side imaging

[Duayne]

Those are some great screen shots in that Hybrid Striper thread MJ. You get to see the fish on the deck that represent the fish on the screen.
Shellkat, notice the marks in those screen shots, then note the dark "shadows" on the outside. Those shadows represent the "marks" that are whitish. That tells you those marks are suspended because the shadows do not extend from the marks down to the floor. It it were a massive bait ball, it would be a larger single shadow. The HDS is a little harder to read for bait and fish off the bottom with the structure scan, but the information is there if you can learn how to read it.

Something else people may want to consider is MinnKota Ipilot and cannon down riggers can interface with Hummingbird. I don't think either can interface with the Lowrance (yet?). I just purchased the Ipilot so I'll be learning that next.

[Shellkat]

Think I'm going with the Hummingbird 598 HD /SI

[JUSTINHALL]

Those are some good screen shots. Either mine is not set up right or the side imaging is much better on the HBird.
I would agree that you can see the marks and shadows etc Duayne is referring to but they are nothing like the Hbird image that was shown. If they graph like that then getting the bird would be the right choice.
I think the Ipilot linked to the finder would be good too, but lowrance doesnt interface and not sure they ever will since they are affiliated in some way. Either same parent company or just same tech center I don’t know just know the service line for Minnkota is also service line for Hummingbird.
I have had Ipilot for quite a while now and it is really good. The updated remote is much better than the original remote. When I first got it about a year and half ago I didn’t like the remote so I changed the head back to original with small remote. Since they came out with the new smaller remote and the button configuration is better I use it now but for over a year I had it and did not use it. The electronic anchor is a very useful tool.
I use it in the gulf to hang over wrecks then move around. Even in 5 foot seas it will hold my boat in same position I would have never thought it could but it does.
In fact I’m headed to Destin today so she will be put to use tomorrow morning.....
Enjoy the cold weather I am out!!!

[Duayne]

I'm not sure of your settings, Justin, but my HDS does not show quite like the SI either. I know the LSS-2 is supposed to provide much better resolution on a wider scale but I do not think they have the shadow feature regardless. I am thinking it would be easy to do but Hummingbird probably has a patent on it.

Showing stuff scanned vertically on a 2D screen out to the left and right seems like a huge challenge to me and I approach the results on the screen in that light. That's why I think Lorwance went with the "Structure scan" name and pitch as it is much easier to provide the floor on the screen and the HDS does that very very well.

Here's how I approach what I see on the screen: I know if I am scanning 70 ft deep water on both sides there isn't anything in Cumberland that can stand up from that bottom so the screen should be dark unless there are bait\fish to make a patch of gray\white on the screen. Once I see a a patch of grey or white, that tells me it must be bait, fish or both. It's also helpful if I consistently see patches on one side. That tells me I need to shift toward the patches instead of staying in unproductive water. Sometimes sliding 20 ft left or right can make a great day happen in seconds versus hours of hunting in small slices. Once over the patches, I can scan down and see what it really is. It doesn't paint as pretty of a picture to the sides as the SI, but the information is the same.

[Moveon]

I pilot with the Terrova MinKota Trolling Motor interfaces with some Humminbird SI units (not all of them) and can use the Lakemaster HD new maping cards to follow a contour or depth line or a track. If I had the money I'd buy a new trolling motor just for this feature alone. You can use it in "spot lock" mode as well to maintain your position over a brush pile. It uses the Humminbirds gps and the trolling motor to hold the boat's position in a certain spot. You can also use a bunch of waypoints to make a track and have the trolling motor follow that track for trolling.

What I'd suggest for following schooling fish is the Humminbird 360 unit connected to a Humminbrd 1198 with the new brighter LED back lighted screen.

And you are right. You can also connect a Cannon Downrigger to the Humminbird SI Units.

Heck you can even connect a RADAR to some of the Humminbird units.

Those are some great screen shots in that Hybrid Striper thread MJ. You get to see the fish on the deck that represent the fish on the screen.
Shellkat, notice the marks in those screen shots, then note the dark "shadows" on the outside. Those shadows represent the "marks" that are whitish. That tells you those marks are suspended because the shadows do not extend from the marks down to the floor. It it were a massive bait ball, it would be a larger single shadow. The HDS is a little harder to read for bait and fish off the bottom with the structure scan, but the information is there if you can learn how to read it.

Something else people may want to consider is MinnKota Ipilot and cannon down riggers can interface with Hummingbird. I don't think either can interface with the Lowrance (yet?). I just purchased the Ipilot so I'll be learning that next.