Side Imaging sonar? Worth it?

I saw the down imaging thread and thought I'd add my question.

I have to agree with Allen on the down imaging sonars.  I haven't used them but I have looked at all the demos and youtube vids and the impression I get is I am just seeing the same thing differently.  Ok, maybe a bit more detail.  I don't really care about that.

What does intrigue me is the ability to sit on or find a bait school or determine if there are any salmon running between you and the shoreline for example.  This year I have already run into what looked to be very productive bait balls on my sonar, only to immediately lose it as I passed over them.  I could not relocate them.  To be able to see a 200 to 400 ft radius arouund you would be amazing.  The downside is not only is a huge monetary step up, its more gear dnagling around as I understand the side scan transducer cannot shoot through the hull.

Anyone have their two cents or opinions on the side imaging units??

Scott "kykfshr" is the only one I know running a side-scan sonar on his kayak.  He seems to like it.  Buy an Ocean Kayak Ultra 4.3 or 4.7, they are set up to with a transducer scupper that can handle the side-scan puck.

Scott "kykfshr" is the only one I know running a side-scan sonar on his kayak.  He seems to like it.  Buy an Ocean Kayak Ultra 4.3 or 4.7, they are set up to with a transducer scupper that can handle the side-scan puck.

I think he also shot it through the hull with the same results. There is a post with his results around here some where.

in 2012 I installed a Lowrance HDS8 Gen2 (sonar) with LSS (adds down and side scanning) on our normal boat.  Love the sonar and downscanning and charting; really not finding much benefit from the side scanning.  So for my PA12, I recently went with the new Elite-7 HDI that gets me sonar and downscanning from a single transducer.   So far, I absolutely love the Elite-7 unit on the kayak, it is really easy to use and display is fantastic, for the price, a great value...

so my 2 cents, side scanning is more bother than it is worth....cheers, roger

I am happy with my side imaging unit.  The side imaging is good to about 70 feet out in the salt.  I use it to define the edges of reefs and set waypoints for future reference.  Side imaging will locate bait schools but  I don't think it will make much difference when trying to stay on top of bait balls if your trolling.  It will help by adjusting your position if mooching down current from points. 

I use the side imaging mostly for tidewater salmon and drifting rivers.  The detail is amazing.  It shows every tree,  root wad, branch etc.  it allows you to fish the bottom closer to structure than you normally would.  I don't think I have lost any tackle while using side imaging.  Side imaging is not going to make you catch more salmon but it will help you catch them quicker.  It definitely is an advantage over down imaging to see fish to either side of you.  It takes the guess work out of finding where fish are holding.  It is almost unfair to use for bobber/egg fishing

Scott

Hmmm. Both replies above are useful. My one experience with side imaging came on a silty river and was useful to see where the channel edges were but not much else.

I'm curious to why kykfshr you think it won't help staying on bait balls while trolling? Obviously you have experience.

Another factor is that even in saltwater much of the salmon fishing we do you can visualize them traveling in lanes. Sometime up against shoreline, sometime out further depending on a lot of factors. To spot fish 30 ft to one side would be a huge advantage. And typically with most salmon other than kings, you should get signals from hundreds of marks as the school goes by.

Hmmm... Decisions decisions. It's either a side scan unit or an electric reel....


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Rudy

I guess it depends on how big of a bait ball it is.   Will I miss a school of bait in front of me by chasing the one to the side that will move by the time I troll to it? 

I would use the side imaging to find the travel lanes.  It could work really well at a place like Anchor point.  Would be curious how shallow Some of the Kings travel.It would'nt surprise me if they are hugging the shoreline in 8-12 feet of water.

clarification: I have only used my side scanning in rivers/lakes/tidewater, so the comments from kykfshr should be more helpful than mine for big/deep water use....