Hummingbird 997c sidefinder

[screamnclickersc]

Does anyone use this unit?We fish alot of rivers and was wandering if it would be useful there.I was thinking about selling my house and buying one!:wink:

[billcatfish]

lol thats just about rite iv fish with a few guys with these thing an they are wonderfull but they take a lot of learning to use them

[russ]

hope you have a big house...lmao... its hands down the best thing they have ever came out with. you can see the lip stick on the females kittys with one of thses side scans, well its not that good but very very close.:smile2:

[metalman]

No doubt they are an excellent unit but they are only a tool, not a silver bullet. They will not find fish for you nor will they show fish that aren't there...duh, obviously!
If you work on the premise that 90% of the fish are in 10% of the water (random numbers, just guessed at) then there is a lot of water devoid of fish. It's still up to the angler to seek out the high percentage spots...W

[ShilohRed]

ITs a great unit. But you have to use it, Not just turn it on and fish. It will take time to learn.
And after you learn it this is what you will see and find.
Creek channel I was able to see and run that creek channel the whole length.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v693/ShilohRed/Sidescan/watershedlakes024.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v693/ShilohRed/Sidescan/watershedlakes025.jpg
It will work in any water. Even a mud hole if it has water in it.
Pete

[catfishrus]

i have one and its no better than 500-1000 graph for locating fish to a degree but its a great tool for locating structure as you can see in the above post which in most cases will lead you to more fish. ive had mine for a month now and im still learning new things about it. the booklet that come with it is around 140 pages of information. you can use it without reading all of it but to use all ...140 pages...lol. transducers throw off a rainbow for a roostertail behind the boat at high speeds and you loose bottom readings for depth. this not only me either. they need improvement on the transducers in my opinion. its a snow plow! now you can get the newest upgraded one which is now a 1197 for 30% more or 3000.00. so jump in with me so i dont feel alone anymore.:smile2: here is where it will pay for itself in my opinion. finding structure under the water. i found a spot yesterday on one of my home lakes with it and it even smells like flatheads. it has some nice options for marking gps cord. that part is amazing. you see it beside the boat 0-150 ft out and put your cross hairs on it and mark it. you got to keep in mine your putting the bottom of the lake on a small screen picture. so you not going to find very many indian arrowheads or suitcases full of money with it.:smile2: it takes something of size to show up. like the above post is a creek channel thats at least 10-15 ft deep. at least thats my guess. that could be seen on a regular graph if you went over the top of it but you may not know what it looks like you without this unit. to sum it up i have caught no more fish with it so far than i did without it but i know im fishing better fish holding spots. i do think it will help me in the future. so it was a good investment for me.

[ShilohRed]

i have one and its no better than 500-1000 graph for locating fish .

After you learn the unit. It will leave those graphs in the dust. AS can they find a school of fish from 100ft out?
This one can, Run the side imaging to find fish. And it will find them.
Also i have found a good fish 20 to 40 lbs holding on a log or stump. Mark it with a way point and then control drift back over it and catch it. Best fish so far doing that is 45 lbs 12 oz blue.
Pete

[catfishrus]

yes you may have somthing there pete i didnt think about. i have seen plenty of bait on mine but i really havent played with the sensitive on the side image to get a good reading on fish or maybe im lacking at what im looking at. it is a learning curve to go from the standard graph to the side image read outs. i know i still focus on the graph part due to old ways and i might have to break that habit more to lean towards the side image of things. my unlce just bought the 987 so we learning these units together plus he knows the sales rep for this area and we plan to get him in the boat one day.:wink: i did notice his transducer was smaller than mine but listed my graph as a user of his transducer on the box. his is still was throwing a rooster tail but he may be able to adjust his out to a degree, plus he never lost bottom either at 47mph.:wink: thanks for pointing that out.

pete is there a way i can tell how big a fish is on the side image? do you have picture you can post of big fish?

[cumberlandcat]

has anyone bought the smaller untit 797c2 si. its seems to have all the goodies. I have found them for $840 which is a lot cheaper than anywhere else, anyone been able to beat this price anywhere.

[Stubby]

Chris where have you found them for 840? I'm also interested in the smaller unit, just can't justify the money on the large one. thanks! Stubby

[screamnclickersc]

has anyone bought the smaller untit 797c2 si. its seems to have all the goodies. I have found them for $840 which is a lot cheaper than anywhere else, anyone been able to beat this price anywhere.


Does it have the Navionics lake maps?:confused2:If so $840 is a steal!

[riverdasher]

You can find them for around 900 w/o navionics. About 1100 with.

[catfishcrazy256]

i have seen one in use ,man there great, yelp might have to sell your house lol :smile2:

[great pappy cat]

I am going for a demo ride in a sea arc. The owner has a 997c. He doesent like it b/c he cant figure out how to use it. He is illiterate and cant read the manual. He says he'll sell it to me for $1200.00 Im goin to take $1000.00 cash and see if he will take it.SCORE!!:smile2:

[catfishrus]

Jerry badin is on the unit but no contour lines. I found this out in the fog one morning....lol. It helped me with the just the map that morning.:wink:

[catfishrus]

michael is yours one with maps or without?

Mine is the 997c SI combo unit. So i think it has the maps you talking about. Im not running no card in it at all. Badin and tillery are on my unit but like i said there isnt any contour lines and such for those two lakes. Just a out lay of the lake.

[ShilohRed]

Mine is the 997c SI combo unit. So i think it has the maps you talking about. Im not running no card in it at all. Badin and tillery are on my unit but like i said there isnt any contour lines and such for those two lakes. Just a out lay of the lake.

All that you have is the base maps . You will need to add the Map card to get the detail on the lakes.
Also here is a school of crappie I found with mine within 10 minutes of being on a new lake. And then my wife and I caught about 25 crappie in an hour out of them.
Pete
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v693/ShilohRed/Sidescan/crappiebeachlake007.jpg

[Grimpuppy]

I especially like how you painted out the GPS coordinates Pete :smile2: Talk about a secret fishing hole:wink:. Was that a bridge pilings on each side of the boat?

[catfishrus]

Pete the two lakes i mention are not on any cards yet. Its a government secret i heard. Not even a paper map with contour lines. There is talk it will be added in the future. i found one(paper) but it wasnt very good at all. I dont really need the maps myself but i do need to get a card so i can post some on them pictures of things i have found...without the gps of coarse.:smile2:

[ShilohRed]

Guys I have no secret fishing spots. Not like the ones that block out the background or talk about LAKE XXXXXXXXXXX
It was done to inter it into the Humminbird contest. I have one shot on there site now. They ask you to block the WAypoints on them.
Also its not a bridge. Also I will make sure I do not post anymore like that.
Here is the one above.
Pete
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v693/ShilohRed/Sidescan/crappiebeachlake007-1.jpg

[Grimpuppy]

I was givin ya some grief Pete. It doesn't matter to me about the coordinates one way or the other:big_smile:

[Ol Swampy]

Where did everyone find the best price on these?
Thanks,
JOn

[johank]

I just received my 997c SI combo unit and love it. This open totally new ways to fish i must say :wink:

[Alfred L Phelps]

I stoped the rooster tail from the transducer by cutting a 3inch PVC cap to fit over the top of transducer,then I glued it to the transom with 3M 5200 glue.best to use fast setting. Some-one mentioned useing 2 transducers on the unit ,Would like to hear from him.

[Mr.T]

I stoped the rooster tail from the transducer by cutting a 3inch PVC cap to fit over the top of transducer,then I glued it to the transom with 3M 5200 glue.best to use fast setting. Some-one mentioned useing 2 transducers on the unit ,Would like to hear from him.

Any chance you can post a picture?

[Alfred L Phelps]

Mr T, I will send the pictures this PM.

[Alfred L Phelps]

Mr T; Can you send me an E Mail. I can't figure out how to post pictures.I will go take new pictures and have them ready send to .a.phelps@comcast.net (r.a.phelps@comcast.net) A little trick to stop the thieves,If you have a 2 inch reciever on boat trailer when is disconnected from vehicle put a golf ball in the reciever and lock it down,,NO WAY TO PUT IT ON A SMALLER BALL OR BOLT..:big_smile:

[Alfred L Phelps]

MrT, Please send me that address again. I messed up.:big_smile:

[Mr.T]

Al sent me some photos of his splash guard design - simple and cheap. He's too new to post photos, so I'll do it for him...

Any questions, direct them to Al...

[Alfred L Phelps]

jwrdn; I found the best price and service at HODGES MARINE www.HodgesMarine.com (http://www.HodgesMarine.com) I paid 1078.92 for the 797c2SI comboNVB and they sent me the weather monitor (in line) free. HOPE THIS HELPS:big_smile:

[Mr.T]

jwrdn; I found the best price and service at HODGES MARINE www.HodgesMarine.com (http://www.HodgesMarine.com) I paid 1078.92 for the 797c2SI comboNVB and they sent me the weather monitor (in line) free. HOPE THIS HELPS:big_smile:

www.theNerds.Net (a BOC sponsor) still has better prices -- $991.99 for the 797C2SI NVB with free shipping using the BOC member discount code...:wink:

[MSgtCatfish]

I see this post started back in December. I did some rummaging through the posts and I would like to know if anyone has seen any improvements with the transducer or learned anything from reading the monsterous user guide? I plan to equip new boat with new fish finder and I've heard a lot about this unit - good and better. I currently use a Lowrance X17 and love it to death. Thought about keeping it and getting one of these units as well. Comments or suggestions?

I know in a tournament out in KS last year, they used one to locate a drowned victim.

[Mr.T]

I installed my 997 on my new SeaArk ProCat 240 and haven't had any problems with.

The side imaging is useful for finding structure, not so much for finding specific fish in my experience. The traditional downward looking sonar does a great job of marking fish and bait.