Just wanted to ask the OK crew about side imaging. I've been wanting to pull the trigger on a mid-range unit. Those of you who have SI, was it worth the upgrade? Has it helped you find the fish?
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Just wanted to ask the OK crew about side imaging. I've been wanting to pull the trigger on a mid-range unit. Those of you who have SI, was it worth the upgrade? Has it helped you find the fish?
Ummmm. Yes sir Rees buddy. I'm from BAMA but I can answer this one. Opened up a whole new world for me
My advice is to go with somebody who has one. You'll not beleive what you see..or how much more you will see.
Like Bama said it opens up a whole new world. It helps you find structure you would otherwise bypass. Will it help you catch fish well yes and no. It will help you find the structure that holds numbers of fish but doesn't guarantee you to catch them. Whatever you decide to buy buy the biggest screen, best unit you can afford. You are only as good as what you know about it. Learn it from the inside out. Do a lot of videos and reading. Good Luck......Ranger
That or go spend a couple days with Ranger
I'm starting to get the feeling that you all say "YES YOU FOOL! BUY IT!!!" Now I just need to figure out which one.... Been looking at Garmin and Humminbird. Trying to stay under $1K though. Like anything in life, they'll let you pay as much as you want to.
Does anyone have any suggestions on a unit to look into or even a unit to stay away from? Are all brands similar in quality? Is the screen size the main factor in your effectiveness or is there some electronic wizardry that has more to do with it?
Quote:
Originally Posted by callmecamo
Lowrance or Humminbird is about the same as Ford vs. Chevy and I guess now one could add Garmin as the Toyota product! They are all good imo, back when I was trying to decide the same thing Garmin wasn't really in play at the time and I spent most of my research based on what I could find regarding the companies customer service. At the time I was looking there seemed to be a lot more negative issues towards one company than the other; I have since seen that sway in the other direction and now to me they both seem to about equal again with their customer service. In addition reading up on the reviews you should check out the many different videos of each unit that is on YouTube. It just about the same as riding along with the folks as they demo the key features of the units. I even watch the videos of some of the older units cause there is still a wealth of information you can learn with them too. For me anyway after watching hours of YouTube I found myself becoming partial to one brand over the other one.
As for screen size, yes I suggest that you always get the biggest unit that you can "not" afford!!! What I mean by that is what ever your budget is now, wait till you can put another $300 or $400 bucks with it and buy the next size/model of unit. If not you will most likely be kicking yourself for not getting the upgraded version. However remember if money is an issue the 1, 2 and 3 year old units that are out there at extremely discounted prices were the cats meow in there time. I recently seen a new SI unit which I bought a few years back for over $700 now on sale for $199.00.
Thanks for the input, Lonnie. Which brand are you partial to?
for sure get the upgrade....you know the story ...you get what you pay for, but if you want to stay on the low end and still get good results. The Garmin Stryker 7sv is low budget and still works great but does not have mapping capabilities.
Garmin 93SV with Chirp. 999.00
Garmin 73 sv can be had at a good deal if you look around...
The more something cost the more I research before I buy. I found a Garmin for friend of mine for under $500.00 it had a 7" screen but that was his budget.
I have used both Garmin and own 2 Lowrance Units. HDS 12 and 9 Gen 3 units. I was impressed with the Garmin side scan on their big unit but the lesser units were less than desirable in my opinion. Mapping is a must as far as marking wood,rock, ect. and placing wpts on them and being able to return and fish them again without searching. I know nothing about birds but have heard good things. It's like opening a can of worms when asking which unit everyone suggests. Do your home work and study YouTube videos as much as you can. Good Luck and Tight Lines......Ranger
I think your Best Buy is the Garmin Stryker as long as you can live without mapping. I put one on the bow of my boat and it is perfect for me tho I'm about to give up the side and down imaging for the integrated sonar transducer on the Ultrex.
Quote:
Originally Posted by callmecamo
I use Humminbird 597 DI and currently installing a Helix 10 SI Gen1.
I covet a down scan greatly right now and know my lake well enough that the gps is useful when the fog is so thick I can't see the bank. A side scan would not be helpful to me because of the depths I usually fish in but these post have given me lots to consider when it becomes time to get a new fish finder From what I am reading on this post, gps, mapping, down imaging and side scan would be the combination to look for if any have that combination.
Do most of you really like SI much better than DI?
I recently put all new electronics on the boat I just purchased. I studied and reviewed every unit out there for months wanting to make the right decision. I looked at Lowrance, Hummingbird, Garmin and Ray Marine. Every one of them today are impressive but it came down to dollars. In the end, I just couldn't justify the cost of the high end birds, Lowrance's or Ray Marine's in the 9 to 12 in size. I could not see an advantage in spending 2000.00 vs 1000.00 so I ended up going with the Garmin Echo Map 93SV with chirp for under 1000.00. I could not tell a nickel's worth of difference in any of them. My old units would find brushpiles fine but the new ones with good down imaging shows whether there's fish in the piles so it saves a lot of wasted time. Again as others have said, get the biggest screen you can afford.
When you decide what unit/brand you are going to go with, you may want to check Bass Boat Central for a good used or sometimes brand new unit at a discounted price. I know lots of guys who have purchased items from there.
Electronics
Thank you all for your information! I'm leaning towards a Garmin 93SV at the moment. Price for the features is pretty hard to beat.
slow retrieve SI is another great tool. Yes I use it every time on the water. It allows me to see 40-50-60' on each side of my boat and mark structure that I would of missed otherwise. Once I mark it while scanning I can place a wp on it and run right back over it with di to see if there is fish on it. Is SI a must, yes it is for me and wouldn't get on the water without it....RangerQuote:
Originally Posted by Slow Retrieve
I like the side imaging capability. I like downvu better but together they work good. At Grizzly jig most of the nationwide pros gave their opinions about all aspects of fishing. We also got to take a look at current state of the art H'bird stuff. It is truly amazing! You can even identify species sometimes. But they (like trolling motors) change almost as quickly as cell phones or autos. My Garmins now are a generation or so old but I'll stick with them for awhile. They work well. It was interesting to hear Todd Huckabee's answer when asked what is the biggest mistake most crappie fishermen make. He walked over to a large Humminbird unit that was on display at the seminar and said "paying too much attention to these and not enough attention to what's going on around you in the water."
when using the SI function how deep does it see while looking to the sides? If I were in 40' of water would the SI see a brush pile on the bottom?
to answer the question is yes. Thumb of rule is adjust the scale to twice the distance as the depth. When fishing in 40' or scanning in 40' I always have mine set at 80' or just a bit more. When scanning I usually have a split screen running with 3/4 screen Structure Scan and 1/4 Down Scan that way I don't miss anything.......RangerQuote:
Originally Posted by crappie wrangler
Thanks for the advice. I do fine with the depth finders I have but more information is always desirable. A friend of mine that fishes Eufaula has a down imaging unit and tells me he can see fish around rocks or brush clearly but I have never seen one in use. I have several HDS5's on 2 boats boats and can interperate them pretty well but I can't see individual fish on structure. Being gainfully retired I will have to price shop carefully for a new sonar to stay within budget.
Maybe some one that has a down view and side view could offer to take me fishing and let me see one actually in use before I buy.
Be more than happy to take you and get you aquatinted with my units. Be sure to check out the Ft Gibson Thread cause there are several good pictures on there of my SS and DS plus a few more from others. They are amazing photos and you tell us if you can see those fish on there and in a few you can even tell which way they are facing.......Ranger
Oops. I just found out that there is a problem finding an oil cooler replacement line for my truck and my mechanic told me that it would be risky to drive that far. As soon as I can get that repair done I will be ready to go.
Message sent wrangler.
You won't be dissapointedQuote:
Originally Posted by callmecamo
What brand sonar is this pic taken from?
Sometimes I get caught up and am not paying attention. I just realized you are a guide. It should have dawned on be earlier because I read your post. You are a good fisherman. The interest in the down and side imaging is because Texoma is difficult at best to catch crappie in. To my knowledge there is not a crappie guide on Texoma. There are however lots of expert crappie fisherman every spring. It may be a bit judgemental but I don't consider someone a good crappie fisherman unless they are catching fish 12 months of the year. That being said, I easily consider you good. I'm not good yet. I have only managed 10 months of the year. Of course I get better results away from Texoma but the lake is only a mile away and with rare exception it is hard for me to drive 2 hours to fish somewhere else. I would of course make the exception to learn something new from a better fisherman.
This is a Garmin echomap 93sv with chirp. Sorry screen was dusty but clarity is unreal. I was running side view, down view and sonar.
$749.95
Attachment 257781
This?
yep
I have 3 hds 5's and it appears that the Elite model has downscan already built into it. The other two are lake insight models and it looks like I would have to purchase a diwnsczn module and transducer to make downscan work on them. I guess I had used depth finders for so long that I never bothered reading the instructions.
750.00 nowQuote:
Originally Posted by TimY
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Found another excellent deal on a Striker 7SV. After doing my research, the only differences are size, SD card capability and LakeVu contour maps. Smaller size is not an issue for me but I've never had a nice GPS unit on my boat before so I'm unsure how much I would use the contour maps. SD card slot would be very nice for when I eventually upgrade but not a deal killer for the price difference. Do you all have any opinions here on these two features?
Wrangler, in 2010 Odie and I came to Texoma to fish Crappiemasters tournament we found our fish north between Roosevelt bridge and little glasses. It took us 3 full days to find the fish. If we would've had structure scan it would've only taken maybe one day. My advice is get a unit that you like, go fishing with guys that have different units and pick the best one for you. Lowrance, Hummingbird and Garmin all make great units though none of them make the fish bite they are a valuable tool that can save you thousands of hours looking for them. Check out bassboatcentral.com there are lots of great deals on there EB