but lots seem to think they're useless there. Are you Bass fishing with some Crappie fishing mixed in occasionally ??? If so you'll like it up front. I'm no Crappie fisherman as I don't have experience doing it, but I was able to see fish in bait schools while scanning from trolling motor then split screening 2-d& down imaging & drop straight down & catch Crappie in open water. Mind you I knew absolutley nothing about Crappie fishing at all. My self I like mine way better there than at the transom as it's history there as it's already behind the boat. I can side scan wide or narrow, right , left or both at the troller & mark spots then fish or split between any screen views I like when up front. As an example I can fish & mark a spot way off shore deep on side scan that I would never see with regular sonar as I don't search that wide with it & then when spotted on side imaging I can mark a way point & drop straight down with down imaging as it's pretty much straight under the trolling motor& catch them deep way off shore that I never would have with anything else. I can also see fish just out of cast reach on either side of the boat when running side imaging on both sides & then cast to them. I can also scan either side wanted when on troller as well & if fishing a bluff or point I can turn off the off shore side & zoom in to the side I'm fishing to get way more detail on the side I'm fishing. You can also scan for Striper schools in open water while fishing with side imaging set wide to both sides & drop a spoon in them. You also could get 2 complete stations & use it at console when cruising & searching for new water & then switch head unit to the trolling motor station & fish with it if that's the route you wanted to go. I like mine way better at the trolling motor than at console, but both installations have their place. You just have to decide which you think will be better for you. As you said search bass boat central & ask ??? pertaining to your style of fishing.