# New side imaging fish finders



## mossboss (Aug 3, 2005)

Just curoius,On a bass boat where would you mount it.By your trolling motor up front or on the dash by the steering wheel.I just ordered a humminbird 898csi And I'm not sure where I want it at.I wish I could afford 2 but thats totally out of the question.


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## I Fish (Sep 24, 2008)

I have a 797 and the si works best around 5mph, if the 898 works the same, I'd put it on the console. Get ready to see things in a whole different perspective.


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## Flippin 416 (Aug 18, 2005)

So how does it work it you put it on your TM? Does you get a different side image view everytime you turn the head?? I think I would get dizzy and fall out of the boat!! lol I have been look at SI untis as well and I would like to get at least on on my boat before it hits the water next year......I spent too much on it already this spring....lol


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## Bassnpro1 (Apr 6, 2004)

Almost has to be on the console in order to use it effectively. The SI needs to be 3-5 mph to work the best and doesn't work great with just the trolling motor. It is a scouting tool to find spots while idling around.


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## I Fish (Sep 24, 2008)

Check out this link: http://www.xumba.scholleco.com/index.php?sid=2d45b8e3f33f017f66a2314244123325

Lots of SI info there, the good and the bad. Read up on how the SI works. It takes a bunch of thin sliced images and stitches them together to make the picture. So having it on a troller would only work if it was kept in a straight line. Think of a deck made if individual boards. All together they make the deck. With the SI, each thin slice is the board and the on screen image is the deck. It's not generated like a camera's picture, but rather a whole bunch of skinny pictures stitched together.


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## leeabu (Apr 10, 2004)

I have mine on the trolling motor and love it. It is tru when you rotate the motor, you get a distorted image for a very short time. However it refreshes fast enough it is simply not a problem. 
The advantage is I can look 360 degrees aroung the boat. I am electric only with no gas motor. I can get over 4 MPH. I have no problem at the lower speeds.


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## Flippin 416 (Aug 18, 2005)

Which SI units are you guys using? I have been drooling over some of the images they have on BBC and have been doing allot of reading as well....but never really heard how the work on the trolling motor heads.

Looks like some pretty good prices here.... http://www.jandhproducts.com/


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## leeabu (Apr 10, 2004)

I have a 997 on my bow and I am contemplating mounting a 797 on the stern.


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## I Fish (Sep 24, 2008)

To each his own, I guess. My transducer is on the transom, and I know how much picture distortion is caused by waves or making sharp turns. I would imagine the constant turning of the trolling motor for course correction would make it even harder to use the SI, not to mention the up and down of the bow. I'm not saying it would be impossible, but you would need calm water, no crosswind and keep the trolling motor going straight. If I could draw a picture of how the signals are sent, I could give you a better idea. They are sent to the sides of the boat, from the top of the water column to the bottom, but not forward or backward. It is not a round cone shape like conventional units, but rather thin slices. So, if you make a turn, the picture is greatly expanded on the outside, and compressed on the inside. Even sweeping turns cause this to some extent, but the sharper the turn, the more distortion. Heavy waves make it pretty much impossible to use, and I wish they would come up with some kind of built in gyroscope to correct this.


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## Flippin 416 (Aug 18, 2005)

I understand how the waves are sent out through the sides of the transducer as apposed to the traditional sonar...which is why I was wondering how it could possibly be used on the trolling motor head. It would make sense to me that it must be fixed. You get a 3-D image X amount of feet to the right and X amount to the left and if I understand things correct DI is now being used to transpose whets in the middle?? Wait til the figure out how to scan forward so you know what is coming up in front of you...lol 
So if sweeping turns and rough water cause distortion....how are the guys on big water (ie The Great Lakes and Oceans) using them? There is allot of good info on BBC and a TON of SI and DI images. Getting opinions and takes from everyone is alllll valuable information for sure. Good stuff and a great topic in my book.


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## I Fish (Sep 24, 2008)

The trick is to use the calm days to scout. Then, either remember things, or jot them down as you see them, and use the GPS to mark spots. In my experience, they really are fickle instruments, regardless of what the manufacturers say. A lot of the guys using them on the Great Lakes use them to find suspended schools of fish, not so much bottom structure. The SI is great given calm conditions, but their usefulness deteriorates with the conditions. You have to be selective when to use it to maximize the benefits. I can't wait to try the new Downscan. It might be more reliable than the SI, but I'll bet it will suffer the same distortion, hopefully just not so much of it.


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## walleye warrior (Apr 9, 2004)

I have 2 structure scan units, 1 at the console with my hds-10 and one on the trolling motor on my hds-7. If you only have 1, I would definitely put it at the console, however it is extremely useful up front as well.


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