Fishfinder

[FishMarker]

Hello All
Well its almost time! have not been up to the TFF in a few years. Getting boat ready for opening week or week after. I have to buy a new main fishfinder this year so i was hoping someone could recommend a new unit with side scan. I would prefer to stick with Hummingbird but i am not looking on spending a couple grand. I was looking at the 700 and 800 series the only thing i see is the screen size difference. None of my fishing friends have a side scan to play with. Any recommendations would be great. Thank you.

[George]

Okay Blue. Time for your annual Fish Finder presentation!

[Greenkeeper]

I have the 898 Humminbird and love it....I think you are right in that the only difference is screeen size..You can network(gps marked spots with bow in future perhaps). What does Blue have to say???

[chicken]

I have a 797 (dash) and a 787 (bow)(InterLinked), both of which I like alot however have had various problems with each. Unit(s) not working on the sonar screen 797, turning off randomly 787, transducer failure 797, etc. Good thing Humminbird has awesome customer service and I have not spent a dime fixing these problems, it just sucks beintg down. When I bought them Humminbird was the only one with side imaging technology. Now Lowrance has it also, and I would probably choose different. Just my .02

[BlueRanger]

I love my 997, have never had a problem with it in 3 seasons of heavy use and wouldn't trade it for anything (unless someone wants to give me a newer 998 or 1198 for free). I also love the fact that Humminbird continues to provide free software upgrades to allow users of the older units to add newer features like downimaging that have been introduced on more recent models.

However, I've never used any of the smaller units and can't offer any useful comments on those.

A couple general things to consider, one of them specific to the TFF:

1. Sideimaging works best at idle or trolling motor speeds up to about 4-6mph, and depending on transducer mounting location it may not work at all at planing speed - many users choose to protect the $300 transducer by mounting it above the on-plane waterline and switching to a thru-hull 2D transducer when running.

2. On the TFF, it's an amazing structure, channel and obstacle finder and the integration between sideimaging and GPS is fantastic, but as a fishfinder it's useless in many locations because it's impossible to distinguish fish from all the wood on the bottom.

3. At first, you'll spend way too much time just watching the screen and being mesmerized by what you're seeing.

[FishMarker]

Thanks to all for the great info. I went with the 898c SI after jumping back and fourth with Hummingbird and Lowrance. Seems simpler to set up with out extra needed stuff. I hope i made the right choice. Cannot wait to receive it and install before making trip to TFF. Thank you.

[BlueRanger]

You might want to check out the "sideimaging" group on Yahoo! Groups - it's a very active Humminbird user community with all sorts of helpful information on how to install and set up your unit and lots of user screen captures to show you what kind of performance you can expect. A couple factory guys are on the message board regularly to answer questions.