Sonar traditional 2D

Fish appear as arches or partial arches.

Down imaging

Fish appear as bright dots or small streaks.

Side imaging

Fish appear as bright spots with a dark shadow behind them. The shadow on side imaging helps determine how far the fish is off the bottom.

Fish

Fish vs Structure vs Weeds Section

Walleye on Side Imaging

• Bright, elongated shape slightly above the bottom.

• Often accompanied by a dark shadow behind it, which helps indicate how far it is from the bottom.

Various Structures

Structures on Side Imaging Sonar

• Hard objects like rocks, brush piles, or submerged trees reflect strong signals show up bright on screen.

Structures on Down Imaging Sonar

• Can see fine details of objects like branches, rocks, and drop-offs.

Weeds

Weeds on 2D Sonar

• Appear as fuzzy or cloudy shapes rising from the bottom. Look like vertical streaks or irregular masses.

Weeds on Side Imaging Sonar

• Show up as dense, textured patches along the bottom. Form long lines or clusters along the edges of open water.

Other images.....

Bass along weed lines

Bass holding just outside a weed line visible on down imaging sonar.

Bass often position along weed edges where they can ambush baitfish moving along the vegetation line.

Baitfish

Large baitfish school detected on sonar.

Bait schools appear as dense cloud-like clusters on sonar.

Rocks / Bolders

Rock pile structure visible on side imaging sonar.

Hard structures such as rocks return strong sonar signals and appear bright on the screen.

Suspended trout visible above deep water on sonar.

Lake trout suspended

For more sonar images and information, visit

Sonar settings for fish

Sonar images: fish and structure