New Gps/sonar

[Iclass]

Bill, I've been in process of upgrading. All humminbird models I've looked at have all the hardware needed, plus the wiring kits are interchangeable so theres no need for working from the battery.

[Bill Babler]

Bill, I've been in process of upgrading. All humminbird models I've looked at have all the hardware needed, plus the wiring kits are interchangeable so theres no need for working from the battery.

Good Luck, I wish you the very best.

[Bill Babler]

I have 2 units on my boat and neither one or expensive. I believe that you can get to involved with all that stuff and it will cost you a lot if fish. You get involved with the electronics and it takes away from your consentration. I do like something with high resolution, but mine are rarely turned on.

That is more than good and ok for you for fun fishing. This is my lively hood and I have to produce at a rate of 7.5 fish per hour, or about 30 fish to the boat in a 4 hr. tour. That is what is more than expected, and should 90% of the time be reached regardless of seasonal patterns or the time of the year. "There not bitin today is no excuse." "I don't catch them I made a mistake, cause someone did catch them."

Without my electronics on this White River Impoundment, I would be SUNK. From June thru September, I see 90% of the fish my clients catch and see them bite the bait or the lure. I am a vertical fisherman and during the Summer months on Table Rock, you had better be if that is your living.

This is nothing new. We were using the paper X15's and the flashers back in the 1970's and it more than turned Table Rock into what it is today, one of the best lakes for Progressive Electronic Users in the country.

From Capt. Rick LaPoint and his Hummingbirds to Capt. Mike Webb, Capt. Bill Beck and many others, the electronics you use and the way you use them will indeed make hero days out of zero days.

I'm always going to have the best I can afford and use them to the best of the ability that I have.

Good Luck

[Iclass]

Didn't mean to down grade your opinion, my post should have been more of a question instead of a statement. I just don't understand why it's important to replace seemingly same wires... I have units ordered and would like to understand if the process of completely redoing the wires is worth the extra work. The difference in current units and replacements is the new internal GPS and down image. Know I have to install the DI transducer, but according to sales rep the wires are interchangeable.

[Champ188]

That is more than good and ok for you for fun fishing. This is my lively hood and I have to produce at a rate of 7.5 fish per hour, or about 30 fish to the boat in a 4 hr. tour. That is what is more than expected, and should 90% of the time be reached regardless of seasonal patterns or the time of the year. "There not bitin today is no excuse." "I don't catch them I made a mistake, cause someone did catch them."

Without my electronics on this White River Impoundment, I would be SUNK. From June thru September, I see 90% of the fish my clients catch and see them bite the bait or the lure. I am a vertical fisherman and during the Summer months on Table Rock, you had better be if that is your living.

This is nothing new. We were using the paper X15's and the flashers back in the 1970's and it more than turned Table Rock into what it is today, one of the best lakes for Progressive Electronic Users in the country.

From Capt. Rick LaPoint and his Hummingbirds to Capt. Mike Webb, Capt. Bill Beck and many others, the electronics you use and the way you use them will indeed make hero days out of zero days.

I'm always going to have the best I can afford and use them to the best of the ability that I have.

Good Luck

Well said, Bill. Even a skinny-water power guy like myself is only hurting himself if he takes a skeptical approach to electronics. Get the best you can afford and learn to use them proficiently and you will put more fish in the boat for your efforts. This is Table Rock and deep water is a fact of life.

[Feathers and Fins]

Bill, you are correct on getting the best you can afford. I spent the weekend on Greers, a complete stranger to the lake but my electronics made it a very good trip. But having the best is only a fraction of the battle and I fear far to many people think Best = Fish! All the electronics do is show you whats below the water, if a person does not take the countless days to learn and intrepid what he is seeing it is throwing money to the outhouse. People tend to forget to pay attention to the shoreline and to figuring out all the other elements and blame the electronics for a bad day.

I cannot agree more if your doing it yourself start at the battery and redo everything, speaking of that check those wires each year and if anyplace on them you see corrosion of any type replace the power and ground wires all the way to the unit, it is amazing how that overlooked thing will cause bad readings.

[Pepe]

Couple of tips when changing or upgrading your electronics. The price in the box store catalogs is usually just that. Most often it does not contain the entire package of hardware and wiring system that you will need. If you are upgrading you need to go from the battery completely to the unit. Leave nothing from your previous equipment. You don't start completely fresh and you will wonder why you don't like the new one as well as you should.<br /><br />On the gen II some people like the touch screen, and some do not. I hate finger prints on my screen.<br /><br />I know lots of you are do it yourselfers, but installing and making sophisticated electronics work as they should are not for amateurs.<br /><br />I would give Scott a call at Marine Repair Center. Tell him your budget and how you fish and he will recommend and install the electronics best suited for your particular needs. They will sell you what you should have and nothing more. This is the place for electronics and installation in this area. They know clear deep water basin. 417-833-9191 They handle both Lowrance and Hummingbird.<br /><br />Good Luck

Bill,

Thanks for that advice. I am having some troubles with my units and they were installed by a shop far from the lake. I was hoping to find a local shop that is recommended. Sport Boats in Shell Knob are good guys but none of them know electronics. Do they need to have your boat on the water to get the adjustments right?

[LarryC]

I put a Humminbird 898C HD on the trolling motor a few weeks ago. I was vertical jigging for stripers on Beaver the other day and noticed something. The sonar was picking up my spoon and also my knot where I tied the mono leader to the braid. My Lowrance 520C on the console won't do that.

The DI is impressive. I'm not smart nuff to understand what the SI is telling me.

I figure it will take a while before I'll be able to give a really objective review of my new Humminbird.

Good luck with your decision.

[Old plug]

I was thinking of a lot of younger people that want to catch a lot if bass when i made that post. i should have mentioned that. In that respect electronics can get into the way at times. I can understand your need if your a vertical fisherman. I do that at certain times of the year as well that is why I got 2 units on the boat. I love to catch large catfish on a light bait casting outfit using 12 lb test line and a spoon. I have caught them up to 48 lbs doing this. I call it a poor mans salt water adventure. It is not a regular thing but it is a thrill only matched by hybrids.

[Bill Babler]

I was thinking of a lot of younger people that want to catch a lot if bass when i made that post. i should have mentioned that. In that respect electronics can get into the way at times. I can understand your need if your a vertical fisherman. I do that at certain times of the year as well that is why I got 2 units on the boat. I love to catch large catfish on a light bait casting outfit using 12 lb test line and a spoon. I have caught them up to 48 lbs doing this. I call it a poor mans salt water adventure. It is not a regular thing but it is a thrill only matched by hybrids.

Plug, you got my whole attention on those Big Kitty Cats on Lite line. If you don't think that's fun, you need to stay home.

One of my good friends Tom Knox or the Rod Shop in KCMO sponsors a couple of guys on the Professional Cat Fishing Tour, and yes the do have one. Just a little bit about how sophisticated this has gotten, is these Pro's find there cats on these big River systems using side imaging from either Hummingbird or Lowrance. They then pull above these fish and feed them the baits on a natural dead drift. What is really suprising to me is that the cat fish are not always on the bottom. They can tell thru the side imaging where the fish are in the water column and feed the baits to that area. Who would have Thunk it.

On another one of your points, I find and I'm sure you do to lots of fish with my eyes. Just keeping them open and watching the water and nature. Love my electronics, but nothing beats common sense and observation.

Thank you all for your thoughts.

Good Luck