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I'm looking to upgrade my Humminbird 998. I'm having a hard time deciding if i want to go with the Garmin GT56 transducer with Ultra 102 screen, or stay with Humminbird and go with a Helix 10. I've heard the garmin gt56 is better than Hbird for side imaging and all that jazz.... What do you all say? Any experience or screenshots anyone could share? Much appreciated.... cheers.
I run all Garmins for 10yrs on my boat. They get it done. But if I was starting over I would look at what the top 10 pros on the crappie trails run on their boats. Most run birds for side imaging and only use Garmin for live scope. Them guys have deep pockets and buy the best for the job the unit is needed for
I think bird is better imaging than garmin, but both are so good these days that it isnt worth basing a purchase on. Garmin has great free mapping, and ability to upgrade to livescope in the future. They also hold value way better if you decide to change down the line.
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Are you sure ?? Or are they putting the units on their boats for the company's sponsorship ?? :donoQuote:
Originally Posted by bamahound
Theres a lot of it that way in the bass and walleye fishing tournaments too. Humminbird spends TONS on sponsorships, but only the elite pros sign exclusive contracts. Otherwise they take the bird sponsorship and then run a garmin just for livescope and birds for everything else.Quote:
Originally Posted by CrappiePappy
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CrappiePappy
just IMO guy, but the reality of it would be a sponsor like bird dropping $$ on a fisherman running Garmin or Garmin sponsored fisherman running birds is a dog that won’t hunt
If your trolling motor is networkable - there is advantage in having a electronics unit that will Network with the trolling motor ...
Rickie
For me it would boil down to what trolling motor do I have and if I plan on getting Livescope in the future. If Livescope is in the future go with the Garmin. If not get the one that is compatable with your trolling motor (assuming it has a built in transducer). I would go price if no built in transducer or Livescope is in the equation.
I have both but only use the 106 for livescope up front only, also have a 12 Helix on the dash for SI and it's great for SI and great detail. I have no need to network.
I bet there are tons of used Helix's out there for sale. That's how I got mine. Good Luck!
Jacob Wheeler started it but most pros now run whichever unit they think is best for a certain job. Most run humminbird for side imaging & lake master mapping & either lowrance active target or Garmin livescope for forward facing sonar. Those that still use 2d a lot usually use lowrance for that too. Lots of pro bass fishermen have had all three brands for several years. I run interlinked birds at console & bow & an independent Garmin for livescope & it works great in my opinion. Now if I was buying everything new right now I’d go Garmin simply to have everything the same but have no problem with humminbird whatsoever.Quote:
Originally Posted by bamahound
Jacob Wheeler started it all by going without an electronics sponsor but most pros nowadays run whichever unit they think is best for a certain job without worrying about being sponsored. Most run humminbird for side imaging & lake master mapping & either lowrance active target or Garmin livescope for forward facing sonar. Those that still use 2d a lot usually use lowrance for that too. Lots of pro bass fishermen have had all three brands for several years. I run interlinked birds at console & bow & an independent Garmin for livescope & it works great in my opinion. Now if I was buying everything new right now I’d go Garmin simply to have everything the same but have no problem with humminbird whatsoever.Quote:
Originally Posted by bamahound
Would be good if you could see both units in action to see what your eyes tell you!
I Agree 100 % on if linking trolling motor to units stay with brand that’s linkable if that’s something you will use!
was alway a die hard bird guy ! But when I upgraded boats it had all Garmin’s and since hummingbird were so far behind on live sonar i decided to give the Garmin side image a try and I can see stuff at way slower speeds and pick up stuff On the Garmin’s that I never saw on the birds . Mapping detail is great as well ! To me the Garmin’s are way much user friendly love the touch screens! Garmin support has been top notch ! Very satisfied with Garmin never thought I’d be that guy that would say it but I will prolly never go back to birds! :twocents
true...in so many aspects...quite frankly it is endless. To wit, do you think Ott Defoe would use all Johnny Morris' rods and reels. I mean no disrespect.
Love my networked Birds. I fished with a guy and he had Lowrance and I must admit the detail was impressive.
I am curious why Lowrance is not in this conversation? There are pros and weekend warriors that would say that Lowrance is a way better option
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It's all what you get use to. My partner has Lowrance on his boat and I can't stand them but again I'm not comfortable with the controls like I am with the Bird's. I will tell you the transition form Bird to Garmin is easy peasy but not Bird to Lowrance. Maybe it's just me?Quote:
Originally Posted by catchNreeleaze
It is all about what you are comfortable with using. I currently have an 1199 at the bow for 360 and mapping, an 1199 at the console for mapping and side view, and a Garmin UHD 93sv for LiveScope. Since my Terrova is not i-Pilot Linked, I'm thinking of upgrading to a Garmin Force trolling motor simply because I want a better foot control and ability to hang my 360 on it, and it is lighter than both an Ultrex and Ultrex Quest. I can possibly see myself upgrading the 93sv to a 106sv, and then possibly moving the 93sv to the console if one of the 1199s die or just sell it. As someone who grew up on Humminbird and use an old Eagle for a period of time, I'm now wondering why I didn't try Garmin earlier, despite using their GPSs in cars. I've not used Lowrance before, which is why i can't say anything at all about them, but I have no problem with using a combo of HB and Garmin.
Havent seen a comparable lowrance side imaging shot yet, and their FFS is pathetic. 2D is phenomenal for target separation and definitionQuote:
Originally Posted by catchNreeleaze
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Lowrance for mapping & garmin for everything else. Garmin is so easy to use. :twocents
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I'm with you, CT .... I have Garmin/LS to find'em & a Lowrance Hook 7 to map & drop waypoints. :checkQuote:
Originally Posted by Curlytail
I do agree that garmin is more intuitive. I do run Garmin for that reason. And because I leaned that way during the panoptix era.
Kevin
I would like to know why you called Lowrance FFS pathetic. When numbers are crunched Active Target does have a sharper image. Could it have been user error?
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Real world they look like ps22 from garmin. even had a chance to see one ice fishing where the conditions are perfct and the transducer is perfectly still. Side by side with lvs32, the lvs32 you could see the fins on bass and identify crappie from bluegill, the activ target looked like somewhat defined little dots with no way to ID without catching. Theres a reason you can count the number of bass elite anglers activ target users on your hands. Even with boat full of lowrance graphs youll see a gpsmap up front, possibly WITH an active target lowrance too though.Quote:
Originally Posted by catchNreeleaze
I just saw a video from classic where a guy had a lvs34 and a mega live on his ultrex, then had 360 as well. 4 screens on the bow, one for each of those plus a mapping unit. Guess which one the cameras caught him staring at all tournament while chasing those offshore bass? The garmin. Humminbird probably wasnt too happy about it.
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Some good points made here if you want something that you can turn on and it works get Garmin, if you want to learn how a depth finder actually works get Humminbird. The last 3.0 update for Humminbird Mega Live the factory settings are darn good for most instances. Really like having control of my Minnkota Ulterra from any unit in the boat is a big plus.