SI, DI, and 2D sonar images.
 

There always seem to be a lot of questions around Side Imaging, Down Imaging, and 2D sonar so I thought I would post some screenshots of the various images from lakes here in AB.

First up is a 2D image over a DI image. You can see that the image on 2D is less clearly defined, but it has the classic arch that most are used to seeing. Below that is DI, which is much sharper and shows three fish. Two close together on the left and one a little further to the right.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...d2a466cf8d.jpg


Next up are a couple schools of baitfish. You can see the shadows of the schools to either side of the school. The distance between the school and the shadow indicates how high the fish are off the bottom. The top school is actually suspended quite high. The bottom school is fairly tight to the bottom as the shadows are closer to the school.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...3c869eb6f3.jpg

This shot shows a school of larger fish (likely walleyes given their size and proximity to a drop off). These fish appear to be slightly right of the boat and suspended 2-3 feet off the bottom based on the distance to their sonar shadows further right.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...40b38a5ed6.jpg

Here’s a shot of some rock piles on SI.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...83e12d0c86.jpg

Here are some fish off on the right, fairly close to the bottom.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...107ecc7e93.jpg

Here’s a tire rim off on the right. If you zoom in you can actually see detail in the rim. Not fish, but shows the detail you get.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...9e2d6ea5d9.jpg

Cool Thread ..………..

I also really like the 3d rendering you get after making your own maps using the Humminbird live chart software - really gives you a cool perspective of the structure you are fishing as if from a birds eye view underwater …. here's one of some structure in Wabamun - one of my favorite spots - middle of nowhere.

Each one of those slightly lighter lines is 1ft in depth - an absolute cliff under there. If you know where the sunken sailboat is, you will know where this is.

https://i.imgur.com/eA3iOG9.jpg

I'm still learning how to use my SI, but after watching some cool vids with Tom Boley (if you're not following his work on YouTube, you should be... dude is a superstar) I'm really getting into it. I still have a hard time seeing exactly what is a fish, but it'll come in time. My new Lowrance Elite Ti 9 is my first ever sonar unit, so it's really a learning process for me. Last time out on Sylvan we actually marked a fish on 2D, stopped, anchored, and caught the fish. First time ever for me and it was a really great feeling.

I just got a 9ti also. My first. Learning to read the si and di are gonna take some time but I think I marked some fish last wkend and we caught it also. Super cool tech. Question for you. What mapping program are tou running?

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I've got a Navionics card, if that's what you mean....? But I haven't really got around to using the mapping yet. I need to work on that next time out. We're hoping to get out somewhere (undecided) this Saturday, so that'll be a plan for sure!!

Nicely done SS. Great to see the comparisons. Hopefully next year I'll lay the cash down on a Bird or Lowrance. Spent my money this year on a trip to NE sask.

super interesting! way above my head but its great to actually see whats down there. I do love my camera for ice fishing I know seeing whats around and what they are doing makes my catch rate a whole lot higher. I would never know there was a big walleye at my minnow without it most times if they are finicky they can take it in then spit it out long before the rod or the line moves, if you are watching you can sometimes hit them just at the right second. Or they will swim by and never give your bait a second look if you dont move it to entice them. and without the viewing you wouldnt know there was a fish for miles. I guess this would be pretty close you could see them at the hook long before someone with no imaging for sure. Thanks for sharing technology is great. sometimes

I will never again fish without my AquaVu. The wife and I had to buy a second one because we kept fighting over the one we had. It's revolutionized our ice fishing.

I’m trying to put together a video on locating fish using SI, dropping a waypoint, spot-locking, and slip bobbering for walleye. It’s beauty when it works.

nice. it will be interesting to see. maybe a good thing we didnt have this tech long ago, Id have emptied all the lakes by now :bad_boys_20: yah right. I did get to fish with a friend with this stuff it was interesting to see him find a fish and someone drop a bait in front of it and pull it out just in the middle of nowhere.

I just picked up a lowrance with the tripleshot sonar. I've got lots to learn with it but this thread has given me a great start.

I really really really want to upgrade from the V2 (Co-pilot) to the I-Pilot, but just can't justify the expense on my 22 year old boat. The spot-lok feature just seems absolutely deadly. Whenever we decide to upgrade boats (likely not till we move back to Manitoba one day) we'll absolutely have that feature. Seems SO crucial...

I got the motorguide xi5 and anchor lock is deadly. But it also has the jog feature that has become so handy. The si and di together has been an education for sure.

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I picked up a new Garmin Livescope unit this year and it totally changed my fishing. Tech is revolutionary. Sight fishing 50 feet underneath you or 50 feet ahead of you, kinda cheating if you ask me. Biggest thing for me is you can observe the behavior of fish and make adjustments to your lure or presentation immediately. Still learning how to use this thing but it's been solid so far.

That's pretty neat. I have a Humminbird Fishin' Buddy Max DI that I'm still learning how to use. It's a pretty steep learning curve trying to decipher the images.

Very neat. What humminbird unit are you using? I have a helix 7 and don’t have the clarity you are getting? Is it a mega chirp?

I’m running a Helix 10 and 9, both Mega CHIRP SI.

Here’s a quick video I took last night, showing some of my SI settings and some fish on the sonar.


https://youtu.be/QAIxnEunx7A

SS

Thanks. That was very helpful.

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Cool breakdown, I think side imaging is one of the most under utilized tools out there and fairly reasonably priced. I'd love to venture into the livescope stuff from Garmin but that is some big bucks.

Hopefully not a derail but I did get a kick out of the "it's always wakeboats." I seriously hate them things. Wife has had to talk me down a couple times on the water regarding them morons.

amen!

Great Post SS, thanks for that.

Awesome thread SS. I was wondering if this was the mega SI or the regular, but I see you answered that. I run a helix 5 with the standard SI and the clarity isn't quite as good as the Mega. I havent really been able to pick out individual fish but its still great for seeing structure, rock piles, weed beds etc.

I also run my chart speed at 3 for SI in the kayak. Its the perfect speed for trolling and SI. I end up cranking the chart speed up when jigging with the sonar. I hate that the chart speed is tied together for SI/DI and sonar. I like a fast chart speed for my sonar and a slow chart speed for my SI.

Also, how awesome is autochart! There are days where I wont even get the rod out until I've mapped some structure.