Sidescan....

[dgkasper58]

After watching numerous videos on using sidescan to locate structure/fish I wanted to jump in here to get everyone POV on using it as I feel many topics were never addressed.  I want to be prepared as best as I can this spring.

 

TIA

 

Do you rely on Sidescan to help you locate structure or fish?  

     Follow up: Once located structure do you always Waypoint?

Do you use Sidescan when there is limited hard structure (but a lot of weeds)?

How do you differentiate weedbeds on Sidescan (whole lake is covered in weeds silt bottom)?

Can you see fish "in" the weeds?

     Follow up- do the shadows look different "in" the weeds.

 

ANY other information is greatly appreciated.

 

 

[Tennessee Boy]

Do you rely on Sidescan to help you locate structure or fish?  

I look for anything interesting,  structure, cover,  or fish.  

 

Once located structure do you always Waypoint?  There's lots of structure and cover in most of the lakes I fish.  I only mark the stuff that looks the most interesting.

 

Do you use Sidescan when there is limited hard structure (but a lot of weeds)?  Yes,  I use my electronics everywhere to understand what's down there.  It helps me find good locations and eliminate areas that are less interesting. 

 

Can you see fish "in" the weeds? No

[Way2slow]

I haven't seen our used one of these new live image units, but generally, I don't rely on the sonar to show me bass.  Unless they are suspended, schooling and actively feeding, they are generally too close to the bottom or structure to pick them out.  What I depend on are the images that show those special, isolated spots that bass tend to hold close to. 

There are always exceptions.  On lake Falcon once we passed an underwater bare hump the was full of images that appeared to be fish about a foot off the bottom.  Figuring it was something else we went on by.  Not seeing anything else, I went back, and we made a few casts.  For about the next hour, we were catching bass just about every cast.

[jbsoonerfan]

I usually find myself looking for ice chests, tires, barrels, etc. then I remember I am supposed to be looking for brush piles, stumps, rocks, etc. 

[casts_by_fly]

I use it to find structure because I’m in a kayak and a lot of what I’m fishing is shallow and unknown to me. I can fish my way down a bank with autochart on and watch side imaging for anything interesting. I will do it before the grass grows up so the bottom is cleaner to see. Then I can go back to those hard spots and rock humps in the middle of a grass flat later in the season. 

[MIbassyaker]

I started using side imaging in the kayak for the first time last summer, and immediately found it very useful for locating deep weedlines.  I fish mostly natural lakes where a typical situation is an irregular weeded slope going from around 5 to 20 feet or more, where the deep edge of the weeds is around 15-18 feet.  I can position over deep water parallel to the break and see exactly how close I am to the weed edge on that slope.
 

It's less useful in the weeds, unless there is some irregular feature, like a bare spot, rocks, or something like that. I can't really see fish in the weeds though. Different kinds of weeds can look a little different, such as cabbage vs. milfoil, because of density and height.

[casts_by_fly]

1 hour ago, MIbassyaker said:

I started using side imaging in the kayak for the first time last summer, and immediately found it very useful for locating deep weedlines.  I fish mostly natural lakes where a typical situation is an irregular weeded slope going from around 5 to 20 feet or more, where the deep edge of the weeds is around 15-18 feet.  I can position over deep water parallel to the break and see exactly how close I am to the weed edge on that slope.
 

It's less useful in the weeds, unless there is some irregular feature, like a bare spot, rocks, or something like that. I can't really see fish in the weeds though. Different kinds of weeds can look a little different, such as cabbage vs. milfoil, because of density and height.

you mean something like this…

 

 

[gim]

I find it especially useful to find isolated boulders or patches of boulders.  Where I smallmouth fish, the water is quite clear and sidescan allows me to find those locations from a distance without spooking fish if they are present.  I mark these locations, approach them slowly, and make long casts to them.

 

I have found some of these specific locations to be productive year after year when I visit them the same time of year.

[Boomstick]

Sidescan is a great way to cover a lot of water in a short period of time. It's great for finding laydowns, weedlines, rocks, shoals, sunken bridges, creek channels etc.

 

Often when I am on a new lake, I will paddle down the shoreline with sidescan on looking for both any structure that looks promising, and see if I see any bass-looking fish in the area. If I'm in a wide body of water, I might be looking at just one side even but in a channel you can use both sides going down the middle.

[J Francho]

On 3/1/2022 at 3:12 PM, dgkasper58 said:

Do you rely on Sidescan to help you locate structure or fish?

Yes, for structure, cover, bait, target fish.

On 3/1/2022 at 3:12 PM, dgkasper58 said:

Follow up: Once located structure do you always Waypoint?

Depends, but often yes.

On 3/1/2022 at 3:12 PM, dgkasper58 said:

Do you use Sidescan when there is limited hard structure (but a lot of weeds)?

Depends, probably less if shallow.

On 3/1/2022 at 3:12 PM, dgkasper58 said:

Can you see fish "in" the weeds?

Nope.

[dgkasper58]

Thanks everybody.  I mainly fish 1 body of water and have my spots this will hopefully let me find a few more.  

 

Mainly got it for crappie fishing which might turn into Livescope...  But wanted to find some good structure for bass.

[TOXIC]

My buddies side scan is tuned in well enough to see beds.  We use it a lot.  I personally prefer downscan but sidescan has its advantages. 

[GreenPig]

16 minutes ago, TOXIC said:

My buddies side scan is tuned in well enough to see beds.  We use it a lot.  I personally prefer downscan but sidescan has its advantages. 

Like these Shellcracker beds.

[padon]

side scan is very helpful in locating structure, cover , and fish. it just allows you to see alot more area at once. just remember the shallower the water the less to the side you should set your range. 3x the depth is the general guideline. meaning in 10 feet of water you should set your side range around 30 feet. its all about angles distortion etc. when i locate something on side scan i use the cursor to put a weight point on it. it is very useful around grass. you can idle around outside the grass line and very easily identify and waypoint the grass edge. i cant really see fish in weeds but i can see hard spots indentions. points etc. all of which can concentrate bass.

[Siebert Outdoors]

19 hours ago, dgkasper58 said:

Thanks everybody.  I mainly fish 1 body of water and have my spots this will hopefully let me find a few more.  

 

Mainly got it for crappie fishing which might turn into Livescope...  But wanted to find some good structure for bass.

 

Depending on what you fishing and how your fishing don't leave out downscan for Crappie.  You may find them hanging out over a tree or in it.

[slonezp]

On 3/1/2022 at 5:47 PM, jbsoonerfan said:

I usually find myself looking for ice chests, tires, barrels, etc. then I remember I am supposed to be looking for brush piles, stumps, rocks, etc. 

You forgot sunk boats. I've found many a rowboat and canoe sitting on the bottom.

[Boomstick]

On 3/10/2022 at 11:07 PM, padon said:

just remember the shallower the water the less to the side you should set your range. 3x the depth is the general guideline.

Very true. I generally try to leave it on auto because it adjusts with the depth, but sometimes it's a little over ambitious with the range at times so if the depth is fairly uniform I will manually set it.

[Jig Man]

My most effective use of it is to set my unit to record.  Pick an area or bank and drive it.  When I get it covered I stop the recording and move to open water.  I set the unit up with side, down, 2 d sonar and mapping.  I play the recording watching for likely looking spots.  When I see something I mark a waypoint.  When the recording is finished I go back and fish the waypoints.

[dgkasper58]

15 hours ago, Jig Man said:

My most effective use of it is to set my unit to record.  Pick an area or bank and drive it.  When I get it covered I stop the recording and move to open water.  I set the unit up with side, down, 2 d sonar and mapping.  I play the recording watching for likely looking spots.  When I see something I mark a waypoint.  When the recording is finished I go back and fish the waypoints.

That is definitely the plan.  Went with the garmin 106 So I hope all 3 look good.  Planned on doing sidescan across the the top full length and 2d and down scan.  

 

I don't think I need the maps up until after I have posted the WP ?