Using Humminbird Side Imaging to identify aquatic weed types
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Weedbeds are among the most widely distributed and most important structure types in all bodies of water. Whether targeting the outside or inside edges, transitions between types of weeds, or the thickest, sloppiest portion of the weedbed, anglers spend countless hours fishing in and near weeds for nearly all important species of gamefish and panfish. In this article, I will demonstrate that Humminbird Side Imaging Fishing Systems can be used to not only find weedbeds, but also determine the type of weeds present within the beds themselves, focusing on three types of weeds that are abundant in northern waters. Your days of fishing at the right depth but in the wrong type of weeds are over!
Dr. Jason Halfen
Professional Walleye Angler
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Here's a look at a cabbage bed using the Down Imaging feature of my Humminbird 1197. Note that the high resolution of Down Imaging allows us to identify individual stalks of cabbage, many extending up to 5-6 feet from the bottom. As summer progresses, many of these stalks will extend seed pods above the surface of the water. Recognizing that 2-3 feet of open water exists over the top of most of this weedbed allows the angler to select an appropriate bait (like a Rapala DT Fat 01 or 03) to tickle the weedtops, or an appropriate depth for a bobber-and-bait presentation
Above is a 2D/Side Imaging split screen view from my Humminbird 1197, with a portion of the Side Imaging view copied at right. Note that this portion of the Side Image has some areas noted in red: these are beds of Elodea sitting in 16-18 feet of water. By virtue of their much smaller leaves, these weeds reflect far less sonar energy to the transducer than other weeds, and as a result, do not apper as bright in Side Imaging sonar. Because I has passed directly over one portion of the bed (note the portion that is split into two parts, on opposite sides of the central dark blue stripe), those weeds also appear on the 2D portion of the screen. That 2D sonar screen (using Max mode in Splitfire). It is that 2D view that allows us to estimate the height of the weeds at 2-3 feet, rather than the 5-6 feet+ heights of the cabbage weeds.
Cabbage
Cabbage, or clasping leaf pondweed, is among the most important types of weeds for fish and for anglers. Cabbage is characterized by long stalks, often reaching 5-8 feet in length, and a large number of sturdy, broad green leaves that provide shade, cover, and significant amounts of oxygen through photosynthesis.
Here's a look at a cabbage bed using the Side Imaging feature of my Humminbird 1197. The same well-resolved horizontal stalks of cabbage that are evident in Down Imaging are obvious in the central, dark-blue region of of the Side Imaging view. The cabbage bed extends to the left and right of the central region, and those same long weeds lead to a mottled, swirly, or speckled appearance of bright returns and dark areas. The bright areas are stalks and their attached leaves, while the dark areas correspond to the space between individual plants where no sonar energy is returning to the transducer. The fact that Side Imaging can image all the way to the edge of the screen (left and right) indicates that few of the weed stalks are extending all the way to the surface, leaving some open water above the weed tops. That open water, however, is apparent in the central, dark blue region of the Side Imaging view.
Elodea
Elodea is a plant that is familiar to aquarium keepers, and is native to many North American waterways. It is quite prolific, as cuttings from one plant can themselves grow into new individual plants. The relatively small leaves of Elodea do not reflect considerable sonar energy back to the transducer, making it easy to distinguish using Humminbird Side Imaging from other weeds with broader leaves.
Vallisneria
Vallisneria, or eelgrass, is a shallow water plant that provides critical cover for forage species and young-of-the-year fish of all species, particularly panfish and bass that remain in shallow water for much of the summer. Vallisneria often grows to the surface, with additional growth extending along the surface of the water, thus providing cover in both the horizontal and vertical dimensions. Vallisneria is fishable using only the most weedless presentations, but gamefish are often found along and outside the well-defined outside edges of these Vallisneria weedbeds.
Here is a Side Imaging view from my Humminbird 1197 that shows an extensive, shoreline oriented bed of Vallisneria on the right, and a group fish patrolling outside the weeds on the left. Because Vallisneria plants grow in very close proximity to each other, and these plants extend to (and along) the surface, they quite effectively prevent imaging of objects within, and beyond, the weeds. Think about a nearly vertical wall of Vallisneria blocking the sonar energy from penetrating its periphery. The shoreline that beyond this vertical wall cannot be identified because of the thickness of the Vallisneria bed.
Humminbird Side Imaging fishing systems will help you find weedbeds, locate their edges and other key locations, and, through careful inspection and a little experience, allow you to identify the types of weeds found within those beds. Pay attention to the types of weeds that are producing fish on your favorite body of water, and then use your Humminbird Side Imaging fishing system to find other beds of the most productive weed type growing at your target depth. By eliminating water that contains the "wrong" weed types, you'll make your time on the water more productive, and more enjoyable!
