new to side imaging?

Out of curiosity I've been reading some other forums about the new Garmin. The part that would worry me is not being able to see fish in side vu on the non chirp unit. If someone here has these units I would be interested in reading your opinion.

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Originally Posted by Greenwing

Out of curiosity I've been reading some other forums about the new Garmin. The part that would worry me is not being able to see fish in side vu on the non chirp unit.

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From what I have been reading that and the lack of mapping options with the new software seems to be their 2 weak points.

I have had both units. Well sorta... I currently have a 93sv and it is a great, functional, user friendly device. The side imaging shows decent images of structure. I cannot attest to it showing fish on SI as I have no interest in using SI for locating fish. I think the bigger problem is the mapping. If Garmin's built in maps or their LakeVu HD add-on card have the lakes you primarily fish then you're alright. However, they do not offer any custom mapping options (SonarCharts/AutoCharts) so they pretty much sucks. Especially if a built-in lake they provide has inaccuracies that you would want to enhance.

I've previously had an HB 1199 and 898. I am currently pending a trade for my 93sv to go to a 998 HD. Decision is based on mapping, networking options, and my overall confidence with HBs. Oh and I just picked up a Helix for my Kayak and its pretty sweet. Just my opinion on the matter.

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Originally Posted by Tundah

I have had both units. Well sorta... I currently have a 93sv and it is a great, functional, user friendly device. The side imaging shows decent images of structure. I cannot attest to it showing fish on SI as I have no interest in using SI for locating fish. I think the bigger problem is the mapping. If Garmin's built in maps or their LakeVu HD add-on card have the lakes you primarily fish then you're alright. However, they do not offer any custom mapping options (SonarCharts/AutoCharts) so they pretty much sucks. Especially if a built-in lake they provide has inaccuracies that you would want to enhance.

I've previously had an HB 1199 and 898. I am currently pending a trade for my 93sv to go to a 998 HD. Decision is based on mapping, networking options, and my overall confidence with HBs. Oh and I just picked up a Helix for my Kayak and its pretty sweet. Just my opinion on the matter.

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I am just curious as to why you would not be interested in locating fish using si.

Regards

Simple, I use it to locate structure...weed lines, grass, etc off shore. Lakes I fish around here are usually less than 10-12 feet deep. So depending on crappie season I am either interested in accurate depth contour lines or some type of structure out in the middle of the salad bowl.

So with the shallow depths, I would have to set the range very low to expand the water column on the screen to look for fish and that would defeat the purpose of si for me.