Howdy W,
I know the CHIRP technology is a depth-penetratin', target-separatin' marvel but I have not had the personal experience with a CHIRP unit to comment on it's shallow water capabilities.
However, if shallow water sonar is your desire, then Lowrance's
Structure Scan could possibly be more advantageous and here's why:
Most transducers have fairly narrow beams (20 degrees or less) at 200 kHz. at 50 feet you are only covering about 15 feet of the bottom under your boat.
Structure Scan covers 180 degrees or literally the entire water column with two distinct sonar beams, one scanning port, one scanning starboard and this information is displayed on your screen with the clarity of a black & white photograph.
Here's a
Structure Scan Video so you can see the the amazing target resolution of a Structure Scan equipped unit!
Good luck out there!
