Humminbird 999CI HD SI

[blue spruce]

Does anybody use side image? It should save allot of time when I can see whats under me and to the side of the boat. Sail in Burlington has a sale on for $1199 for the side image or 859 CI HD (no side image) for $549. The 360 transducer for the 859 is over $1200 so that's out of the question but it looks like a good unit but no side image. Ive looked at the Helix 7 but the processor is slower. Lowrance gen 3 touches look good a little bit more money. Ive been window shopping just don't know what is best, I troll 90% of the time for bass, trout and walleye and some anchored perch fishing. I don't have a fishfinder now.

http://www.sail.ca/en/promotions/fi...O+SEPTEMBRE+2015&dm_i=2HLU,DU0Y,4NXI8M,W4QR,1

 

[fish4fun]

I Have an 899 hd si , side imaginary, sounds really cool, and it is, but it does take a lot of time to figure out what you are looking at on the screen. I have seen the pictures of the boats on the bottom and the sunken trees beside me on the website , and it inticed me. I would say, if you are a avid fisherman. ( every weekend ), and can fish alone and figure it out , then it's worth the investment. I usually have a wife and kids or other friends on the boat and they get real bored of me watching the screen. Driving back past a spot 2 or 3 or 5 times to try and figure out what I'm seeing. Also it would depend on the types of fishing you were doing. Lake Erie trolling, next to useless. Fishing docks or submerged rock piles for bass? Can be pretty cool. The other thing to remember is. You have to be moving for it to work. So if you pull up on a dock and stop to pitch a jig, the side scan will be useless unless you troll past or drift by. So just make sure you really want it before you buy it. I thought I really wanted it, but so far, as cool as it is, I could easily live without it. Last point, I was always a Lowrance guy in the past, but the 899 is super user friendly and I enjoy it more than my last Lowrance ( granted 5 years of technology differences to!)

 

[blue spruce]

Thanks fish4fun. Found a LeBarons down the road from where I work picked up the 999 SI. Once I learn the SI it should save lots of time finding structure and put more fish in the boat.