Traditional sonar shows you a cone under the boat — by the time you see fish on it, you’ve already driven over their heads. Side imaging fires a razor-thin beam out each side of the boat and paints a photo-like strip of everything within casting distance and beyond: brush piles, rock transitions, shell beds, and the shadows of bass sitting beside them. It is the single biggest electronics upgrade a bass angler can make, ahead of forward-facing sonar for most people, because it finds the places fish live rather than chasing individual fish.
Reading side imaging in 90 seconds
- The dark stripe down the middle is the water column; boat is the center line.
- Bright returns = hard stuff facing the beam: rock, shell, timber.
- Shadows are your best friend — a bright dot with a shadow behind it is an object standing off bottom. Long shadow, tall object.
- Fish look like bright specks or streaks with small shadows; a school looks like spilled rice.
- Drive straight and steady at 4–6 mph. Turns bend the image into abstract art.
The three units that matter in 2026
Side imaging picks: budget to flagship
| Model | Screen | Sonar | Side range | Maps | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Humminbird Helix 7 MEGA SI GPS G4Top pick Best value in true side imaging | 7" widescreen | MEGA Side + Down Imaging | 125 ft/side (MEGA) | Humminbird Basemap + LakeMaster ready | $700–$800 | Check price |
| Garmin ECHOMAP UHD2 73sv Serious weekend anglers adding side imaging | 7" touchscreen | ClearVü + SideVü | 500 ft/side | LakeVü g4 (17k+ lakes) | $800–$900 | Check price |
| Lowrance HDS Pro 9 Tournament anglers and structure hunters | 9" SolarMAX touchscreen | Active Imaging HD | 600 ft/side | C-MAP + Genesis Live | $1,600–$1,900 | Check price |
Humminbird Helix 7 MEGA SI GPS G4
Best for: Best value in true side imaging
MEGA Side Imaging at this price is why Humminbird still owns the category among structure fishermen. The 125-foot MEGA range sounds short next to the spec-sheet numbers above, but inside that range the detail is unmatched — you will count the branches on a brush pile.
- Screen
- 7" widescreen
- Sonar
- MEGA Side + Down Imaging
- Side range
- 125 ft/side (MEGA)
- Maps
- Humminbird Basemap + LakeMaster ready
Garmin ECHOMAP UHD2 73sv
Best for: Serious weekend anglers adding side imaging
The best all-arounder: touchscreen, excellent preloaded lake maps, and side imaging that covers water fast. If you also want the option of adding LiveScope later, this is the ecosystem to buy into.
- Screen
- 7" touchscreen
- Sonar
- ClearVü + SideVü
- Side range
- 500 ft/side
- Maps
- LakeVü g4 (17k+ lakes)
Lowrance HDS Pro 9
Best for: Tournament anglers and structure hunters
The tournament flagship. Buy it for the processing speed and Active Imaging HD clarity at range — and because it drives ActiveTarget 2 if forward-facing sonar is in your future.
- Screen
- 9" SolarMAX touchscreen
- Sonar
- Active Imaging HD
- Side range
- 600 ft/side
- Maps
- C-MAP + Genesis Live
A search pattern that actually finds fish
Don’t wander. Pull up your mapping app, mark the channel swings and points from 8 to 20 feet, then drive clean parallel passes 100 feet off each one with side imaging watching both directions. Waypoint anything hard or tall — you are building a library of spots, not sightseeing. Ten minutes of disciplined scanning beats two hours of junk fishing, every single trip.
🧰 The scan-and-catch setup
Humminbird Helix 7 MEGA SI GPS G4
Best value in true side imaging
$700–$800Check priceGarmin ECHOMAP UHD2 73sv
Serious weekend anglers adding side imaging
$800–$900Check priceStrike King 10XD Crankbait
Offshore ledges, 18–25 ft
$14–$16Check priceZoom Ol' Monster 10.5" Worm
Texas rigs on deep structure
$6–$8Check price