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Looking to upgrade my old 150 dollar fish finder. I have a 16' G3 Jon that I fish mostly trolling motor only water so looking to mount unit up front on trolling motor. Should I go all in with a unit that does both?? Will side imaging work up front on trolling motor?? What speed do I need to be going for side to work?? Was going to go with a down image unit but was thinking do I bite the bullet money wise and get the best of both? Thanks for any thoughts.
Speed has a lot to do with the quality of your SI picture. Probably faster than you would normally run your trolling motor. Think if it was me I would get a unit with 2d and straight DI to mount on troller. Think the quality of picture would be better overall. Either the 600 series Humminbird or the Elite5 series from lowrance would be good reasonable priced units if you didn't want GPS.
I have side and down imaging on the bow of my boat and seldom use the side imaging. The side imaging needs to be going straight to get good images, when the tm turns it kinda smears the returns. On the speed 3-4 mph works best but I get decent down images below 1 mph.
What units are you looking at?
Kinda thought side image would not work to good on trolling motor plus extra money for a unit with both side & down image. Looking at Lowrance Elite 7 HDI sonar/GPS combo for 550.00, and have 180.00 in rewards points I can use. I am guessing all 2014 models will start going on sale now before 2015 models come out???
That Elite7 should be a nice unit if it's in your budget. Friend of mine has one mounted on bow of his boat and loves it. If your going to pick it up at the store get them to install the latest update for you.
Down images in the down image only graph, are more detailed than looking at the down image view in side imaging. Side image gets its "down image" picture by combining the 2 inside over lapping weaker sonar returns. Which is ok, but not as good as down image only graph. On the trolling motor, i would go with down image only and 2d graph, and leave side imaging alone unless gonna put another one on the transom :)
Cray, how would I go about getting the latest update installed?? Can they do it at store?? Would they have to send it in to Lowrance?
Just down load from Lowrances web site, move it to a memory card and load it into the df.Quote:
Originally Posted by Swampseed
I agree with LowePro, on DI images from a Lowrance DI being better than HB's SI images turned into DI images. A dedicated crystal for DI images will show better detail than a "interpreted" image from a SI crystal.Quote:
Originally Posted by LowePro
My Elite 5DSI unit will show images like this :
http://www.crappie.com/crappie/attac...d=172921&stc=1
and it's not the latest/greatest of DI units ... in fact, it's discontinued from the Lowrance line, likely in favor of the new Elite series units that have DI & 2d.
Personally, I'd never go back to 2d & it's "finger painting" images. Not when I can get images like the one above.
SI shines when you're motoring around & looking over an area for cover, and baitballs & fish that are out to either side of the boat and at a distance.
DI shines when you're covering a specific area, or looking for cover/baitballs/fish that are within the range of your downscan sonar ping.
The method(s) that you normally use the most ... should be the deciding factor in what capabilities a unit must have. :twocents
... cp :kewl
Pappy is correct about the Lowrance having much better di images and it is because of the dedicated di transducer. I have no dog in a fight Humminbird over Lowrance....they both are good units. I may purchase a Lowrance myself.....right now I have a Humminbird 899. But if I was going to get a new unit I would make sure it had si capabilities along with the di. Several brands now have si. It is a myth that you can't get good side imaging at low speeds.....and yes during a turn your images will smear....depending on how much of a turn you make. But with a little bit of experience you will know what you are seeing even if it is askew. I have a kayak and have very good images. My top speed is only 2 MPH and mostly I cruise at 1.5 MPH. The image of the tree with the crappie in it was taken at a speed of 1.4 MPH. You don't have to be moving to see fish with any of the si..di units. If a fish swims under your beam it will show up.....the Doppler principal comes into play there. You are not moving...and you will not paint a good image of the structure under you but the fish are moving and will show up. Look at my speed on the di pic...it is almost nothing.....the speed on the combo display is 1.8 MPH. I got the depth off the di portion of that image and pulled 27 beautiful crappie....many black nose.....out of that cold water. I have been paddling along using si and found shell cracker beds I would have never known they were there had I not been side scanning. I got my unit in February and I have had the best spring and early to mid summer fishing I have ever had.....almost too easy. Down imaging and side imaging IMHO is the way to go if it is in your budget. My point is......pick a brand you want......don't think you can't get good images going slow.....and start catching fish. But yes these units do cost quite a bit. Best of luck with your decision.
Regards
Depending on the store. Most Bass Pro, cabelas, gander usually have someone there versed in down loading from web site and uploading to unit. Would be helpful for you to learn how to do it. Like Justin said, you can just get a SD card and down load from web site and install yourself. That is something you will need to learn eventually because Lowrance and Humminbird are constantly coming out with new updates for units.Quote:
Originally Posted by Swampseed
Good view of the thermocline there in green
Thanks....read somewhere about using that color on a bright sunny day....makes it easier to see the fish on the screen. I tried it and that is true. I had never even thought about using that color until I read that. Great info on the NET about all of this and great stuff here on crappie.com also.Quote:
Originally Posted by MonteSS
Regards
Try Inverse also...Quote:
Originally Posted by Alphahawk
It shows stark contrast between the dark grey bottom and white fish echoes...
Rickie
Thanks for all the input guys. Knew this would not be easy to figure out what to get. Was almost thinking from most input to go with just a DI unit but then Alphahawk post now has got me unsure. Guess biggest question is how much I am willing to spend. Like can I afford a new sports car or can I afford a hot lady or can I afford a new sports car with a hot lady in it. LOL
I say get the SI and don't look back!! Wish I had a recording to share with you some of the stuff I saw today, laydowns in 20 of water 30 foot long, schools of shad off to one side or the other. The more I run
SI the more its all I run other than a map. As far as the trolling motor blurring it I call BS, yes it will work better at 4 or 5 mph but it also works pretty dang good down to .3 mph, just set the screen speed accordingly. A LOT of guys in the bass world are using the SI ducer on their trolling motor so they can swing it around and see whats around them. Another option is to run a regular ducer on the troller and the SI ducer at the transom and use a splitter.
I intend to get another bigger unit and had thought about it just being a DI but after this summer and learning a little bit about the SI it will be a SI for sure. Good luck!!
Be sure to get a unit with si & DI. With si you can scan 60 to 75 feet each side of boat looking for brush piles & cribs, etc. you will be able to mark where they are so you can go back over them to get a bigger look. Go to the member sponsor classified section below look for Brian-BBG marine, & or Shut-up-and-fish both sponsors here, call them each for a price they will be happy to help out and will beat any & all store price--think sales tax or no tax also.....These folks are on this site all the time and stand behind their sales.
i was thinking about upgrading to SI. does anyone have any info on the new humminbird 698? its at the top of my budget but i dont want to waste my money if this unit is not capable of performing well. is there a better unit for about that price ($700)?
fish4brains
Check with our sponsors. Their prices are very hard to beat.Quote:
Originally Posted by fish4brains
http://www.crappie.com/crappie/-memb...lassified-ads/
...I think CrappiePappy and Alphahawk has posted some really good advice. I have an 898c HD SI unit that I bought and used on my kayak and now my boat. I think a big part of fishing is finding places to fish and that is where SI shines. I do a lot of scouting and recording. I enjoy going back and reviewing recording. You really learn how to read SI by doing so. So, I use SI to find places to fish and 2d to keep me on top of structure/brush piles. It is my understanding that you have to be MOVING for quality SI AND DI images. That is why 2d is important to me to make sure I'm staying on top of brush piles. Have not used the faux DI much. (keep in mind that HD does make true DI units.) I have since bought a dedicated 2d unit for TM and have SI transducer mounted to transom for scouting. Works real well for me...
-danny