Thread: Side Scan

Go to this page http://www.crappie.com/crappie/side-down-imaging/ and they will be able to help you in your settings. These guys know the units inside out.

Originally Posted by Led_Outdoors

Best side imaging settings. Can't seem to figure it out. Any help will be appreciated. Thanks.


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Best thing you can do when using side scan is to take full advantage of your screen width. That is, use the full left to right screen width, not just half the screen. I usually set mine up to show Side scan on the bottom half (full width), and then 2D sonar and GPS screens above. Adjust your side scan range to each side to be roughly 4-5 times the water depth you are in. For instance, if sitting in 20 ft of water, set side imaging to 80-100 ft each side. If in 10 FOW, set side scan to 40-50 ft each side. These settings work well on the 455 frequency. You'll prob find the 455 gives you the best range. Once you find something and want a closer, more detailed look, swap to the 800 or higher freq. The higher freqs give sharper returns, but don't "shine" out nearly as far as the 455. Pick a color palette that shows the side scan best on your unit. Lowrance units show gray/white returns well, Hbird units display gold/yellow palletes well. For down imaging, I usually pick a diff color palette than my side scan so it's easy to quickly differentiate. You can play around with other settings like clarity and contrast, but honestly the auto settings work fine. Biggest thing is to adjust range appropriately using the 4-5 thumbrule. Realize too if scanning 100 ft to each side or more, a big fish can be a small return! You are looking for schools of white returns. You are also looking for shadows cast by those returns. Shadows are prob your best indicator of a group of fish on side scan. There are a bunch of sonar quizzes with on the water pics on the CDC side imaging forum. Looking through those can help you get up on the learning curve. Hope this helps! Tight Lines!

One last thing, side imaging works best with boat movement, say 1-6 mph. Sitting still, you are just going to get a bunch of overlaid returns, which will fuzz out. Over 10 mph, it can't keep up. Best to use 2d sonar above 10 mph.

That's really useful info on side scanning. I have to admit I was disappointed when I got my Helix 7 and all of a sudden I didn't see trees laying on their sides with perfectly drawn crappie between their branches! I thought something must be wrong because I wasn't seeing anything like the pics on the box! But a year later, I'm slowly adjusting to understanding what it's showing. Schools of baitfish show up well and going past a clearly defined structure like a boat ramp or bridge piling does show up pretty well. I'll try the settings you mentioned as far as depth/scan. I'm still trying to find brushpiles on the water but I think more practice is needed.

Also set your screen speed to match your trolling/idling boat speed you are running.

Where are you located? I would not mind meeting you and help you find the best settings for the body of water you like to fish. This picture was taken last week showing fish under a dock with a pontoon in the dock.


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Mount it 90 degrees to the right and it will make more sense


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Originally Posted by slider08

Where are you located? I would not mind meeting you and help you find the best settings for the body of water you like to fish. This picture was taken last week showing fish under a dock with a pontoon in the dock.


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Lake Hartwell, I have figured it out a little but want to have those clear pictures that make me know that it's a brush pile or a school of fish.


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