Transducer mounting for side imaging

Hey all I'm new to the kayak game and would like to get some opinions on how to set up my sonar/transducer. Due to black Friday shenanigans the deals led me to get a bigger/fancier Humminbird Helix 7 with side imaging and now curious as to how people would recommend I set up the transducer. From my research it seems like I have three options. 1) Mounting it in the regular recessed area and forgetting about using side imaging (not sure how helpful it will be). 2) Using a berleypro cover allowing for side imaging. 3) Or using a transducer mounting arm off the side. I'm worried about the fact that they Berleypro cover will sit down as the lowest point on the hull and potentially create drag or be prone scraping during use. I am planning on using the kayak in tidewater for salmon, as well as in for rockfish and in lakes etc. Thoughts? Here's the cover I've found for reference.
https://www.berleypro.com/product/berleypro-humminbird-ready-transducer-mount-suits-hobie/

Sounds like you got the same Cabela’s deal I got on the Helix 7. I’ll be working on getting it mounted tomorrow on my Oldtown Predator. It has 2 spots to mount the transducer. I am gonna try to mount mine just i front of the peddles where there’s a spot in the middle of the yak.

Yep that's the one, was hoping they'd have a deal on the helix 5. Feel like I didn't necessarily need the extra size but when it was basically the same price. Not sure what the bottom of the predator is like but hopefully its easy for you to get it set up for side imaging.

Transducer has to be below the hull to work properly, I don't notice any drag with a BerloPro. Since it does hang below the hull you need to be careful with dragging the kayak over land as it might damage the transducer.

I've used a side scanning sonar for several years and have tried all three options you've mentioned.

Over-the-side transducer arm mount:
Pros: Fairly simple mounting method, best signal return since you can mount it forward of the mirage drive to avoid signal interference, good protection for the transducer as you can remove and stow.
Cons: Major tangle point for fishing line and weeds, noisy, slight increase in drag

Bottom-of-hull mount with cover:
Pros: Set it and forget it, never needs adjustment, negligible increase of drag, silent, minimal tangle point for weeds and fishing line
Cons: potential for slight but probably negligible degradation of signal from shooting through cover material, kayak is always sitting on the cover while on land which makes it feel weird while rigging/unrigging, potential increase of damage to transducer if cover is damaged (e.g. significant impact on rocks or dropping of kayak), make sure to rinse out the cavity regularly or it will get filled with dirt or sand or other junk which could affect the signal.

Inside transducer mount cavity
Pros: nothing to worry about!
Cons: your increased cost from the side scanning tech is completely wasted.

My recommendation is to get the cover and mount it to the hull but if you don't feel comfortable with that for whatever reason the over-the-side arm mount is totally fine.

If you have used the Hobie Guardian Retractable Transducer Shield, what do you think of it? If you go to the description of the Outback on Hobie's webpage at https://www.hobie.com/kayaks/mirage-outback/, at the end there is a short video which shows and explains this mount, which holds a side scan transducer below the hull of the kayak when you're fishing, is spring loaded so it retracts into the hull if you hit something while kayaking, and can be manually retracted into the hull before you land the kayak to protect the transducer when you're dragging the kayak around on land.

If you have used the Hobie Guardian Retractable Transducer Shield, what do you think of it? If you go to the description of the Outback on Hobie's webpage at https://www.hobie.com/kayaks/mirage-outback/, at the end there is a short video which shows and explains this mount, which holds a side scan transducer below the hull of the kayak when you're fishing, is spring loaded so it retracts into the hull if you hit something while kayaking, and can be manually retracted into the hull before you land the kayak to protect the transducer when you're dragging the kayak around on land.

It has worked very well for me on my Outback.  Install of a Lowrance Triple-shot transducer wasn't difficult.  Retracting it works well, I adjusted to cords to increase the tension a bit and I do not store it retracted so as to not stretch the elastic cords.  cheers, roger