[Jared]

Check that out!! Thats a bridge on the bottom of the lake! Even it's shadows are shown on the depthfinder! How awesome is that!?

Does anyone have one of these yet? Or has anyone seen one in action for themselves yet?

Amazing!

Jared

to read more about this and other Hummingbirds with HDSI go here: http://www.humminbird.com/products.asp?id=964

 

[KeithsCatch]

Yep, I saw this unit on display in a Store and it is awesome. It shows sideways up to a couple hundred feet I think? Anyway, with technology going like this tournament fishing will become shooting fish in barrels pretty soon.

These are too darn costly for the pedestrian population right now. Only a few rich among us can plop down the $2k for such a set up like this.

 

[Shannon]

That is cool, but dang 2k, that's enough to set you right back quick like! I've not heard of anyone having one yet.

 

[Jared]

Anyway, with technology going like this tournament fishing will become shooting fish in barrels pretty soon.

As far as shooting fish in a barrel, I think the underwater cams are much worse for that than the HDSI technology. Atleast with this technology you will still not know the species of the fish.

and yeah 2k is a lot! Though they do have a 1k model.. but still... thats alot!

 

[microtek60]

The 2k model and the 1k model still do not have anything loaded on them for the gps part of it so theres another what $200-$700 worth of different lake maps. I have seen them on ebay for anywhere around $1600 to $2600. From what I have read you still have to understand where your boat is positioned in comparison to what you are seeing.

 

[Mike McKay]

you still have to CATCH the fish...


tournament fishing will never be shooting fish in a barrell

 

[Ouachita]

I've visited with two boaters on the ramps so far that got that unit, and both regret laying the money out. I figure they need some classes on using it, or need to read the manual several more times. Both continue using their older units, more familiar with what it shows. We might be seeing those on EBay for bargain prices from folks not wanting to spend any more time figuring them out. So far neither have seen anything dramatic like bridges, sunken boats, etc. They see a tree then lose it in the dark middle no data zone when moving closer. The assumption is if it's disappeared you are over it.

Any sonar/GPS unit on display is going to have display data showing non-stop hoardes of fish arches, and the Humminbird is no exception. Once you get on the water you just won't see much of what the demo showed. An advantage you should see is a wide spread view that can catch fish normally outside a typical 20 degree transducer. I guess once you get close enough to fish them you have to switch to the classic straight down view like we're used to.

I'll stick with my two LMS332Cs unless I come across a deal too good to refuse.

Jim

 

[hi steel basser]

Yeah, Iv'e seen them in the catalog. For 2 grand, though, I think I'd buy a good color Lowrance with GPS and some G Loomis rods. 8) I'd have to see one in action to really consider it.

 

[TampaCountryBoy]

10-4 on the 2K.

I believe it was Keith that mention the underwater cameras now being used. Has anyone seen or used these in Florida waters. My assumption is that the water needs to be fairly clear to be effective. Anyone seen these cameras in action?

 

[imonembad]

I have seen them in action. They seem to me to be a hell of a tool for discovery of just exactly whats down there. We used one crappie fishing and all it did was show us the fish that wouldn't bite. The biosonix thats what I would waste my money on if I had it.

 

[Ouachita]

Working for the Corps of Engineers I'ver been in on many search incidents using underwater cameras. I wouldn't consider one without a high watt lantern or an infrared setup. In really clear water the images are pretty good shallow until you get down around 20', then it's too dark without lighting, showing only what's within 2-3' of the lens. Sometimes it's just a gray cloud, sometimes totally black in low light, and occasionally like watching fish in an aquarium.

I'd love to try the humminbird side scanner over something really interesting like a sunken ship, but so far nobody has spotted anything in Lake Ouachita that comes close to the amazing screen captures you can find on the internet. What I've seen so far looks much like regular sonar, only the side scan is grayscale, and brush piles are hard to spot compared to bright red stacks on regular sonar. Once you learn what to look for a simple $400 sonar-only unit with high resolution (480X480) will get you the same information. I'd say if you are mostly fishing a shallow natural lake you'd be highly disappointed over spending $2K for sonar. All you'd really need is a 60 degree transducer in shallow.

Jim

 

[oldschool]

I have to admit the last Hummingbird product I owned was the Super 60 flasher.
I did look at the new HDSI product at a trade show and determined that the new graphics were little more then fish ID type features that added fluff to signals in lieu of factual data. Target separation is not as detailed as the Lowrance color sonars like LMS-520C or larger screen units. Locating fish in or around cover or structure and determining thermoclines, bottom features like sand, gravel, rocks, mud, weeds, brush, trees, channels etc., is the primary goal of a bass fishing sonar. Shading looks cool, locating bass is cool!
Tom

 

[arbass]

Just orderd 797c2 SI combo NVB, paid 1K from my buddy that sales em, witch with Navionics its a $200 upgrade included. He just phoned me and said there on back order and would be another 4 weeks before they would ship. I dont figure that was to bad price for sonar with SI. May have spent few $$ more that i would have for a color/gps/sonar graph with out SI but hey if it helps me locate wonderful, if not I pissed off little extra money. Well see what happens

 

[oldschool]

Side scanning sonar is a wonderful tool in open water looking under kelp paddes for tuna or porpoise schools for tuna and marlin. Bass fishing side scanners are nearly worthless, unless they can separate fish species located under boat docks or fish from weeds.
Tom

 

[OTTER]

At what point and time do the pro tours begin to start outlawing certain technologies. Other sports have, NASCAR, especially this year, for example. In lakes with heavy pressure, technology such as cameras, side view sonar and fish callers, could put fishing in jeprody in the future. And there is the age old guestion: Have the fishermen actually gotten better, or has the equipment just made it look like the fishermen are better? Every major sport goes through this evolution(oops--creation). Baseball, golf, horse racing, auto racing and now fishing have or will have to answer the question. In baseball, the balls are juiced, in golf the balls are made to go further and the clubs made to hit strieghter, in horse racing certain drugs can enable a horse to run with out bleeding. But in all sports, at a point in time, rules are made and enforced to limit the amount of mechanical enhancement that is allowed. Are we getting close to that point in fishing? I have no answer or opinion, but I have begun to question if the technology could put our sport at risk. I always hate questions of ethics because they make me think, and that gives me a headache.

Gary

 

[oldschool]

The images displayed are not actual sonar returns, shadows for example are not reflected by sonar. What you see is displayed is artistic interpretation of the sonar signal, somewhat like a 3D version of the fish ID icon in lieu of a arc for example. This is like a arc being transformed into a bass with its' mouth and gills opening and closing and the fish swimming along tail wagging or whatever else was programed to replace a signal return. In simple terms, it's not real, it's virtual. Smoke and mirrors and a good marketing scheme. The unit is powerful and has good target separation, if bells and whistles are your thing, this unit will work for you.
Tom

 

[Ouachita]

There definitely are lots of sonar users that just can't interpret a classic sonar image, so maybe they can read the side scan. The two guys with it here still can't make sense of their side scan images. One brought his boat by hoping I could read it. it does have a feature allowing the classic view, which I can read. I'd have to run the two styles side by side to learn it. I saw the shadow trick. The center void under the boat was east/west, boat traveling east, but the shadows aimed SW as best I could tell. Impossible angle. They'll have to make a lot of improvements for me to see paying an extra $1500. I really don't need it, totally satisfied with what I have. I love new technology and tinkering, but there's limits to this big boy's toys.

Jim

 

[Ouachita]

Gary, most folks with the latest technology around here are not using it well enough to threaten fish. A lot bigger threat is Kennedy/Shumerer/Clinton who want to end ownership of deer rifles (a PETA thing as well as supposed security threat), big boat motors ("air/water pollution"), fishing on public waters, etc. They failed last time they tried, but vowed to come back at it. If they get a President they like I think they will ignore us and any pro-hunting congressmen still in office. By far the great majority of Americans never use the outdoors, especially hunting, boating and fishing, so we're terribly outnumbered, and underfinanced. Most outdoorsmen never saw a thing about the threats, even most members of NRA and similar interest groups.

Jim

 

[OTTER]

Jim, exceptional point and by far a more dangerous threat!!

 

[JayPea2006]

I have one of these units and though it shows me what is down there, I still have to make the right presentations, color choices, lure choices, and in the end I have to figure out what is making them tick at that particular moment.