In Virtual Angling’s second installment of “Getting the Most Out of Your Lowrance Sonar” series, Jason Mitchell focuses on DownView and Side Imaging. If you haven’t seen the first installment on 2D Sonar, it is recommended watching that video first.
Down Imaging
Marking fish, structure and bottom composition are all things that can be done with 2D sonar. DownView excels at this. It has higher picture quality when it comes to structure and identifying fish in rocks, boulders and trees. Downview can show individual fish in structure, while 2D may show as a big blob or circle. Running both 2D and Downview side by side can be extremely helpful by using each set of strengths at the same time.
Side Imaging
Side Imaging allows the sonar to view out from the sides of the boat. Shooting a long narrow band of sonar, it produces a view that reads like an open book on a table. The return view from both sides of the boat is like the pages, and the water column underneath the boat is like the seam of the book. Side Imaging excels at covering a large amount of area out each side of the boat. It’s great for identifying structure, bottom composition, and transition areas. Speed and direction can affect the quality of the image so keeping your speed between 1-4 mph. Move in straight lines while scanning areas as turning can distort the image.
Once you’ve used Side Imaging to identify structure many times fish can be identified on the return as well. They show up as small, bright specks with shadows underneath, sometimes fish shaped. Keep the range of the sonar 60-80 feet out from each side of the boat. When expanding it out to 100 feet or more, it can stretch the image or alter the quality of the return.
Both Down View and Side Imaging are great weapons to have in the boat to help identify fish and quality structure. It does take time to learn and become proficient at processing what the images are showing, so be sure to study the unit manual as well.
