locating suspened walleyes w/SI

I am going to invest in 2 HB’s for my boat this season.
Can someone give me an idea of what the screen will look like in the following situation? I am fishing a reservoir point around 25 feet deep on the port side. The starboard side drops off to 60-90 feet at least. On the port side I can see the point but what does the screen look like on the starboard side? The walleye start to suspend off the points so if I don’t see them on the point, I should be able to see the fish with the side scan on the starboard side, if they are around, correct?

You should be able to look anywhere around the point to see suspended fish. Over a soft bottom, the fish returns should leap out at you (bright white spot), whereas over a hard bottom, the fish itself may not be 100% obvious….although the shadows from the fish will be very easy to see.

Hope that helps!

Here are a few examples of suspended fish. Look for the bright white fish returns and the dark sonar shadows.

One thing that will help that Jason didn’t mention is the screen contrast. If your not seeing the level of detail you need, adjust the screen contrast. Otherwise, Jason has it all summed up.

If you have shallow water on one side of the boat and very deep water on the other (you are traveling parallel to the break), sensitivity setting might also need adjustments… Depending on bottom content, depth, etc, the shallow side might seem very bright (white) while the deep side might appear darker, depending on how deep the water gets on that side. Also, depending on the steepness of the break and boat position when traveling parallel to the break, it could be possible to “miss” parts of the deeper water/structure due to the sonar being blocked by the shallower structure… It would have to be a pretty steep break, though, with the boat positioned just right (or wrong, I guess).

If you were to travel perpendicular to the drop (coming from deep and going shallow or vice versa), it will give you another perspective on the underwater situation. You won’t “miss” anything with the sonar when you attack the structure from various angles (if necessary due to the steep breaks).

When I change depths rapidly, I generally find myself adjusting the sensitivity somewhat so the screen isn’t too white or too dark.