Fish finder for shallow water

[MDbassin]

What type of fish finder is good for shallow water the MAX depth of the deepest lake I fish is 8 ft with the avg depth being 4-6 ft( so it says on MD dnr website) the water is to stained for sight fishing so I need a finder for finsim the fish and structure.... Ive read that side imaging fish finders are best for shallow water as the DI units won't give as broad a range in shallow water but I can't for the life of me tell what I'm looking at on a screenshot of a SI finder i just camt seem to put the picture together in y head as clear as a DI alrwady does for me. Is there another alternative or is SI the way to go? Also a beginner friendly unit is a must

[stk]

I had the same problem when looking at an si image.  There is a guy on you tube that does tips and tricks for humminbird units and it cleared things up for me.  There is a section here in the electronics forum that shows screen shots and interpretations from other more experienced anglers.  

I just picked up a helix 7 and can't wait to get it on the water.

[Comfortably Numb]

I dont think any depth finder will help much in that shallow water.

[Turkey sandwich]

You don't need anything crazy.  A 4 or 5X HDI will do the trick.  You just need to see small changes in depth and bottom composition.  You aren't going to be seeing a whole lot of fish because at that debth, the sonar cone is going to be super narrow. 

[Comfortably Numb]

You will not see many fish on Si in shallow water. It's more designed to show structure

[Wayne P.]

If any fish are shallow when you are shallow, Humminbird Side Imaging will show them. It is designed to record sonar echoes. Fish will produce sonar echoes. If one has inadequate equipment for the task, then the results will be inadequate.

Humminbird Side Imaging with 100' of coverage in less than 2' showing bass and a school of small shad in a creek channel on the right side:

Humminbird Side Imaging with 200' of coverage in less than 4' showing a bass at the lower left side:

Humminbird Side Imaging with 100' of coverage at 3' showing two bass checking out a spawning area:

Humminbird Side Imaging with 80' of coverage in less than 2' looking for spawners along a dollar pad field:

 

[Comfortably Numb]

I have had every brand made. None will show fish in side imaging reliably. Stop telling people that they will and get their hopes up. 

Yes it is possible but not likely.

When I first got a HB 898 I thought awesome, now I can see fish under docks. After thousands of hours of use I am yet to see this.

[MDbassin]

I mean seeing the fish would be great and save time but I'm mostly just looking to find structure.... I believe the largest lake I fish is around 45 acres so as long as I can find structure I can fish it and if I don't get anything I can just move on its not like I'm fishing a 800 acre lake

[carlm01]

MDbassin, If your looking for an inexpensive SI/GPS unit check out the Helix 5  you'll be able to see structure and it also has DI and Sonar ,so your pretty well set for anything ...And just so you know there are other units out there that do the same thing ,I've always used hummingbird ....good luck

[Comfortably Numb]

Yes I think the HB Helix series would be good for you.

[jrm]

I had a old fish finder came on my 2000 model bass tracker. It quit so after researching i bought a Garmin striker vivid 5 but hated it & Returned it. I don't need graphs or network. I just want to see depth and fish. I fish same lakes & rivers depth isn't over 20 ft. Mostly shallow river. Water is pretty murky. What is y'all's recommendation. Low Budget