Peel snapps screen shots.

[Obi _ Wan]

This screen shot, in 50 feet of water shows submerged trees of the left side, side imaging, on the right hand side we have down scan at the top and standard sonar at the bottom. The standard sonarn is showing what you may think is a sign of fish, the down scan (top) shows that what is actually there are just trees.
These units are a very valueable tool and are improving in leaps and bounds.

Cheers,
John.

[Why-ting]

Hey John. I hardly use my standard sonar any more. i still have it on another screen with my gps but mainly just use it when running at speed or looking for bottom density. I find my down and side imaging shows me most of the info i need. When you know how to use them properly it makes the biggest difference to your fishing. in saying that im still learning new things all the time.

they are a great tool for finding your own structure away from the areas that get smashed by everyone else aswell. i quite often just go zigzagging out in the middle of nowhere and you would be quite surprised with what you find in a couple of hrs out there. I find it more rewarding fishing spots ive found myself then getting marks off someone else. Cheers for the shots.

[Millsydude]

Why-Ting/John,

those things look bloody amazing, thanks for taking then time to share your photos and knowledge. I ppreciate the help. What are you paying for a unit out of curiosity, and how long did it take you to get get a hang of it?
Great snaps in the first report to Why-Ting.

cheers Millsy

[Humdinger]

i am only running hds 5 but i think i will go get a side scan for it now . thanks guys (and am sure wife appreciates it too)ha ha

[PinHead]

great pics..but..I notice both of them are reading in ft..do they make them to show metres?

[Obi _ Wan]

great pics..but..I notice both of them are reading in ft..do they make them to show metres?

Yes mate, i have mine set for feet, just my preference, you can set them for what you like, feet or meters

Cheers,
John.

[Obi _ Wan]

Hey John. I hardly use my standard sonar any more. i still have it on another screen with my gps but mainly just use it when running at speed or looking for bottom density. I find my down and side imaging shows me most of the info i need. When you know how to use them properly it makes the biggest difference to your fishing. in saying that im still learning new things all the time.

they are a great tool for finding your own structure away from the areas that get smashed by everyone else aswell. i quite often just go zigzagging out in the middle of nowhere and you would be quite surprised with what you find in a couple of hrs out there. I find it more rewarding fishing spots ive found myself then getting marks off someone else. Cheers for the shots.

Those shots are from the first real attempt at using the unit, when i settled down and started to see what it could do i just used it to find the fish, no use fishing where there are no fish, and when fish were found winding the range in and casting to fish as shown on the screen, worked brilliantly.
Locally in the Northern Bay its been a real eye opener, seeing at last just what the long time fishing spots looked like and then realising why there were fish there, seeing ribbons of reef run out like fingers and other spots just a solitary rock with a little rubble or a rock pile, just bloody amazing, worth every penny.

Like you, i only run side and down scan appart from having the GPS to get me on the waypoint i have previously saved. The downscan really shows how many fibs the normal sonar throws up.

For those interested there are plenty on sites on the internet that will help with pictures and technic al help, theres a chap in the states called Dr. Sonar, a retired medical doctor who actually has a web site and will answer your questions, very helpful.

Cheers,
John.
PS, If anyone is thinking of buying one of these units go the largest screen you can afford, that way you can comfortably run 4 different windows on the unit and still see them easily.

[kingcray]

Awesome awesome, love it. Gotta get one. Thanks Obi Wan & Why-ting for going to all that effort Very cool
Deano

[Why-ting]

Millsy. Ive had my units for quite some time and the prices have come down a long way. Lowrance are just about to release the HDS Gen 2 sounders which will overlay the data from your structure scan side imaging over the top of the gps map which will make it a lot more user friendly. So the standard hds models should come down even more when the new models are released.

As for getting to know the units it doesnt take to long to understand it and as john said look up Dr Sonar. This guy really knows his stuff and helped me out when i first started using the units.

Pinhead. The units can be changed between all yanky and Aussie units of measure. I just prefer to use feet as it gives a little more detail with measurements. Its just something ive always done as most lures you use to buy came out with a running depth measured in ft. So i run my sounders like this to work out what lure i need to run to get me to the part of the water colum i want it to run in. Its just pesonal preference.

Cheers Whytey

[Cody]

That's awesome Whytey. Thanks for explaining it. Makes a lot more sense now. I am getting myself one of those units. Sounds like you got it pretty sussed. How long did it take for you to get the jist of it and started working out what is fish, rocks, trees etc?

Cheers Cody

[Why-ting]

Check this site out mate. The guy calls himself Dr Sonar and he really knows whats going on. It was a big help for me. http://www.hightechfishing.com/

[.:::stotty:::.]

Awesome thread, clears up a lot of questions.

Cheers mate