Structure Scan On Trolling Motor?

[Mike H]

Now that I've upgraded to the Lowrance HDS 8 unit I of course want to add the Structure Scan option. My question is has anyone mounted their Lowrance Structure Scan on their trolling motor and if so what are the pros and cons of attaching it there vs on the jack plate? The reason I ask is because my HDS unit is mounted up front and I'd like to keep it there.

Another option, can I leave my HDS unit up fron and mount my Side scan on the jack plate and the unit function fine?

Thanks all.

[Rick G]

The structure scan transducer is only meant to be fixed mounted on the transom. It only reads a slower than 5mph and is not for the side by side swinging of the trolling motor head. You will never get a good reading on the tm. Rick G.

[Mike H]

Thanks Rick,

So, can it be mounted on the jack plate and be utilized on the HDS unit that is mounted up front?

By the way, I'll be contacting you guys to purchase and mount the unit. Do you guys have any specials going on?

[Rick G]

Yes, it should be mounted under the jackplate on the transom and will hook up to your unit no matter where it is mounted. There might be some specials at the Bass-a-thon in November, and I know we will be doing a major Lowrance side imaging seminar there. Rick

[bassrman]

"trollingmotorshieldsaver.com makes a killer mount for you structure scan!, it will work on your tm, but it has its limits',you need to travel in a strait line & do not turn the tm, I would go with the jackplate mount & in the future add one of the new lowrance downscan units to the bow/tm '.....

[j10b]

That is NOT right.

THE SS works GREAT on the TM. My of my elite series buddies ONLY have it on the TM. The downscan is sick on it and I can tell you how to hook them up if you want to have 2 of them.

Basically two boxes and run an E-net cable to the SS box to network.

[j10b]

And the side scan works just as good as long as you realize that you are not looking to read the sidewall of a tire but you are looking to see a difference in contour.

[Ken Sauret]

Yes the LSS-1, Structure Scan can be mounted on the trolling motor. It works just fine. When you turn the trolling motor to one side or the other to make a turn the image blurs for just the time of the turn and the Structure Scan picture becomes clear instantly. I filmed the Jarrett Edwards TV show last summer with the LSS-1 transducer mounted on the trolling motor to show it's effectiveness having the Structure Scan up there where you fish from.

On another note the Structure Scan will read up to 10 MPH. The image is clear and defined up to that speed. I don't know if it reads beyond 10 MPH because I have my LSS-1 ducer on the step on the transom of my 520 and if I go faster the boat lifts the ducer out of the water and I loose the bottom.

If you put the LSS-1 ducer on the transom, you can run an ethernet cable up to the front to your HDS unit. The problem with this is the image you are viewing is 20 feet or more behind you. Not much help while moving forward on the trolling motor in a fishing situation. The only place I can think of that having the LSS-1 ducer on the transom and looking at an HDS up at the bow would be in a river situation like the Colombia river when you put your bow into the current and slowly glide backwards downstream. The ducer would be showing you what you would be going over with the front of the boat as you drift downstream.

Something to be aware of is the fact that the Structure Scan ducer is a very expensive piece of equipment. If you are like me I don't always watch where I'm going and I tend to bump into rocks and stuff once in a while. I've been known to break off transducers on my trolling motor so I would be very careful with one of these on my trolling motor. Don't bump any obstructions with it. There is a company that makes a sheild out of aluminum that will protect it pretty well. I have one that is made for my traditional ducer on my trolling motor and it is all scratched up but the ducer is in great shape. The company is called Product Innovations Inc. Their web site is transducersheildandsaver.com Look for the protective shield for the LSS-1. Lowrance also makes and sells a mounting bracket that will make the mounting of the ducer to the trolling motor very easy. Look for it at leiextras.com The part number is 000-00099-004

Sorry for the delay in responding to your post. I was practicing for the WON tournament at New Melones. Please let me know if you have other questions that I can help with.

[Kelly Ripa]

Darn it Ken. Why can't you follow Rick's lead here and explain that you won't get a good image on the trolling motor... . I have the product innovations bracket. It makes everything neat and rock hard sturdy. I wouldn't risk the 500 bucks worth of transducers hanging off my trolling motor with the bracket that Lowrance sells. I bought it and threw it in my shop with the hose clamp pile as it just looked like a kluge waiting to happen. Mounted both ducers in the custom mount and reversed my image so that left was left and right was right and never looked back. At this time of year I am scoping out my deep water patterns and it was really wild to watch the downscan on the left and the sonar split to the right the other day when I dropped an ice jig down on a likely looking branch on some big stone bottom. Four smallie's rose up and it was tough KNOW'N you were just a second or two away from...........Hookup.

Rip

[DAKINE198]

Hey Kelly, can you take some pictures and post it so I can see what it looks like?

[mark poulson]

Ken,
Is there something like a bypass switch so you can switch from the transom transducer to one on the TM, for the same sonar unit?
I have my SI on the console, on a ram mount, and swing it around so I can read it while I'm on the TM. Being able to switch to the TM transducer would sure be nice.

[Kelly Ripa]

I could Steve but the pictures would look just like all the others put on the web site that the bracket manufacturer has. Pricey you bet but you come up with a better one....I love my HDS10.The shad have little smiley faces ... and the other fish you can tell by their silloutte. I bust up the other day as I was clearly over three bass on a stump. I don't have a switch for the two transducers I just Plug in which ever one I need and play. The one that is getting the least bit of time is the transom transducer because I know Casitas and Cachuma quite well so I am not looking around but fishing....I only have one HDS10 and one Lss-1 and I have it wired so where ever I want the unit is where I can run it. I'm not buy'ing 2 of everything....just transducers...

[Rick G]

Dont get me wrong, you can put it on the T/M if you want. But it is a BIG transducer that has to go along with the regular one, along with multiple cables going down the shaft. Also you need to take info fact that in rough water that big transducer is getting beat on the bow of your boat. Let alone, beating it up in the bushes. The BEST application is TRANSOM mounted and speeds no more than 8-10 mph. Besides the whole point is to use your curser to crosshair the structure spots you want to fish and GPS them. Also as you swing the shaft back and forth it is hard to read the screen ACCURATLY. Still the new technology is awesome and well worth the investment. Rick G.

[Ken Sauret]

Hey Mark, You can plug in the ducer you want to use like Kelly does. The reason is because the black box module that is the brain of the Structure Scan will only accommodate one ducer at a time. Otherwise you will need to purchase two separate LSS-1's and plug in the module that you want to use.