Side Imaging is the best tool in DECADES
Guys, if you don't have side imaging......GET it........if you DO have side imaging, really, really learn it.
I purchased a Helix 7 last year, and upgraded to a Helix 9 this year. I can tell you unequivocally that side imaging can help you catch fish. CAN is the optimal word.
This past weekend, I used SI in combination with mapping to target very, very specific areas and had a quite successful trip. Side Imaging was able to confirm what I though underwater, and Man oh MAN, it was bad azz..........
On the right stuff, you could catch a bunch of fish.
I'm not really good at picking out the feeders, versus the non feeders, but I could pick out which areas were holding fish. Using methods taught to me nearly 10 years ago by Dave Stewart, I was able to pick the right ones, and have successful back to back to back days.
I'm so happy with my setup, I'm getting rid of my SI up front ( helix 7), and getting a 9 or gen 2 so I can see it better, and network it........I think the ability to see SI while on the trolling motor might be a necessary upgrade. :).
Always something to buy......
Now, I just need to get out with Dave and take a Ledge class :) :).
Later, have fun, and Tight Lines.
Geo.
I like the new Solix Big Screens
I wish I could get one of the new Humminbird Solix 15" screens and be able to see the screen better in daylight (bright sun light). My older Humminbird 898C SI unit's screen is hard to see well in the daylight. But if I make a recording and then take it back home and play it with Humviewer on my computer it shows me all the detail I need. I need a dark room on my boat to be able to see the screen. LOL. I have a shade for the screen but it's still hard to see the screen most of the time unless it's over cast outside. I'm talking about seeing the small things on the screen like the fish and the fish shadows that tell you if the fish are suspended higher in the water column or down by the bottom.
If you really want to see details get up close to the object you want to view with sonar and then use the higher frequency setting and cut down on the range. That will maximize the details on the screen where you can see the underwater object better.
I had to find some PVC fish attractors that were in the water in a known area but could not be seen with the lower frequency sonar waves and the range set out to 100 ft on each side of the boat. I adjusted the screen to only show the right side of my boat and then switched to the 800 KHz frequency setting and finally the PVC fish attractor showed up on the screen. It was much smaller than I thought on the screen. I knew it was Ten Feet Tall and had ten legs that were each ten feet long. Five feet sticking out on each side of the main truck. The main trunk is made from a ten feet long by 4" ID diameter PVC pipe. The main truck had two feet of concrete inside the bottom of the truck and a cap on the top with a fun noodle stuck inside the top 3ft to help the top stay upright. It was shown standing up on the bottom with the legs sticking out of the main truck. I catch fish off this fish attractor when the area is quiet in the late fall and winter months. It's at the right depth to hold fish in the fall of the year. I wish I could take them out of the water and move them to another location but that would be too difficult. They are hard to see and find and I can't scuba dive anymore. My gear got destroyed by the heat in my attic. It got so hot up in the attic before I had the roof ridge vent installed that the rubber straps on my fins, mask and other gear melted and or dry rotted and fell apart. And I'm not in that good of health so it would be silly to replace them just for one or two dives. It's cheaper just to make some more PVC fish attractors and put them in other spots. Like I said I did catch fish off them a few times. Other people are able to fish this spot and catch fish from the bank. But some people hog the spot and don't allow other's to fish there. :(
[QUOTE=GeoFisher;562264]Guys, if you don't have side imaging......GET it........if you DO have side imaging, really, really learn it.
I purchased a Helix 7 last year, and upgraded to a Helix 9 this year. I can tell you unequivocally that side imaging can help you catch fish. CAN is the optimal word.
This past weekend, I used SI in combination with mapping to target very, very specific areas and had a quite successful trip. Side Imaging was able to confirm what I though underwater, and Man oh MAN, it was bad azz..........
On the right stuff, you could catch a bunch of fish.
I'm not really good at picking out the feeders, versus the non feeders, but I could pick out which areas were holding fish. Using methods taught to me nearly 10 years ago by Dave Stewart, I was able to pick the right ones, and have successful back to back to back days.
I'm so happy with my setup, I'm getting rid of my SI up front ( helix 7), and getting a 9 or gen 2 so I can see it better, and network it........I think the ability to see SI while on the trolling motor might be a necessary upgrade. :).
Always something to buy......
Now, I just need to get out with Dave and take a Ledge class :) :).
Later, have fun, and Tight Lines.
Geo.[/QUOTE]
