Humminbird Side Imaging Forums
Images, Snapshots and Videos => Side Imaging Videos => Topic started by: Bubba Canuck on June 09, 2015, 07:40:38 PM
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OK, so I've watched many videos (Jason Halfen, Doug Vahrenberg, etc.) and many others over the past year, and I can see the fish when they point them out on their SI images. But when I get on the lake sometimes I'm just not sure what I'm looking at. I'm getting better, I can see the bright returns sometimes and am pretty sure they're fish, but it's still a guessing game many times.
How did you guys learn to tell fish on your Side Imaging. Just plain old hours on the water and experience with the bird, or do you have any other advice how to get better at reading the screen.
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Time with the unit is the main thing ..... but even then it is sometimes guess whether you are seeing fish or maybe a return from a rock.
One thing you can do to make the fish stand out better is turn on the SI enhance. It makes the image a little more grainy, but can really help the fish pop out better......I usually use the low setting, but you can bump it up more if you like the information, but don't care about a pretty picture.
Experimenting with contrast and sensitivity setting can help also .... You can move the cursor to make the screen pause when you see something interesting and then try different color pallets and contrast and sensitivity settings.
Recording and playing back with Humviewer is another way to experiment....you will often see things that you didn't notice when on the water.
You just gotta play with the settings to see what they do for you ..... If you get something out of whack and don't know what you did to mess it up, you can always reset to defaults and start over.
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Thanks Bob B! Great advice.
Adjusting the settings after the fact is a great idea too. I'll have to remember to do that.
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Reduce the SI Range to make all echoes larger ... Even down to 30-40ft until you train your eyes to pick out the fish echoes ...
And experiment with the palette choices ... Everyone's eyes are different ...
Freeze the screen with the 4way cursor and cycle thru the palette choices to see which palette choice works for your eyes under that specific lighting condition at the time ...
Rickie
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I never learned.
I never saw nothing but structure and bottom.
That's why I want a 360.
:)
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I see fish ...
(http://i477.photobucket.com/albums/rr134/rnvinc/HB/501cee8d-4382-4be6-b5ac-d71c728fe51b_zpsb1af3f86.jpg) (http://s477.photobucket.com/user/rnvinc/media/HB/501cee8d-4382-4be6-b5ac-d71c728fe51b_zpsb1af3f86.jpg.html)
(http://i477.photobucket.com/albums/rr134/rnvinc/HB/null_zpsfbc4ce68.jpg) (http://s477.photobucket.com/user/rnvinc/media/HB/null_zpsfbc4ce68.jpg.html)
(http://i477.photobucket.com/albums/rr134/rnvinc/HB/58280c49.jpg) (http://s477.photobucket.com/user/rnvinc/media/HB/58280c49.jpg.html)
(http://i477.photobucket.com/albums/rr134/rnvinc/HB/9ef4632f.jpg) (http://s477.photobucket.com/user/rnvinc/media/HB/9ef4632f.jpg.html)
Keep that SI Range shorter to make fish echoes bigger ...
Rickie
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Thanks, this is what I have been looking for. Could you identify which unit was used for each of the four screen shots top to bottom? Fresh or saltwater? Any idea what size fish are being displayed?
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Thanks, this is what I have been looking for. Could you identify which unit was used for each of the four screen shots top to bottom? Fresh or saltwater? Any idea what size fish are being displayed?
Those 4 shots are all fresh water from a 1197 ...But notice none of the SI Range settings are past 75ft ...
Fish make very small echoes when the SI Range is set so far out that mega-acreage is trying to be squeezed into the display size ...
*1st Amber shot I would guess as catfish simply by the fish being so close to the bottom and close to their own shadows ...
*2nd Inverse shot is Asian Carp 5-50lbs ... They were everywhere that specific day ...
*3rd Blue Shot ... I have no idea what those fish were ...
*4th Blue Shot was a school of yellow bass 8-10inches long ... They destroyed my minnows I was using for bait ...(also notice the SI Range in this shot was 30ft to get those 8-10 inch fish to show that size an echo in the SI image) ...
I would suggest keeping your Chart Speed to match boat speed (or 1 notch higher to elongate fish echoes) ...
And experiment with the palette choices ... Some days I like Inverse ...some days I like blue ...some days even Amber or Green works better ... Surrounding light conditions really dictate which palette choice will work best that day ...
Rickie
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Suspended fish are easy to identify. Fish on the bottom are not quite so easy. Add to that if you are fishing in the bright sunshine it might be harder to read.