Is a side imaging transducer mounted on a TM a waste of money?

[John Bob Wilson]

I have a PS 31 and a GT41 on my trolling motor. I knew(but had actually forgotten about) before buying the side imaging transducer for my TM that you have to be moving 3-4 mph to get an accurate return from any s.i. transducer. So, folks, did I wast the money on the transducer? My 6 months on the water has me leaning that direction. I am not pleased honestly with my side imaging detail. So, please share your thoughts...I hope to get response(s) saying I didn't waste my money but if you respond supporting that fact..please by all means share with me any settings adjustments I can make that will improve my side imaging when moving at a speeds between .8-1.4 mph...please shoot me straight folks cause Im in need of some guidance what to do next.

Additionally, please comment on best method of routing wires of TM shaft to prevent any electrical interference. Cause right now I have my hydrowave, my GT41 and my wire from the PS 31 all zipped tied together and then zip tied to trolling motor shaft upward toward the the head, then from the head I have them zip tied on my foretrex.

Thanks for any input. I really want to take my electronics to the next level and I am ready to commit to the extra steps I need to take to ensure I have my electronics dialed in.

[Larry3215]

There are a few things to keep in mind when trying to get good side images.

1) You can get good images at slow speeds, but you need your screens scroll speed to match your boat speed. I leave my scroll speed set to Auto and it does pretty well. Note the speeds in these down/side images are below your speeds. At low boat speeds, you need a slow scroll speed and vice versa. Auto seems to work well for me with my 7610.





2) More important than speed is the orientation of the transducer. The transducer needs to be moving through the water in the same direction its pointing. That can be tricky at very slow speeds and when mounted on a trolling motor. Any skewed motion - like from a side wind or current - will distort the side and down images - especially when turning the trolling motor.

[Bassgreg]

I use side scan all the time on my trolling motor, it helps me find hidden rocky areas that I did not know about. Yes the images are not useful but they are good enough to drop a waypoint on and go look at it later with my side scan at the console.

[mobassing]

I use side scan all the time on my trolling motor, it helps me find hidden rocky areas that I did not know about. Yes the images are not useful but they are good enough to drop a waypoint on and go look at it later with my side scan at the console.

Bassgreg you comment has me somewhat confused. In the previous post Larry3215 has stated that the most critical thing is to match the speeds and then when doing this that the results are acceptable. In your post you comment that you use yours all the time and it helps to find hidden areas but is not useful.
I am in the process of getting a 93sv and am would like to know what you meant by not useful. My intended goal is to get this and then mounted and becoming somewhat familiar with it and then to purchase the Panoptix transducer and also add to the trolley motor.

[Todd Driscoll]

Bassgreg you comment has me somewhat confused. In the previous post Larry3215 has stated that the most critical thing is to match the speeds and then when doing this that the results are acceptable. In your post you comment that you use yours all the time and it helps to find hidden areas but is not useful.
I am in the process of getting a 93sv and am would like to know what you meant by not useful. My intended goal is to get this and then mounted and becoming somewhat familiar with it and then to purchase the Panoptix transducer and also add to the trolley motor.

I also run SideVu on the trolling motor. As Larry pointed out, you just need to be aware of the limitations with it on the trolling motor. But with this said, it is still very capable of identifying rockpiles, rock ridges, brushpiles, logs, etc., it's just that these images on the trolling motor while fishing won't be as clear as you get when idling with the outboard. As Bassgreg said, you simply place a wpt on a potential object of interest, then idle over it with the outboard to be sure what you are seeing.

[Bassgreg]

Just like Todd said, the images are broken up because of the turning of the motor. But it still will show you parts of a log, or rocky areas in those little broken images so you can drop a waypoint. It does a good job when you are moving with the trolling motor from one area to another.

[LWINCHESTER2]

I always run SideVu on the trolling motor. It's for fish, not structure. Amazing just how many times the fish are close enough to catch but not on 2d.

[Treeguyus]

For forward trolling took the LSS-2 off the trolling motor and put in a fixed position on a da ducer stick. Located just behind the trolling motor.

Think anyone trolling crank baits prefer fixed forward LSS-1 or 2 on the bow, when I had on a terrova and in the I-pilot link mode got a bit confusing, like it this way with a PS-31 on the bow.

But a lot of bass guys here so can understand the difference in application.

[TroyBoy30]

nope. i never use it, but if i want to, i want it scanning from the front of the boat not 20 feet to the rear