Fish Finder Buying Guide 2

Down Imaging/Side Imaging Fish Finders

Conventional fish finders are down imaging fish finders: they extend sonar waves down, beneath the boat. And side imaging fish finders? If you guessed they extend sonar waves to the side(s) of the boat, you would be correct! Side imaging fish finders are less user intuitive than conventional, down imaging models. Most of the time, they return an incredibly clear, almost photographic image of the aquatic landscape that down imaging finders can not. Side imaging and some down imaging fish finders provide clearer images of the world below, but they come with one (potentially massive) setback: most can not read deeper than 200 feet, making them great for shallower waters, but inadequate for deep water fishing.

It takes time to become accustomed to reading your side imaging fish finders, but, their images can be very clear. It is easy to find submerged trees, rocks, fish and more under the water! Just remember that any fish finder is continually emitting sonar waves, so if it is still, it will scan the same area over and over.

Please check out our website for the available fish finders we have in stock, click on this link: https://thunderboltelectronics.com/marine-supplies/marine-navigation-equipment/fishfinder-sounder-color

Fish Finder Buying Guide

Fishing is not so much of a hunch any more. It is more catching thank you to the new hi-tech fish finders. If it is a conventional fish finder or one with side imaging, the principles of using a fish finder are the same. Thunderbolt Electronics would like to break down how to use a fish finder, the specific types and some of the more common features found throughout the different brands in our fish finder buying guide.

How to Use A Fish Finder?

How can you use a fish finder more effectively? How to Get the most out of a fish finder hinges on the brand and character: conventional (down imaging) or side imaging. New to fishing can find success sticking with the basics, normally you will appreciate a conventional, transducer-based fish finder. Fish finders run using sonar, and conventional fish finders operate at a low frequency and display a brief picture of the marine world.

Fish finders do this by sending out a burst of sonar at changing intervals (depending on the fish finder and settings), these bounce back off the sea/lakebed and anything in between. The screen generates from right to left, giving a “picture” of the bottom of the water. Anything that shows on your screen from the bottom of the water and the boat is, hopefully, a fish!

The difficulty of conventional fish finders is that they can be tough to use while moving slowly or not at all. They are great for moving at a steady pace to chart water depth, features and type of waterbed. The thicker a bottom line appears on the fish finder, the softer the bottom. A thin, bright line means there is a hard, sharp surface at the bottom—more likely a rock.

Remember, the chart on a fish finder moves from right to left. This is not based on movement, but the bursts of sonar the fish finder is sending out. It is constantly scanning, so the screen will continue to move even if a boat is in one place. This can confuse those of you not used to fish finders, leading you to believe your fish finder is broken or defective when that is not the case. It is constantly sweeping the nautical landscape whether moving or not!

Please check out our website for the available fish finders we have in stock, click on this link: https://thunderboltelectronics.com/marine-supplies/marine-navigation-equipment/fishfinder-sounder-color