Lowrance Side Imaging And Structure Scan

[abbfish]

I have a Lowrance HDS-5 that I use with my trolling motor. I'm thinking about going to Bass Pro on the way home and get the LSS-1 side imaging and structure scan. I guess it will go on the back of the boat, so it's gonna be tough to see the HDS-5 from the front of the boat due to the small screen size and my aging eyesite. I can't afford anything else at this time or the foreseeable future. Just curious what you guys think. Is it worth it for my setup? I have a 20ft Princecraft fish/deck boat. Thanks!

[Bird Watcher]

I have the exact same set up, but the hds 5 is on my console. I often have to 2x zoom and put my nose on the screen to see what I am looking for. The side scan is all about how big a picture you can make out of the image. The bigger you get the picture, the more you can see. I can see the best in side scan if I set it to look one side, Right or left, and zoom once. This is on the 5 though. A 8 or 10 would show the image in that much more detail.

I guess this is a long way of saying, no, I don't think it would do you any good to have the monitor up by your trolling motor if you are hoping to drive down the lake looking at it. Maybe when you are stopped and up on the front deck, but then again you need to be moving to get good images out of the structure scan.

I don't know if this makes sense or not. I'm kind of typing in a hurry.

[Dutch]

2 things come to mind: 1. Look up BOE Marine and see what their price is on the lss1. I bought one from them and saved over $100 since there is no sales tax and shipping was free. 2. Mount it on the trolling motor if you are going to be using it while fishing.

Mounted in the back is only good for scanning and marking as far as I am concerned.

Remember that Lowrance has a rebate deal going on right now. That will save you more bones.

[abbfish]

Thanks for your advice. The temptation to get one was great, due to the $50 rebate, plus if I charged it on my Bass Pro card, I would have gotten a $100 gift card, plus I have $150 saved up in rewards on my card, but even with all that I just couldn't bring myself to buy it. The salesman said that the trolling motor moves around too much, which I though was a good point (especially mine, it's a wireless unit and I have a heck of a time controlling it sometimes). I think it's more for cruising around looking for potential spots and with my setup, I don't have the HDS5 on the console. The ideal set up would be to have a HDS unit on the console and the trolling motor, but I can't afford that right now. Thanks again!