hummingbird side imaging

[bassinbob]

I was watching Bass University and they featured a Hummingbird 797 side imaging unit. I looked for any poats and could not find any on these units. What I mostly read was hummingbird was a crappy detector. I was wondering if these new side imag. were any better. They have a lot of info on their site about them. The show said everyone was getting them for all the pro tourneys. If they are crap they sure do present a whole new way to locate structure.

Bob

[Rebbasser]

Been wondering about those myself, Bob. The simulations sure look good. It will be interesting to see them in actual on the water applications.

[revrat]

Humminbird has gone through a major transformation since they were acquired by Johnson Outdoors a couple years back. The new stuff they are coming out with is truly awesome. They are putting some serious capability in the hands of the everyday angelr. Maybe not the everyday angler for the top end stuff like the 797, 897 and 997 since they cost a pretty penny, but they are seriously on the rise.

Lowrance had better get moving if they plan on keeping on top of the freshwater fishing sonar heap.

[lizardsrule]

Are you referring to the sidefinder capabilities? And if so they have been making them for a few years. I own one LOL.

Lizards

[bassinbob]

Yes Lizards. The new 797 is under $1,000. How do you like yours?

Bob

[3dkicker]

797c2 SI Combo
The 797c2 SI Combo has it all: our exclusive Side Imaging sonar on a 640 vertical pixel resolution hemispherical viewing color display, DualBeamPLUS sonar and GPS chartplotting with a built-in UniMap in one high performance unit.
900 Series
Built around a monster, 7” full-color diagonal display, Humminbird’s 900 Series Fishing Systems are designed to give the competitive or serious angler a huge on-the-water performance advantage. With powerful traditional sonar as well as 3D sonar and groundbreaking new Side-Imaging available, it does things to help you find fish that — simply put — no other fishfinder can..



I'm guessing that this is the unit you are referring to. Yes I know someone who is currently using one. He states he has learned so much from using this unit. He can now pull into a cove and locate all of the stumps, laydowns, and rocks in the cove with this unit. He can save the location using the GPS, download the information at home, and then print a picture of what he saved while on the water. He is now working on a program to be able to download GPS information saved from Lowrance and Garmin and be able to use it with the new Humminbird. I asked him if what he views on the unit actually matches what is on the bottom, a stump is really a stump, and he says that yes it is. He found the rock walls that surround a flooded cemetery on a local lake and he found individual graves (rock/dirt mounds inside the cemetery).
I have not used it myself but will get the opportunity to try it this spring if I can.

[lizardsrule]

I do not have the 797. I have a Matrix. Can't for the life of me remember the model. It is GPS capable, but I don't have it capabled lol. I like it a lot, and I like Hummingbird. They have made a good product for me. A lot of folks have either heard something bad about them, or even experienced something bad with them in the past. They have made a big jump in the last several years, and IMO don't get the props they deserve. Of course I still have a bad taste in my mouth for a certain brand of rod(wink) due to my experience with it, so I can't blame folks for not trying them out if they've had a problem. But they should, since they started producing a better product.

Lizards

[HOG Ranger]

IMO Humminbird has turned the corner and is making a very good product again. I saw the side imaging on Fishing University also and it looked like it would be a nice thing to have.

[bassnman30]

Ya'll just wait, other companies will probably come out with this same type unit and the price may go down.
Thats a big maybe.

[Rebbasser]

Bassman, I'd say that is a guarantee. As technology advances the price always come down. 25-30 years ago a pocket calculator was $100 or more, and today you can get them for a couple bucks that are much more powerful than those first ones.

[zooker]

why in the world do you want to see beside the boat all i need to know is how deep the water is...


zooker

[senkosam]

Originally Posted by zooker

why in the world do you want to see beside the boat all i need to know is how deep the water is...
zooker

That's where most lures go most of the time - to the side, front or back of the boat. It's a great way to save time finding baitfish/sportfish and the type of structure they're holding on in any direction. Granted, it doesn't take the place of knowing a body of water's underwater structure, depths, vertical deep-water locations and seasonal locations, but it's a bonus when schools are out over deeper water or off humps.

I've had my Raymarine sidefinder 10 years and use it far more than my straight-down unit.