A Humminbird Side Imaging look at the universal structure: shorelines
Dr. Jason Halfen
Professional Walleye Angler
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Shallow water, like that found along shorelines, is a great environment for using Humminbird's Side Imaging sonar units. Here's a look at a shallow weedy bay, from shoreline to shoreline. The bay is 3-4 feet deep, and the entire bay can be imaged in one pass by increasing the Side Imaging range to 120 feet (the bay is about 200 feet wide). Weeds are found along the entirety of the shoreline, with an open, weed-free pocket right in the middle.
Navigation:
No matter where you fish, or what type of water you fish in (lake, river, or reservoir), there is one type of structure that you are guaranteed to encounter: shorelines. Nearly every type of freshwater fish that anglers pursue will use shorelines, or shoreline-related cover, at some time during the year, whether it be for spawning, feeding, or transitioning from one area to another. Humminbird's Side Imaging sonar is a unique tool for helping anglers to visualize the shoreline, different types of shoreline-related structural elements, and the fish that are relating to the shoreline, all from a comfortable distance away from that shallow, fishy water.
Extended shoreline-related weedbeds are fantastic areas for locating gamefish and panfish throughout the season. Humminbird's Side Imaging sonars make positioning your boat relative to the weeds as easy as can be, even if the weedline exhibits its characteristic inside and outside turns. Here's a look at about 50 yards worth of shoreline-related weeds (green arrows), with numerous fish (red arrows) cruising the shallow flat (7 feet deep) outside of the weeds.
You'll see a variety of shoreline images in this article. The screen capture at right is representative of the performance of Humminbird's 1197c SI unit when imaging shorelines. This image was collected with a Side Imaging range of 120 feet, with my boat positioned about 100 feet from the shore (noted in yellow), between the shore and the inside edge of a cabbage weed bed. Extending from the shore is a sandy flat with scattered wood (red), running out to the inside weed edge (green). This shoreline is an early-mid season walleye hotspot, and Humminbird's Side Imaging technology allows me to appreciate all of the different types of fish-holding cover available...in one pass of my boat at 5 mph.
Here's a relatively weed-free shoreline that has some limited cover, yet is still holding a number of fish. The shoreline is noted with the dark blue arrow, with a realtively sharp dropoff to the basin (11 feet deep in this area). The bottom ot this break is noted with yellow arrows. Extending from the shore to the midpoint of this break is a boat dock, with its supports clearly visible as bright white returns, noted here with a light blue arrow. Note that the boat dock is concentrating a number of fish; 5 are clearly visible (red arrows) in the general vicinity of the dock, including a group of three larger fish that are quite close to the boat's path.
Chances are good that, during your next fishing trip, you will find yourself fishing shoreline-related cover. Improve your chances for success by completely visualizing all of the cover (and fish!) in that area with a Humminbird Side Imaging sonar unit.
