Thread: DI versus SI

Tell me if I am thinking of this the right way... The way I see it, unless you are into tournaments, side imagining is more of a luxury than something the average fisherman really needs. Honestly the only time I can see a real benefit would be on a river searching for catfish hiding underneath an under cut bank. In deeper water DI seems like it would be the best choice for picking apart cover, in other words, if the water is deep enough for me to run my outboard in shouldn't I be able to use regular sonar and DI to see what is going on down there? The reason I am asking this is I am trying to talk myself out of dropping almost as much as I paid for my boat on electronics to put on my boat! Ha ha
Chris

DI and SI have their uses, I use the SI mostly when I'm looking for new places. If I find something intresting I mark a way point then idle over it with the DI to get a good look at it. The DI gets used the most, usually on a split screen with 2d while fishing. In real shallow water the area a depthfinder sees is so small it's probably useless, never tried the SI in real shallow water.

Originally Posted by justinp61

DI and SI have their uses, I use the SI mostly when I'm looking for new places. If I find something intresting I mark a way point then idle over it with the DI to get a good look at it. The DI gets used the most, usually on a split screen with 2d while fishing. In real shallow water the area a depthfinder sees is so small it's probably useless, never tried the SI in real shallow water.

Why choose? If you have the means get them both. I have HDS system, units fore and aft with LSS & ethernet to help share info.
None of it's really necessary but I wouldn't trade any of it and go backwards.

Originally Posted by crappiemax

Why choose? If you have the means get them both. I have HDS system, units fore and aft with LSS & ethernet to help share info.
None of it's really necessary but I wouldn't trade any of it and go backwards.

It's only a key stroke. I have a HDS-8 on the bow with a LSS-1 and a LSS-2 hooked to a HDS 8 & 7 on the stern. They are nothing more than tools to find out where fish hide out, buy the best you can afford reguardless of the brand. MY $.02.

Originally Posted by justinp61

It's only a key stroke. I have a HDS-8 on the bow with a LSS-1 and a LSS-2 hooked to a HDS 8 & 7 on the stern. They are nothing more than tools to find out where fish hide out, buy the best you can afford reguardless of the brand. MY $.02.

I would assume you are satisfied with HDS 8 on front. Would the 798 be adequate on the console?

Originally Posted by crappies nightmare

I would assume you are satisfied with HDS 8 on front. Would the 798 be adequate on the console?

Yes I like the 8 up front, it's on an extended mount that I made that puts the bottom of the unit about knee high. Honestly I don't have any experience with the HBs so I couldn't say.

DI will show what's under the boat and out to the sides a few feet...

SI will show what's under the boat, out to the side 100+ feet ...and which side of the boat...

SI cannot be matched in it's ability to show bottom coverage/fish....and which side of the boat that cover/fish is residing...

SI is mainly a "search and find" tool ...where DI is a "pick apart the structure" tool...

Each is as different as a "Phillips screwdriver" vs a "Torx screwdriver"...

"Basic function" is the same in each (sonar function and/or screwdriver function)...

Each's "job task" is completely different...

Which "job task" tool (SI vs DI) benefits your fishing style can only be determined by you....

Rickie

Originally Posted by justinp61

DI and SI have their uses, I use the SI mostly when I'm looking for new places. If I find something intresting I mark a way point then idle over it with the DI to get a good look at it. The DI gets used the most, usually on a split screen with 2d while fishing. In real shallow water the area a depthfinder sees is so small it's probably useless, never tried the SI in real shallow water.

Originally Posted by rnvinc

DI will show what's under the boat and out to the sides a few feet...

SI will show what's under the boat, out to the side 100+ feet ...and which side of the boat...

SI cannot be matched in it's ability to show bottom coverage/fish....and which side of the boat that cover/fish is residing...

SI is mainly a "search and find" tool ...where DI is a "pick apart the structure" tool...

Each is as different as a "Phillips screwdriver" vs a "Torx screwdriver"...

"Basic function" is the same in each (sonar function and/or screwdriver function)...

Each's "job task" is completely different...

Which "job task" tool (SI vs DI) benefits your fishing style can only be determined by you....

Rickie

Both of these gentlemen are spot on with their responses. Sidescan is for searching, downscan is for confirmation that it's worthwhile to spend time fishing the cover or structure you found.
Is sidescan a luxury? Possibly, but it is a time saver. Since my time on the water is extremely limited, I consider it a necessity.

Just my two cents worth...

and the more shallow the water, the less effective (in terms of area scanned by the sonar) it will be.

Thought long and hard on this issue and read a lot on this site.I am going tomorrow to get HB798 HD SI unit with 2 mounts and TM tranducer so i can switch unit from console to front.
I chose 798 0ver 598 because if i like the unit i am going to get 2nd unit either another 798 or even 898 if i feel i need the bigger screen. the 598 is not compatablre sharing info with 898 model.
appreciate any pro or con on what i am doing.I have Triton TR20 glass boat with Lowrance Black White in dash finders front and back currently that came with this 2000 yr boat.
Finally scraped up enough money to upgrade and think the SI on a unit is worth it.