anyone try those side view fishfinders

[aNNieNsaLTIE]

i was just curious about the performance of these units. i have a lms 240 on the bow and am thinking of moving it to the consel so i can benefit from the gps. with this in mind, i will need a new tv for the front. and opinions would be appreciated. i remember cooch has a pinpoint he likes but i have not been able to find any info on those either. i do see alot of lowrance units out there. what should i look for.

thank-you in advance, saLTIE-

[stevey]

i still have my humminbird 300TX, which has the side finder, but i use it more on my crawdad boat.

i swapped it out for a garmin on the front of the bass boat. the garmin has a wider screen.

every now and then i miss the side finder when i'm fishing docks on the bass boat.

i tend to fish deeper while on the bass boat and shallower when i use the crawdad boat.

i'll have to think about putting two depth finders on the front.
that would be 2 pucks on the trolling motor.

s

[mark poulson]

stevey,
Does that mean that the side imaging is really for shallow water? The demos show deep, too.

[stevey]

well... the newer 900 series humminbirds with sidefinder are superior to the one i have...

the price was right when i bought my 300TX, i got it for $50 with trade-in. i'm always looking for trade-ins or trade-ups. i had to purchase the side finder transducer for it also. it didn't come with it at the time.

this website shows the graphics of the 300TX, (which is discontinued) :
http://www.marineelectronicshoppe.com/H ... d300TX.htm

my 300TX has better graphics than the bottom line fishing buddy.
but the fishing buddy is more portable and self contained.

the 300TX doesn't give you depth of the object to the side, but it does give me the size of the object. it shows an object suspended out to either side. which is great for fishing shallow or round docks.

if money was no object... but it always is... i'd get the humminbird 987 with side imaging... but who has $2,000 to spend on a depth finder?

i found this url on side finders:
http://www.bestfishfinder.com/basicinfo.htm

s

[mark poulson]

I spoke to Jimmy Reese at the Bass A Thon this last Sunday about his 987. He says it's just unbelievable, both shallow and deep. He swears by it, and told all of us about how much hidden stuff he found with it, including two trailers in Clear Lake.
I'm clipping my coupons.

[JimmyReese]

Guys this is the real deal. Dont try to compare this to anything in the past that humminbird has done with side view....This is technology nobody else has!

UNBELEIVABLE!

I have been using this for the past 6 months and it is amazing stuff! It all started when I was up at Shasta waiting for blast-off and I jumped in Bill Townsends boat to look at his Humminbird. ( if you know what I mean?) So we're tied up at the dock sitting in 70 ft of water with nothing happening, because the side Imaging portion only works if the boat is moving( idle speed) and suddenly a boat idled by. Well we only paid attention to this because on the screen was the image of a lower unit and a prop turning!! NO Kidding!

SOLD!

Since then yes, I have found two trailers on Clearlake, two x-mas trees (yes they are shaped like x-mas trees)

Just recently I drove to Alabama and decided to take the old (but lucky) boat. I took my graph with me and paid Andersons boats in Decature Alabama to install it. Yes it was worth it, I idled for miles and marked gps weigh points on over 60 stumps I found on the Decature flats..Oh and I found one sunkin boat in the middle of the flats. I think this was a good spot considering one of the top ten guys was camped on it.......Bummer!
Its amazing how much you can learn scanning 100ft of bottom vs what you see only under the boat. And actually you can scan out over 120 ft if you like. each side! It comes with much more including color graph, gps, tracking system, you can split screen to many differant options.....Check out humminbirds web site! In 07 they have a smaller version that I will use up front and use by trolling motor....Awesome stuff!

This is the real deal!

Also talk to Len Vinci,Tony Franchesci,Dave Rush, Scott green ,Bob Higgins, Jeff Billings...One other guy as well, but I'll let him respond if he wants too.

Now there is not a lake I am not looking forward to!

Jimmy Reese

[Guest]

Jimmy - are you referring to me?

Well, I don't think anyone should waste their money on that thing... God only knows its tough enough out there for me --

Can't you keep a damn secret Jimmy? Hell, I was hoping it'd help me catch a check sometime!

In all seriousness, as soon as I can scrape together enough cash I am all over one! Or the next boat I order will come with one - either way - I plan on having one by EARLY 2007. After an hour in Jimmy's boat checking out the bottom of Clear Lake I learned 2 things -

1. Everyone in Clear Lake dumps their old trailers, shopping carts, old bicycles and spare change to the bottom of clear lake!

2. If you don't have a hummingbird side finder you are missing the "picture"

[Triton Mike]

I have had a 987SI for about a year now. I can't imagine life without it and as a Spot Bass Guide I couldn't afford NOT to have one on my boat!! It will definitely take your sonar knowledge up 3 or 4 notches. Problem is the 997SI is coming at the beginning of next year ~. Sorry Jimmy your fixing to have OLD technology ~~

T Mike
Acworth, GA

[JimmyReese]

But not for long Mike, New boat is on order and i'll be set up with the latest and the greatest!
How does your humminbird help you most with the spotted bass? I am just curious! I cant wait to get up to my spotted bass fisheries this winter, Shasta ,Oroville......

Hey Tom, secrets are for followers! Its time you step up and become a leader! Just kiddin! You know as much as you know about software you should program your own electronics, I bet you already have! I think your just toying with us right now!

I bet by 2008 TOM LEOGRANDE will be sittin atop of the fishin "WORLD"

Good luck at Oroville Tom I wish I were there! tell Tuck we are all watchin him by satelite!

[Triton Mike]

Jimmy, Several things that the SI is capable of that helps me with Spots.

1. I can find ANYONE's (and my own) brushpile if it's decent size. Here in Georgia if a brushpile isn't bigger than your truck I really don't pay a whole lot of attention to it. Truck size brushpiles show up great and the bigger the pile the more fish it usually holds.

2. The SI allows me to find bait which is very crucial in the winter time during the big spoon/dropshot bite. Some creeks have bait and some don't. It seriously cuts down on time finding pods of bait. Sometimes the bait is concentrated at the mouth of creeks sometimes in the middle and sometimes toward the back. You'll know within seconds if your around bait with an SI because you can scan almost the entire width of a decent size creek vs just running it with a sonar (directly under the boat).

3. The SI also allows me to run the channel to look for suspended fish. Granted the SI isn't made for finding schools of spots but it doesn't do too bad of a job. This is almost a secondary feature.

4. If you need to find rock piles the SI is very strong in finding rocks and they show up very very well.

One thing you might need to know is the 997SI isn't going to be available till Feburary if I am not mistaken???? So if your order your bote before your prolly gonna get the 987SI.

Hope this helps. BTW somebody's gonna need to take Dobyns by the hand and take him to meter school and show him how this thing werks ~

Mike
www.tritonmike.com

[JamesH]

Am I correct in assuming that the consol is the best location for the 987/997?
What is the best boat speed for using the sidescan? Do you need to be at idle?

Thanks,
James

[JimmyReese]

Hey james,
Yes I reccomend mounting the 987/997 on the consol, idle speed is exactly what you need, and I will tell you in february they will also have a smaller 787 available up front. it has a smaller transducer that can be installed on your trolling motor which is great for while you are fishing and looking for something at the same time.I beleive it will retail around $999.00
Now I am not saying you cant have it up front but again the side view only works if the boat is moving....There are multiple screens so you dont have to be stuck on Side Imaging....color screen, gps ect......Good luck!

Jimmy

[mark poulson]

Jimmy,
Again, thanks for taking the time to explain the 987 to me at the Bass A Thon.
If I'm going to ugrade, do you recommend a 987 on the console, or the 787 on the bow with a trolling motor transducer. I can't afford both units (heck, I can't afford one ).