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Side Imagings Impact on Fishing

I remember the first time I went fishing with my dad in a boat. We were floating around
Leech Lake, fishing for walleye using a depth finder to maintain a drift over a certain targeted
depth in hopes of catching a trophy fish. Not knowing what was underneath the water below us,
we only came away with a couple of missed fish and a few small perch. The most recent time
was quite different for us as we used our new side imaging to locate underwater structure and
steeper drop offs to find our area to fish. Today, we have the technology to identify underwater
structure and this paper will detail the technology that aids us in doing so. This journey we are
about to embark on will first analyze a brief history of sonar technology. We will then touch
base on some of the various uses this technology and lastly, wrap up with the impact side-scan
has on tournament fishing. So lets go ahead and gear up and get a line in the water on the
subject of sonar and side imaging.
Sonar technology has been around for over a hundred years now which may seem
surprising. It was actually invented back in 1906 by Lewis Nixon, an American naval architect,
to detect submerged icebergs (Somers, 1984). However, it wasnt until World War I that an
interest brewed in sonar technology. This interest came about due to the need to detect
submarines for naval warfare. Throughout the years, sonar technology has evolved in the need to
detect underwater factors which will bring us to our next area of discussion. We will continue on
this trip and bring up some of the uses of sonar technology.
The first study I want to bring up in regards to a use of sonar technology is rather grim.
With the increasing amount of accidental drownings that we see, this technology comes into play
to help aid divers in finding submerged cadavers. Forensic investigators use side-scan

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technology to help locate submerged cadavers more quickly than prior methods (Healy, Schultz,
Parker, & Lowers, 2015). Prior methods included divers slowly searching various areas of the
depths in harsh conditions which were ultimately more time consuming. Today, boats can slowly
drive over an area and if anything is detected divers can be sent down to investigate speeding up
the recovery process.
Another use that I discovered was a certain case study where aquatic vegetation was
disappearing from a certain lake. Researchers deployed sonar technology to discover the cause
of this anomaly and were able to monitor vegetation continuously to determine the culprit
(Mizuno, Abukawa, Kashima, Asada, Fujimoto, & Shimada, 2016). Through this study it was
discovered that crayfish predation was the cause of the disappearing vegetation. As you can tell,
this technology has evolved dramatically since its birth over a hundred years ago. Now we will
look at how this technology is applied to fishing directly.
A good way to look at this discussion is applying it to something we use every day. If
you dont upgrade your phone or your computer on an almost annual basis, you are operating in
the dark ages (Rudow, 2016). This simply states that modern technology must be updated and
accessible in order to stay on the same playing field as other anglers in tournament fishing.
These devices have become a staple in the fishing industry and rarely, do you see a boat without
this feature. Going without side imaging in professional angling is like going fishing without a
trolling motor (Neporadny, 2011). This technology allows you to find structure and fish that are
in turn, displayed on a graph for you to see while you are sitting above the waterline. This
information aids anglers in determining where to fish and cuts down on wasted time exploring
waters that are uninhabited by fish. One angler in particular applies this technology to his
fishing. Ben Parker uses side-scan to locate bass in the summer months on Kentucky Lake. To

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familiarize himself with this equipment, he first locates a school of fish by casting and catching
three bass in a row. This determines if a school is present and if this is the case, he makes pass
after pass over the area while adjusting his settings until the school shows up on his graphing
system (Bourne, 2016). This aspect helps him locate fish quicker and more accurately.
In conclusion, weve looked at a history of the sonar technology, common uses, and how
this technology applies to tournament fishing directly to understand the transition of side-scan
throughout the course of history. Today it helps anglers in locating fish and has become a
standard piece of equipment for anglers. So the next time you see yourself out fishing, you may
have the opportunity to see underwater.

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References
Bourne, W. L.The mystery bass of summer. Retrieved from
http://www.bassmasteracademy.com/post/the-mystery-bass-of-summer/ accessed on 2/10/16
Healy, C. A., Schultz, J. J., Parker, K., & Lowers, B. (2015). Detecting submerged bodies:
Controlled research using side-scan sonar to detect submerged proxy cadavers. Journal of
Forensic Sciences (Wiley-Blackwell), 60(3), 743-752. doi:10.1111/1556-4029.12671
Mizuno, K., Abukawa, K., Kashima, T., Asada, A., Fujimoto, Y., & Shimada, T. (2016).
Assessing the biological process of hydrilla verticillata predation in a eutrophic pond using
high-resolution acoustic imaging sonar. Limnology, 17(1), 13-21. doi:10.1007/s10201-0150451-x
Neporadny Jr., J. (April 13, 2011). Humminbird's side imaging. Retrieved from
https://www.bassmaster.com/gear/humminbirds-side-imaging accessed on 2/10/16
Rudow, L. (2016). Sonar IN THE brine. Texas Fish & Game, 32(10), 44.
Somers, M., & Stubbs, A. (1984). Sidescan sonar. IEE Proceedings F (Communications, Radar
and Signal Processing), , 131(3) 243-256.