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Does anyone here have one of the hummingbird side scan units. I have been doing some research on them, and if they are as good as they look on the websites, they would have to give a fisherman a heck of an edge when fishing out off of the banks. Seems like any tournament angler, espically down around Kentucky, and Barkley where everyone fishes deep ledges, would want one, just to get an competitive edge. Let me know what you think.
Hank parker had one on his boat on a show i watched a month or so ago and it looked real sweet.
A good resource for the sidescan. I think you have to join to view but lots of good stuff over there. Wish I could afford one.
[URL]http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sideimaging/[/URL]
They work just like Humminbird says. They are worth the money. I love mine and would not trade it for anything.
I would think if they were so awesome you would see the pros with a lot more of them. This technology has been around for a while in offshore marine electronics. I know KVD isn't sponsored by Lowrance but he uses one and attributes it to his success a lot. After so many years of crap I just don’t think I could go for Hummingbird. I will say a guy in our club bought one he said you could make out the cables that held the marina to the shore. So I guess it comes down to preference and pocketbook.
[QUOTE=RC5;305475]I would think if they were so awesome you would see the pros with a lot more of them. This technology has been around for a while in offshore marine electronics. I know KVD isn't sponsored by Lowrance but he uses one and attributes it to his success a lot. After so many years of crap I just don’t think I could go for Hummingbird. I will say a guy in our club bought one he said you could make out the cables that held the marina to the shore. So I guess it comes down to preference and pocketbook.[/QUOTE]
Ben Matsubu said he used his side sonar to find the patch of grass he was fishing when he won at Toho.
Lowrance has them beat with the plain old fish finder view, but with side sonar I find myself not even using is anymore.
I tried to talk about the Humminbird 997c Si units on the IN board and the discussion died.
I know of several fishing guides that have these units or the 797c si units on their guide boats. These folks make a living at fishing and have been convinced that this new technology will pay for itself over the long run.
Jim Duckworth uses the 997c si unit. Jim Fishes KY lake and is a full time fishing guide on this lake.
Todd Huckabee uses the 997c si unit on his guide and tournament boat. Todd is featured in Crappie World almost every month and has made a living out of fishing tournaments and guiding clients. `I learn a lot from what Todd Says. He is from Oklahoma.
Richard Williams Guide Service AKA 1Weezer out of Mansard Island near Springville, TN has switched from Garmin to Humminbird recently.
Jerry Blake and his mini me partner are both using the new Humminbird side scanning units. Jerry opted for the less expensive 797c Si while Daryl went with the big bucks 997c si unit. Jerry and Darryl fish Lake Greeson down in Arkansas. Combined they catch a lot of fish. They also put in a lot of hard work dropping fish attractors into the lake in a number of coves and ledges. They put in over 200 bamboo crappie condos over the last two years, maybe even more than that.
I personally have been talking up the Humminbird side scanning units and Humminbird in general. I've been a happy Humminbird LCR 8000 owner since the 1980's. I have had excellent repair service from Humminbird.
I also heard that Hummingbird will be coming out with a new side scanning sonar unit that has a larger screen than the 997c si unit.
As for as the quality of the Humminbird Units, well I say they are as good as anything else on the market. Overall Humminbird has been a leader in the depth sounder market. They were the FIRST to come out with the Liquid Crystal Screen Graphs. Just imagine if you still had to reload your graph with Paper ever few days? Thanks to Humminbird we don't have to worry about paper graphs anymore. They are not absolute.
And the Humminbird 997c Si unit also had the 2d sonar that has very good pixel resolution. The design of the crystals that make the sounds and the electronics that controls the ping rate is the key to the ability to separate fish from the bottom. Pulse length is a determining factor in the ability of the sonar to see things clearly. Humminbird does a very good job of adjusting the Pulse length and frequencies of their transducers.
These new side scanning sonars allow one to see out 140 ft to each side of a boat and to record the history of the view. While a regular sonar unit only will cover about a 10 ft wide area of lake bottom when making a trolling pass. The side scanning units also combine gps to help mark bottom features with a waypoint that allows the fisherman to return to that exact spot on the lake to fish. Be it a stump or a rock along a drop off you can find it much faster with a Humminbird side scanning unit.
If you fish tournaments and go to new lakes you will have to do a lot more scouting and take more time with the older technology. Not that you can't find stuff on a new lake but you can spend less time and find more structure with the new technology.
I finally got to play around with one of the 997 units in demo mode while visiting the new Gander Mtn Store in Evansville, IN recently. I am anxious for the new larger screen model to come out.
[QUOTE=Moose1am;305512]I tried to talk about the Humminbird 997c Si units on the IN board and the discussion died.
I know of several fishing guides that have these units or the 797c si units on their guide boats. These folks make a living at fishing and have been convinced that this new technology will pay for itself over the long run.
Jim Duckworth uses the 997c si unit. Jim Fishes KY lake and is a full time fishing guide on this lake.
Todd Huckabee uses the 997c si unit on his guide and tournament boat. Todd is featured in Crappie World almost every month and has made a living out of fishing tournaments and guiding clients. `I learn a lot from what Todd Says. He is from Oklahoma.
Richard Williams Guide Service AKA 1Weezer out of Mansard Island near Springville, TN has switched from Garmin to Humminbird recently.
Jerry Blake and his mini me partner are both using the new Humminbird side scanning units. Jerry opted for the less expensive 797c Si while Daryl went with the big bucks 997c si unit. Jerry and Darryl fish Lake Greeson down in Arkansas. Combined they catch a lot of fish. They also put in a lot of hard work dropping fish attractors into the lake in a number of coves and ledges. They put in over 200 bamboo crappie condos over the last two years, maybe even more than that.
I personally have been talking up the Humminbird side scanning units and Humminbird in general. I've been a happy Humminbird LCR 8000 owner since the 1980's. I have had excellent repair service from Humminbird.
I also heard that Hummingbird will be coming out with a new side scanning sonar unit that has a larger screen than the 997c si unit.
As for as the quality of the Humminbird Units, well I say they are as good as anything else on the market. Overall Humminbird has been a leader in the depth sounder market. They were the FIRST to come out with the Liquid Crystal Screen Graphs. Just imagine if you still had to reload your graph with Paper ever few days? Thanks to Humminbird we don't have to worry about paper graphs anymore. They are not absolute.
And the Humminbird 997c Si unit also had the 2d sonar that has very good pixel resolution. The design of the crystals that make the sounds and the electronics that controls the ping rate is the key to the ability to separate fish from the bottom. Pulse length is a determining factor in the ability of the sonar to see things clearly. Humminbird does a very good job of adjusting the Pulse length and frequencies of their transducers.
These new side scanning sonars allow one to see out 140 ft to each side of a boat and to record the history of the view. While a regular sonar unit only will cover about a 10 ft wide area of lake bottom when making a trolling pass. The side scanning units also combine gps to help mark bottom features with a waypoint that allows the fisherman to return to that exact spot on the lake to fish. Be it a stump or a rock along a drop off you can find it much faster with a Humminbird side scanning unit.
If you fish tournaments and go to new lakes you will have to do a lot more scouting and take more time with the older technology. Not that you can't find stuff on a new lake but you can spend less time and find more structure with the new technology.
I finally got to play around with one of the 997 units in demo mode while visiting the new Gander Mtn Store in Evansville, IN recently. I am anxious for the new larger screen model to come out.[/QUOTE]
Great info Moose, i really like the 997 model, and will probaly have to get a second job to buy one, but if thats what it takes i will do it. The things that the unit shows you is incredible, and would have to take an average fisherman like myself, and make him much better. When is the larger screen coming out, and do you think it will drop the price of the 997 a little. Thanks again.
I bought a 797 a couple months ago and I mostly fish on ky some of the things I've seen with this thing are unbeliveable I love it and would recomend to anyone. the only down fall I have is losing bottom lock over 40 mph but you can get a thru hull TD and a switch for the high speeds I havent done it yet but I will do that over the winter. also on the 797 you only have one SD slot so you have to take out your hotmaps card if you want to save pics on a SD card, I think the 997 has two slots. Well with that said I can surely over look the small stuff given the advantages of having the SI.
LTBama on the BFHP posts a lot of his side-view graphs on the Fishing tactics board of that website...check it out....... very informative...tight lines
I was told by Humminbird Greg on another web site that it will be in a few more months. He could not tell specifics. He works for Humminbird and hangs out on another forum that I read from time to time. hehe
The new unit is going to cost a lot more.
As for the price of the current 997c si I only wish the prices would come down.
As long as Lowrance and other manufactures fail to come out with an equivalent to the Humminbird Side Scanning devices I see no price drops in the near future.
Hopefully other manufactures will copy the Humminbird Technology in the future and come out with their own side scanning units that are cheaper to buy. That's when I forsee a price drop.
Or if the Humminbird Sales drop off maybe Humminbird will be force to drop the prices eventually. Not everyone can afford to spend 2 grand on these units.
Some people have wifes that would divorce them if they spent that much money on ANYTHING other than a wedding band. LOL
If I see a price drop coming I'll post the information in here as soon as I can.
I wish they would drop the price to a more reasonable one.
Our Local DNR guys went out and bough a $40,000 side scanning unit for their search and rescue operations. They got some extra money from the Feds for Homeland Security. I think that they wasted about 38K and should have gotting the cheaper 997c Si instead of that 40K unit.
We had a man fall off a barge in the Ohio River and they tried to find his body with the new 40K unit. But I have not heard if they found his body or not. They didn't really know exactly where he fell off the barge or where to start the search. But man paying $40,000 for a unit was crazy unless you can fly it like a helicopter.
[quote=wishniwasfishn;305517]Great info Moose, i really like the 997 model, and will probaly have to get a second job to buy one, but if thats what it takes i will do it. The things that the unit shows you is incredible, and would have to take an average fisherman like myself, and make him much better. When is the larger screen coming out, and do you think it will drop the price of the 997 a little. Thanks again.[/quote]
Just got the go ahead from my wife to purchase the 997..... I haven't wanted something so bad in a LONG time. Time to do some research before dropping the cash, but from everything I've read everyone that has one says it is the best $ they have ever spent.