humminbird with side imaging

[Deitz Dittrich]

Reddog, it would be interesting to see what you have your settings at.. Might be nice for people that have SI to share what seems to be the best settings for them.

I WOULD start, BUT.. I had to snare the main battery out of my boat during the last power outage and our sump pump was failing.. So I have no power to my unit.

[Nick Kuhn]

He looks to have the sensitivity up a bit. I tend to run 12-14 on the sensitivity with the enhance off. 12 gives me a real nice contrast between hard and soft bottoms in ~10 FoW.

[reddog]

My sensitivity stay on Auto at all times for SI. Ive messed with the manual mode, but Ive found that if you just leave it on Auto, it works very well.

I cannot tell you exactly what my settings are, as my boat stays at the cabin in South Dakota. I dont fish during traditional fishing weather, but mainly from late December to late May. Im just getting geared up for my "opening weekend".

Plus, Side imaging will tell you what side of the boat your targets are on when you see them in 2D.

Walleyes and buffalo carp

1197: One fish in what you would see with traditional 2D sonar. a few to the right.

Drifting with a trolling motor mounted 1197 with the trolling motor positioned to look to the front and rear of the boat, while the 997 on the dash keeps looking left and right. In this case, Left is behind the boat and right is out front of the boat in the drift. Completely unconventional use of Side Imaging, but very effective in a drifting application. I think Im gonna cast to the rear of the boat! The white lines are interference between the 997 and the 1197. Doesnt bother me in the least, unlike so many others that complain or worry about interference between units.

[SimilarIsland]

Reddog,

If you had to give up the front or console si, which would it be?

[reddog]

Thats a tough question, now that Ive had both, but I would have to say that I would give up SI on the front first. Its just too much fun on the console even when Im not fishing. Using SI up front in a conventional manner and thinking that you are going to be scanning left and right while trolling forward doesnt work real well unless you are manually able to turn your TM head slower than what most auto pilots rotate. Its just too fast to get a good return, IMHO.

SI will show good fish returns even down to .3 MPH, if you are capable of interpreting what the unit is telling you. They dont do well reading fish at a higher rate of speed, although you can get good readings of structure at higher speeds if you have your HDSI transducer finely tuned and your settings correct.

Note the speed: 39.9 MPH

0.5 MPH

[SimilarIsland]

Thats a tough question, now that Ive had both, but I would have to say that I would give up SI on the front first. Its just too much fun on the console even when Im not fishing. Using SI up front in a conventional manner and thinking that you are going to be scanning left and right while trolling forward doesnt work real well unless you are manually able to turn your TM head slower than what most auto pilots rotate. Its just too fast to get a good return, IMHO.

I have a 997 on the console and a 917/w quad beam up front, but I've been toying with the idea of using my extra si transducer(broke an ear off and glued it)up front. Then I would have the capability to easily and cheaply switch. I do have a Maxxum Pro 80, so it is manual. Any thoughts?

[reddog]

Id make the switch to the alternate HDSI transducer and run the 917 thru it. I also have a 788C with quadrabeam transducer that I changed out to the HDSI,(for the 1197/997 application) but havent had much time to play with it in that regards. Ive never quite figured the quadrabeam out. Im assuming by "cheaply" that you are thinking of moving your 997 to the front? If thats the case, I think the power cords the same between the units and so is the GPS plug, but the mounting bracket of the 917 may be different.

[SimilarIsland]

I figured the only thing I'd be losing is the use of the Quadrabeam. I believe I can even run my 917 on the console using the si transducer in 2d mode. Both graphs have Ram mounts, so that shouldn't be a problem to switch.

Some of the lakes that I fish are only 150 acres so I spend most of my time on the front deck. I usually turn the console 997 around so I can see it from the front, but it's a bit counterintuitive having the left side and right side reversed. Plus, I like the idea of being able to "scan" the water in front of the boat. I never thought about the speed of the pivot affecting the si.

[reddog]

I understand the counterintuitive reply, as thats the way one of my buddies is set up.

There should be a menu item for Humminbird to reverse the Left/Right axis in situations like that.

There should also be a menu item to turn the axis of the HDSI 90 degrees also.

[Nick Kuhn]

I figured the only thing I'd be losing is the use of the Quadrabeam. I believe I can even run my 917 on the console using the si transducer in 2d mode. Both graphs have Ram mounts, so that shouldn't be a problem to switch.

Some of the lakes that I fish are only 150 acres so I spend most of my time on the front deck. I usually turn the console 997 around so I can see it from the front, but it's a bit counterintuitive having the left side and right side reversed. Plus, I like the idea of being able to "scan" the water in front of the boat. I never thought about the speed of the pivot affecting the si.

If you look over your shoulder instead of turning around it stays intuitive. Strains your neck a bit though.

[SimilarIsland]

If you look over your shoulder instead of turning around it stays intuitive. Strains your neck a bit though.

[SimilarIsland]

I understand the counterintuitive reply, as thats the way one of my buddies is set up.

There should be a menu item for Humminbird to reverse the Left/Right axis in situations like that.

There should also be a menu item to turn the axis of the HDSI 90 degrees also.

Great suggestions as usual!

[delmuts]

For you guys that have the quadrabeam. What is your opinion on it? Planning on getting a unit this spring, but trying to decide whether to go with the quad, side scan, or both.

[reddog]

For you guys that have the quadrabeam. What is your opinion on it? Planning on getting a unit this spring, but trying to decide whether to go with the quad, side scan, or both.

No question for me, Side Imaging!

[SimilarIsland]

For you guys that have the quadrabeam. What is your opinion on it? Planning on getting a unit this spring, but trying to decide whether to go with the quad, side scan, or both.

No doubt, SI!

[delmuts]

After more research, i on going with the 798si. So now i have to keep saving! I did a NO! NO! yesturday though!!

I left the printouts on the different locators laying out with the 798 laying on top. My wife saw them! Her comment was ," is this the loctor you're looking at getting?" IT COST HOW MUCH!!!! OOOPS! YES DEAR!!

[reddog]

Delmuts,

The only time I ever regretted buying my 997 was when I gave Wade my credit card #. Everything since then has honestly been sheer bliss in a boat. Youll never regret it, Guaranteed.

My fishing partner came in the office when my 997 arrive,(not knowing that I had bought one) When I explaine what it would do. His initial reaction was "what the heck do you need that for"?

Let me say that he now has a 997 on his boat and going to buy a 998 for his other boat, since he cant or more than liely doesnt want to fish without this SI in the boat.

Its just simply too enjoyable in the boat, whether your fishing, or just cruising.