Structure Scan WOW

[BentRod]

Got out about midday today looking for some stripers to test out the new Structure Scan unit. All I have to say is that this thing is going to make me a better fisherman. I had an idea about where I thought some stripers should be (no not BnBs) based on experience from past years, but the StructureScan enabled me to find them extremely fast and I would have missed them totally just relying on my sonar. I saw them off about 80-90ft to my left side on the SS and took a hard left. Got on em pretty good after that. I even caught a few too!







I always like to see this!


Down they go..rebait..up they come!

Fish were caught!


I'm still learning to read the LSS, but it's actually pretty straightforward. One thing I recommend, if possible, is to have a separate unit just for the LSS and I wouldn't get anything less than an HDS 7. It will cover 250ft to each side of the boat and to be able to effectively see what it's showing you, you really need as big of screen space as possible, even more than on your sonars. When you divide the screens, it's really hard to see it as well, especially if you have it at the max range. I don't even like having the downscan going with it. Also, keep that range at 250ft unless you're extremely shallow looking for bait or something. I don't like the auto range. I like seeing as wide as possible. You'll see fish off in the shadows sometimes..really awesome technology. It's amazing what it will show you that your regular sonar won't. Who knows how many schools of fish I've passed right by over the years and didn't know it.

If anybody needs a loan for one, I hear Mward is lending money now!

[striperseeker]

Wow Bentrod those are awesome pictures. It makes me realize that I have not been using my sidescan like it should be used, I have always used it with a split screen. That explains why I have not had much luck with it.

Thanks for the pictures and the ss lesson. Can't wait for my next chance to use it.

[mwardncsu]

BentRod is right and wrong - right that sidescan is a great tool. When you first get it, it's easy to focus on the downscan and the great pictures of trees it draws - and sometimes there is a use for downscan (confirming what you think you are seeing on sonar, getting cool pics of the bridge , etc) - but it is clear to me now that sidescan is where the technology excels for our type of fishing.

Oh - and he's wrong about the lending money part

[yellowdog]

Tyler, It appears you are running both units at same time. Is there a splitter for the transducer so one transducer feeds both units?

[mwardncsu]

The StructureScan has its own transducer. Of course both can display regular sonar and can have their own regular sonar xducer connected.

With the HDS units you can connect the units over the Ethernet network and can display sonar from Unit A on Unit B's screen if you want (option on the HDS is called "Network Sonar"), or you can just have them independent - of course if you try to run two xducers you need them on different frequencies or you'll get interference from each other.

Not sure if the LCX will share sonar display to/from an HDS over Ethernet or not....

[BentRod]

Aug 20, 2012 6:30:43 GMT -5 mwardncsu said:

BentRod is right and wrong - right that sidescan is a great tool. When you first get it, it's easy to focus on the downscan and the great pictures of trees it draws - and sometimes there is a use for downscan (confirming what you think you are seeing on sonar, getting cool pics of the bridge , etc) - but it is clear to me now that sidescan is where the technology excels for our type of fishing.

Oh - and he's wrong about the lending money part

Yeah, the downscan is cool and useful at times, but the Side scanning part is where the money is at, IMO, for the fishing we do. The cone is so much wider than what we're seeing on our sonars. And it is really beneficial in catching bait in shallow water too where the sonar's cone is basically useless.

Yeah Yellowdog, I only have one sonar skimmer, which is hooked up to the LCX unit. I have the LSS ducer hooked up to the new HDS unit and no sonar transducer. The HDS uses the same sonar transducer, so if need be I can always hook up that ducer to the HDS. You may be able to link them together through ethernet but I doubt I would ever do that.

[Deleted]

Awesome screenshots BentRod! .......if I can get mward to float me a loan, I'm going to get an HDS unit........heck!!!!! if he would just sell the rims off of that golf cart he uses to get from his condo to the boat dock, he could buy us all one!!!!!!

[mwardncsu]

Bigun - for you only, you can have 'em.


I need to upgrade to some spinners anyway ;D

[Deleted]

mward, I'm not up on this young folk, hip slang talk. When you say spinners, are you talking about spinner baits? If that is what you mean, I have some put up that I was going to give to SS, for Christmas, but since he's never around anymore, you can definitely have them for the rims!!!!!! ;D

[mwardncsu]

Bigun -before you go offering up "your" prized spinner bait, I thought you know what you'd be getting in the trade.... here's a pic of what the rims look like on the cart now...

[Deleted]

Sweet!!!!! it's a trade.

Looks like you've got almost as many gadgets on that thing as you have the boat.

Oh, before I forget....you and I have got to get a legal fund set up for BentRod. He can't keep his hand out of the cookie jar. ;D

[seajay]

Damn! Those are some sweet screen shots there Bentrod! I might have to invest in one of those one day. I can hear my wife now! She about freakin flipped when I bought my LCX113 years ago when they came out. ;D

[BentRod]

Seajay, Todd told me it's killer down at the bay looking at the bridge pilings. He said they caught like 50-60 spades a day down there because they could ride the pilings until they found the big school. He said there would be a few here and there on pilings and then all of the sudden there would be hundreds on one set of pilings.