If you’ve decided to get a side imaging finder for your next fishing trip, first of all we commend you on your decision.
Fishing without a fish finder is mostly guesswork and hope, and using a fish finder gives you an unparalleled advantage, and will make your fishing trip significantly more productive.
And side imaging finders have a lot of advantages that down imaging fish finders lack. Side imaging fish finders effectively “look” in two different directions at the same time, so can cover twice as much area as their down imaging counterparts.
Side imaging fish finders can also come in particularly handy for scanning in shallower water, such as rivers or shallow creeks and bays, since their orientation provides a better image there than a down imaging fish finder would.
We’ve had a good scan at the best side imaging fish finders, and have whittled the numerous options down to a Top 5. We’ve also got a buying guide for you which should give you some direction for making your decision.
On Amazon, you will find fish finders for every budget, but reading our buying guide should help ensure you get value for money.
Bestselling Side Imaging Fish Finders – Reviews
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Best Side Imaging Fish Finders – Buyers Guide
There are few things to think about before making your final decision, we’ll walk you through each in turn.
Transducer
It is the transducer that sends the sonar beam into the water, so it’s an absolutely essential piece of kit. However not all fish finders come with transducers, so remember to always check if the transducer is included.
You can buy the transducers on Amazon if need be, but it’s nice to receive all of your equipment in one go, if you intend to head out sooner rather than later.
Screen size
If you can, go for a big screen. When it comes to screen size, as a general rule, bigger is better. Wide screens tend to have a higher resolution and improved color contrast, so they’re particularly handy for giving you accurate readings.
Backlight
A backlight on your fish finder is once again absolutely essential. Without a backlight you won’t be able to see the screen when you’re in sunlight. Not the best when you’re in the middle of a lake and there’s no foliage to provide shade! We strongly recommend that your fish finder has a backlight.
Battery Life and Power
Where power is concerned, it’s simply a case of the greater the wattage the better. And fishing is usually an all day job, so look out for a fish finder who’s battery is rechargeable or easily replaceable.
Sonar Frequency
When it comes to frequency, it kind of depends on the depth of the water you’re fishing in. A 50 kHz unit would be ideal in deep waters, whereas in shallower water a 200 kHz unit would be much better.
IP Water Rating
An IP Water Rating is a measure of how water resistant or how waterproof an item is – pretty important for a fish finder!
Frequently Asked Questions
Do fish finders work in shallow water?
If you want to fish in shallow waters, your first port of call should be a fish finder that gives you side imaging, as this will be more useful to you than down imaging. That said, there are a lot of models out there that will give you both side imaging scanning and down imaging scanning, so you get a lot more data, and a better picture on the screen.
Some of our Top 5 fish finders have both side imaging and down imaging functionality, specifically our Number 1, our Number 2, and our Number 3.
Is side imaging worth the extra money?
Side imaging fish finders are absolutely worth the extra money – once you tune it in and learn what to look for, the fish are in trouble! Side imaging will let you ride down a bank and see which docks have fish under them, all the while showing where all the brush piles and stumps and drop offs are and whatever else may be down there.
Once you get the hang of it, you’ll wonder how you ever managed without it.
How does a sonar fish finder work?
Sonar communication is based on echolocation, whereby what you see on your display are the contours and shapes that reflect some amount of the sound released by the transducer.
Inanimate objects like stones or large underwater rocks at the bottom of the river will completely reflect the sound, sending it straight back to the receiver, and this is represented on the screen as clear flat lines.
Fish and other living things like underwater algae and seaweed on the other hand don’t fully reflect the sound. Due to their movement and unique shape, any fish in the vicinity will obstruct the sound wave path, and change the direction of the sound wave.
Any underwater activity will show itself as small curved lines on the screen.
