Nice crappies.
I like to vertical jig right over the side to answer your question Ryan. The speed transducer for my LX-5 shows my jigs/targets while fishing panfish or walleyes when staying vertical without any troubles. Mike uses the trolling motor mounted transducer on his rig and loves it for seeing his jigs while staying vertical.
I have seen some people use a piece noodle (floating tube) used for swimming to float there transducers right over the side of the boat with success. They run the cord through the hollow noodle and tie off using zip ties.