Using your Humminbird side scan for a tool

[WarrenMN]

I've started new page on my site, with screen captures, I hope others might find useful in using their Humminbird side scans. Under Tips and Tricks on using.

www.accuemap.com

One part I used a boat I found with the 997 on the bottom of the lake this summer and scanned it at different speeds, different distances off to the sides, one side vs two sides on the screen and that. Each image has the speed, off sets and all so you can see what difference it makes.

The other one is for using the side scan to make maps with in maps on your chart plotter, of things like weed lines and odd breaks you find. I'm not set up for a discussion board like here and as good a job as sites like this are, have no interest in trying.

WarrenMN

[jaxsprat]

Wow, great info plse keep adding on when you have time, thanks

[WarrenMN]

Note for the guys using the Humminbirds. Circuit City is having a sale on their Extreme III 2gb SD cards, $34.99. That's half off the regular price and even $15 less than the 1gb, which makes no sense at all.

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/SanDi...oductDetail.do

This one seems to always work in the Humminbirds, and it's very fast speed, great for recording and screen captures. I think its about 130 times faster than a standard SD card.

Shipping is free I think too.

WarrenMN

[ShilohRed]

Warren how hard would it be for someone that has never used this program to make a map of a water shed lake?
Also guessing If I set the 987 up where it shows the grid. Then just troll with the grid that would give me a line to follow.
How hard would it be to do a lake or cove say 3/4 mile long and 1/2 mile or less wide?
Thanks for the post. I think that would give me a better ideal of all the humps and channels in the lakes that way.
Pete

[ShilohRed]

The other one is for using the side scan to make maps with in maps on your chart plotter, of things like weed lines and odd breaks you find. I'm not set up for a discussion board like here and as good a job as sites like this are, have no interest in trying.

WarrenMN

I use mine that way also. Its nice to be able to see a creek channel or river channel. Freeze the screen. And mark the length of it with waypoints. Then at the end of that one start again. Its easy to mark a mile of creek channel like that. And then go back and fish it with ease. And not have a marker out for others to use. LOL
Also I can and do drive creek channels using the sidescan. It shows the channel and you can run the channel and stay in it easy doing that also. That is nice when looking over a channel. Just keep it on both sides of the screen and drive. You can learn so much.

Also if your putting out crappie beds. Mark the points of a creek channel or a ledge and then be able to drop 4 or 5 beds right where they need to be.
Theres so many ways to use this tool. And I am like you. I think so many people are just using the unit for what they see at that moment.
Its nice to be able to mark say 10 brush piles at one time. Freeze the screen and mark a spot. Then move the curser over and mark the next until you have everything in the screen marked in that screen shot.
Pete

[WarrenMN]

Depending on if you had a laptop in the boat or not, easy or easier. First if your using a Lowrance unit that uses the cards you can store the data in an SLG file as you go along then put it on a card and make a map several ways. Right here I want to say DrDepth is so easy. In the program is a function that will take will convert an SLG file to a DrDepth format data. Then all you have to do is open it. It doesn't automatically open it cause you might want to do more than one at a time.
Once you have load it the choice's are, do you want a 2D map, a 3D map or export it as a shape file (SHP). If your using Lowrance's you can take that SHP file and convert it back to a Lowrance format that will run on a chip like a commercial map, pop it in and go. I just wish we could do that with the Humminbird's.
If you want to do more than just make a paper map you have two choices, one you can run them in a program like Fugawi that'll take the map and give you coordinates any where on the map or do like many of us like Bruce Samson does, www.hightechfishing.com , and run it on a laptop in the boat where it'll show you any where on the map as you go.
If you go the laptop route, you can just reload the data every time in DrDepth and make a map so you can see your position as you go. Fun part of this, as long as the water level doesn't change I have it hooked to the sonar getting data and as you go along it just keeps making a better map. I did when I was doing that 3D map of Clearwater. I enjoy working with Doc and Per so I put a banner down on left side. Next to it you can open the Clearwater 3D. It created the map on the fly as I drove around on the lake so if there was some thing extra interesting I just looped back over it. You can also see the area in the NW corner where I had to stop going further across the lake cause of the waves. Next time out all I have to do is rerun the map and I can see where I need to fill in and watch as I do.
Thats where the Humminbird 997 really made it great. As I ran on the grid lines in DrDepth I could see if I was missing any thing in between. I just really really wish I could make the contour maps like we do for the Lowrance's, but I wouldn't trade it for any thing now.

WarrenMN

[zappaf19]

Man I want one of those!
Bill

[Ranger690]

Thanks for the insight Warren. I checked out the pics. I see the changes with changes in GPS speeds, but did you adjust your chart scroll speed any? I always keep my scroll speed closely matching my actual speed. I have seen where I distort any object by going too fast (compress) or too slow and stretching it.

thanks,

Dayton

[WarrenMN]

When I did those I think I kept the chart speed constant but I do as you do most of the time, keep the chart speed set to the MPH up to 10 mph. Easy rule of thumb.
The only time I don't for a reason is when I want to geo-reference them in Global Mapper to make maps out of the screen captures. Then I want to get as much area as possible on the screen to make one map. The quality isn't as good but it cuts down how many times I have to do screen capture to do an area. I'll put up a page on my site this after noon showing a couple.
WarrenMN

[Cane Pole]

Pretty neat. I am gonna get the Dr Depth program and fool around with it some next year when it warms up.

You forgot to mention the Sandisk Extreme III comes with a keychain purse to carry the SD card in. Nice.