The RIGHT Way to Install a Side Imaging Transducer

Installing a Lowrance ActiveImaging HD 3-in-1 Side Imaging Transducer on my new iKon Bass Boat. These same principals apply to every single other transducer on the market. Make sure you follow these steps to get the CLEAREST picture possible out of your Bass Boat Electronics Investment. Quit wasting time wondering if your seeing the right image or not!
My Setup:
HDS PRO Units
NMEA Backbone + Point 1 Antenna and smart gauges
Ethernet cords networking units
ActiveTarget 2
ActiveImaging HD 3-in-1
Side Imaging, Down Imaging Installation Video. Works with Lowrance, Humminbird, Garmin, Simrad, Raymarine, whatever you have!
Thanks for watching!
JW Gear - www.academy.com/c/shops/email...
Ding Merch - bit.ly/3pzzIXw
Wheeler Fishing Merch - bit.ly/3PFaBNN
Wheeler Fishing Foundation - bit.ly/WheelerFishingFound
-----------------------------------------------
Jacob Wheeler Signature Rods (Available at Academy)
Spinning Rods rstyle.me/cz-n/e4rr7gdct5p
Casting Rods bit.ly/3qjH3bL
Social Media Linktree: linktr.ee/wheelerfishing
► Instagram: @Wheelerfishing bit.ly/2NscZJ2
► My Website - bit.ly/WheelerFishing
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
► My Tackle & Gear ◄
Rapala - bit.ly/JWRapala
Duckett Fishing - bit.ly/2XrU0D1
Academy & Magellan - bit.ly/AcademyWheeler
Sunglasses - bit.ly/2TiwSHP
Buzzbait & Spinnerbait - bit.ly/2GOTda8
Realtree -
13 Fishing - bit.ly/13fishWF
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
Hammer's
Mark Daniels Jr ► bit.ly/2E9ejw8 ► Instagram bit.ly/2Nt3lWC
Dustin Connell ► bit.ly/dcfishingYT / IG: bit.ly/2H9dAhA
Adrian Avena ► bit.ly/AdriaAvena
Justin Martin ► bit.ly/jmartduckyt
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
Video by Brody McWilliams - bit.ly/3QQVcuU. ► YT: bit.ly/2XtbAGG
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
Major League Fishing ► bit.ly/2tNGPyZ
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
PLEASE SUBSCRIBE

[@Internutt2023]

It's awesome of you to take the time to show where a tournament winning fisherman who has used about every brand of sonar available, shares his first hand knowledge and experience!

[@deshoup1]

Just a couple of suggestions to help others learn from my mistakes. First, when using a level, start by making sure your boat is level on the trailer (check the top of the transom...if it is slightly off level, use dimes, pennies, and nickels stacked to one side to see how far off and then transfer that same offset to the transducer itself). I actually do this both for front/back angle of the transducer and the left-right level. Second, if your boat is aluminum, don't use silicon as it is slightly acidic and will cause some minor corrosion with the metal...not enough to damage the metal but I've found it is enough to cause a poor seal years down the line. Marine goop is a great product for aluminum sealing. The coins under the level for front-back can be really dialed in if you take the level out on the lake with you and run your boat at the speed you want the transducer level, then look at the levelness of your deck and then transfer that to your transducer. Even if your deck is not totally level, you can use this to measure how you want the transducer oriented if you jack the front of your trailer to get the deck at the same angle it was in the field, then you can put the transducer totally level at that position and know it will work at the boat's angle at the speed you measured.

[@jacklowe7812]

Appreciate you showing us this Jacob, makes sense the angle offset.

[@SowbellyRods]

Great video! The scum line on the jackplate also provides a great reference on how your boat sits and I like to match my transducer to that. Obviously won’t work on a brand new one.

[@aaronetheridge3735]

I’d definitely look into a jackplate mount like @transducershieldandsaver I have one mounted on each side of my jackplate and have VERY good results on down and side imaging. And no new/unnecessary holes in my boat.

[@hammerz7723]

Great info JW thank you bud gives me more confidence before I drill into an expensive bass boat 👍😁😁👍

[@erickembry6547]

Those new pros look incredible

[@rodneydryden6902]

As a baseline, if you have a scum line on your boat it helps with installation and initial setup. Gives you an idea how your boat sets in the water instead of just how the trailer is positioned, then adjust a few degrees from there.

[@BarkingRugers]

lazer level for the win !!!

[@Michael-wr7yt]

Hi there and thanks for the wonderful video. I usually drive with a trolling motor at the front of my boat, when i use the sonar at low speed. How does that influence the transducers angle?

[@brianwisniewski9315]

Great info!

[@easterlyTN]

This would have been a great video to watch 2 days ago when I mounted my transducer🙂

[@baad2003mach1]

theyre adjustable. its not too late

[@ke3552]

@WheelerFishing Do you get good down imaging at speed? Thanks for all that you do for us.

[@Bassbeater078]

Hard to tell from video how far off the holes are, but could it be an option for future installs to maybe drill new holes in the mount and use existing holes in boat so you dont keep putting holes in the fiberglass?

[@spencercline1957]

I like to use a transom block to mount my ducer to the transom

[@johngolembiowsk6813]

This guy is all over the place

[@jaypaul3673]

Does the outboard motor get in the way of the sidescan mode when installed on transom?

[@FredTechNL]

Hi, can we install it directly under the boat ? In the middle of the boat ? If I made an plastic support by 3D printer ?

[@billyburton4487]

Great video!! Keep it up champ

[@Chiefdixon]

Crazy the difference a degree or two makes. Will have to check mine.

[@tcwest83]

Im kind of late to the game, but yes, a few degrees makes a huge difference. A professional installer showed me what he does. He said take a bullet level and a pocket full of change, w you to the lake. 1. Place the level on the gunnel when you are idling around at about 3- 5mph. 2. Put the coins under the BACK of the level until the bubble is in the middle. 3. Mark on the gunnel with tape or a marker where u put the level. 4. Put the change from the level in a separate pocket from the rest of your money 5. Once off the water and on the trailer, Jack the trailer up with the level in the spot marked on the gunnel and the coins under the BACK of the level until the bubble is in the middle. (You will be surprised how high you have to jack it up. My F2 fulton jack couldn't get it high enough. I had to put a floor jack under my trailer jack wheel to help w the height. 6. Put the level on the transducer and level it. It will look like its way to angled, but its not. 7. Go to the water and test. Youll be amazed.

[@StormLaker]

Silly question- doesn't the motor get in the way on a transom mount? I am looking to put a down/side imaging ducer on my boat, but I can't wrap my mind around how the motor shaft wouldn't cause a false echo or no reading?

[@scotthenderson4376]

How do you get the water column to show clear? Just put mine in and the waster is unreadable side isn't to bad. its a Garmin gt56 transducer

[@AerialEscape]

Did you pre-tap your drill? I'd imagine fiberglass can crack rather easily, especially with multiple layers of clear coat.

[@roberthalstead4772]

Good stuff ! Isn’t it odd that GE makes a marine 100% silicone for sale only in Canada 🇨🇦 and not in the USA. 100% silicone natural cure is the way go !

[@rogerglasco5941]

This may sound dumb but how do you mark a waypoint with that lowrance.?

[@OPCentraSpike]

Any reason to not mount it to the jackplate? That's where I mounted mine is why I ask.

[@weilfast]

Me also.

[@jasonmausteller2488]

Do you run a thru hull for high speed?

[@louisianag]

Guntersville champ! Whatupp

[@baad2003mach1]

imo the best way to know angle of transducer for down scan is to go on the lake with ur boat in the calmest water u can find and go 5mph and measure how level it is and mark the level or take not of the angle its at and then install the transducer exact opposite of that angle on the boat. ie: if the boat has 15* bow lift at 5mph then install the transducer 15* above level.

[@rodneydryden6902]

Holy cow cameraman. Manual focus or even better, everything doesn't need to have such a huge depth of field. For instructional stuff, go old school so everything is in focus. Crank that f stop up! Awesome content Jacob.

[@jasonmausteller2488]

Why no transducers shield and saver?

[@carp121314]

Why didnt you use the coin leveling technique, instead of just guessing the transducer angle?

[@larryhutchins5667]

Bruh you better just take that to Hennessy 😂

[@germanescobar3060]

Have you ever considered a thru hull side image ducer?

[@WheelerFishing]

Doesn’t work near as good as

[@jasonmausteller2488]

So you always run the cable over the back deck like that?

[@WheelerFishing]

Just to get things tested out before running it through the boat.

[@daletomazin6196]

Did you make sure your boat was level first?

[@WheelerFishing]

Horizontally yes

[@ferkxd451]

Mount on the jackplate bfe mount.

[@MBvideos553]

Exactly on the installed, it the trans must be kicked up because boats down set flat on the water...

[@masonssonarservices3089]

Not saying there’s anything wrong with this video but I will add to it as someone who does installs every day. Use a marine silicone. Yes silicone is 100% waterproof but that doesn’t mean it’s meant to be submerged under the water for long periods of time. 2nd I suggest using you a drill for pilot holes, and an impact driver to insert screws. Just helps with not stripping a screw. Last thing is I’ll take a marker and mark my holes before I drill instead of trying to hold it while drilling pilot holes. Like I said not saying anything in this video is wrong, someone just might find these few things useful.

[@WheelerFishing]

Appreciate the input!! Those are definitely great tips! Disclaimer: normally we have always used marine grade but at the moment we were just winging it. Also trimmed part of the video when were going back and forth trying to find the right drill bits... We weren't installing for the first time, just swapping out the original 3-in-1. Hard to be SUPER thorough when the cam is rolling sometimes

[@Shiloh3498]

Why is there a product ad covering the most important part of the video? 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@mikecrossman4010]

Wouldn't it be better to run a 2d trans with your side imaging transducer?

[@WheelerFishing]

?? The transducer I installed in this video is a 3-in-1 which includes "Traditional Sonar" + Down Imaging + Side Imaging

[@mikecrossman4010]

@@WheelerFishing (bird user) from what ive gathered having a 2d transducer set for graphing at speeds and then your down and side scan run on the 3-1 giving you your adjustments for slower side and down scanning. Don’t quote me on any of that tho.

[@WheelerFishing]

@@mikecrossman4010 Of Course! A "Thru-Hull" Sonar Transducer paired with this is even better so you can get all your depth info while running and what not. It's a good time to also make sure Sources are set correctly when setting up multiple transducers (Data Sources -> Sonar -> Depth -> 2D Thru-Hull Transducer

[@mikecrossman4010]

@@WheelerFishing yes, tin walleye boat guy here so… anyway thanks for the content and congrats on the win

[@mikecrossman4010]

@@WheelerFishing another interesting thing is two side scan ducers one on each side of motor, thus allowing you to only show left and right side scan image on the 2 dash mounted screens, allowing the units to focus on one side and giving you better imagines and cutting out under the boat. Again I’ve only seen this haven’t yet tried it myself.

[@CTRadventures]

I need to move mine, just mojndednit down by that arch by your live well. At speed for amazing pics slow or no moving its all cluttered and muddy

[@JayBee-zd7mr]

Jacob “cha ching” Wheeler.

[@mooch2u]

Has anyone been able to use their 3-in-1 on plane, I lose the 2d and even depth around 30 mph its mounted just like Wheeler's but mine is dead centered -- Time line 15:28

[@WheelerFishing]

what hull do you have?

[@justinmarin163]

@@WheelerFishingcurious what kind of speeds you keep/lose your reading. I am about to mount my garmin gt54 on my ‘98 Nitro and am curious if it will show depth and speed and certain speeds. Also, different note, I do not have a jack plate so I’m concerned about my motor hitting when trimmed down, and I’m VERY unsure on where my best placement is going to be to mount

[@williamknight5142]

👍👍👍👍👍

[@prestonmoss4898]

Drill new holes in bracket so you don’t drill more holes in boat. Lol

[@jerrycruse3995]

You need a back light

[@Jerry-sy8rd]

The lighting on this vid is TERRIBLE!

[@kryan318]

marine grade sealent like 5200, not household silicone, it will leak

[@gregorywilliams7149]

Very poor lighting 🤔🤔

[@gnfishn1]

once again.... Y;all need better lighting for everyone to see....

[@TalonFinsky]

Hello fishing youtube. Let's normalize taking the dip out BEFORE talking to the camera. Thanks.

[@WheelerFishing]

I just have a big underbite . Never have dipped in my life but understand how it could look like that

[@TalonFinsky]

@WheelerFishing Ah, my bad man. Had just come from another video where they even stopped to grab a spitter in the middle.

[@TGossOutdoors]

​@@TalonFinsky why cry about something so trivial