to do so.

My gut feeling tells me a side scan unit can give me what I’m looking for by revealing many more productive places in a shorter period of time to throw a spread of bobbers, as opposed to throwing them out with a hope and a prayer. On the other hand, you guys with live scope catch fish like nobody’s business so I wonder if I’m going to regret not going that route.

As a side note, spending the least amount of money will be a lot easier to get past my better half. I’ve kind of got my eye on the Garmin Echomap UHD 93SV with the newest GT56 transducer. What do you guys think? Am I thinking right for my situation?

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I crappie fish a lot. My style is either shooting docks or fishing brush. The crappie on my lake are entirely black crappie so my
Input may not apply as much to white crappie. I use a helix 9 and 10 and they a total game changer. Imagine a community dock with 200 slips. If you don't have a side imaging ,it could take all day to fish these. With a side imaging, you can tell the docks that hold schools of crappie in 15 minutes. It also works well on brush piles.
I've fished all 3 major brands and greatly prefer the hummingbird helix. Most people are going to recommend the unit they use as that's human nature. I will say that if you're considered a live scope later,then Garmin wound be best choice and it does a decent side view
Good luck fishing

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Originally Posted by Thinblueline

I have a camper on a seasonal site at the Chain O’ Lakes Campground in Eagle River. The campground is on Cranberry Lake on the Eagle River chain of lakes, but I try to fish one new lake in the vicinity each time I go up there.

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We camped at High Pines last year. We looked at Chain O' Lakes, but High Pines is closer to family. I have family that lives in and around Eagle River. Been going up there for over 40 years. Most times I'm visiting and not there to fish, but we manage to get out once or twice a trip. Which lake is your favorite?

Well, like I said, I pretty much spend most of my time up there targeting panfish because I can get all the walleyes I want back near home on the bay of Green Bay, and I’ve only had the camper for two seasons so I’ve just barely begun to scratch the surface. For convenience, I fish cranberry a lot with varying results for crappies. I’ve also had a couple decent trips to the Buckatabon Lakes, Big Sand, and Pioneer, but I’ve had some slow outings on those same lakes too. Those seem to be the ones I’ve spent the most time on, but I have three or four new ones in the vicinity I’d like to visit in 2022.

Don't be afraid to hit some of the smaller lakes with a single public ramp. Most of the boat/fishing traffic is on the chain.
If you haven't already, take a Pirate Cruise. It's a good time with a little rum. Make sure to walk the plank.
Pirates Hideaway | Pirate Ship Rides, Ice Cream Shop, & More in Eagle River, WI

I have in-laws that fish Green Bay for Walleyes. One of these days I want to make that trip with them. Just never seem to have enough vacation time.

I currently run a 93uhd sv echomap. I really can't justify buying the livescope 1400.00 transducer to give me live scope. The side view 2d and down imaging are good enough to put me on the fish. I've heard some guys with it say they spend to much time looking at the screen and chasing fish around and not enough time fishing. Get you a good graph with side imaging and down imaging and you be fine.

Thanks for the insight on this thread gents. A couple days ago I bit the bullet and bought the Garmin Echomap UHD 93SV with the GT56 transducer. I’m no electrician but hopefully I can get this thing rigged up on my own when I get my boat out of storage in six or seven weeks. I won’t buy another fish finder for as many years as this thing keeps working so I hope it serves me well.

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Originally Posted by Thinblueline

Thanks for the insight on this thread gents. A couple days ago I bit the bullet and bought the Garmin Echomap UHD 93SV with the GT56 transducer. I’m no electrician but hopefully I can get this thing rigged up on my own when I get my boat out of storage in six or seven weeks. I won’t buy another fish finder for as many years as this thing keeps working so I hope it serves me well.

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Lots of people here happy to help sort out the wiring if you get stumped