Worth it??

For those of you who run SI….

I think it all boils down to a few things.

1. Does it increase your catch rate?

2. (More importantly) Does it increase your enjoyment of your time on the water?

I’d be interested to hear what users have to say. I haven’t used mine enough to judge catch rate (I have only had it out a handful of times so far, and have hardly fished when I have been out), but even if I didn’t catch a fish, it has still increased my enjoyment tremendously.

Just wondering what ya think.

Mike

mine has defnitally increased enjoyment. i think as i get used to mine more i will learn to catch more fish that i otherwise would never know were there without the 997

Catch rate, not YET.

Enjoyment, certainly.

Understanding, exceptionally.

Discovery, undoubtedly.

Increases enjoyment for sure. Also seems to help me find and get on structure like cribs, brush piles, rocks, etc. Because I find those things and know exatly what I am fishing, it helps my catch rate some for sure.

All the above, I wish I would have got SI on my bowmount

#5 understanding more about the water column

#4 You can see exactly how fish relate to cover by where they are located in it

#3 Entertains guests in the boat so I can concentrate

#2 Increased catch rate

#1 Increased the size and amounts of tournament winnings last year.

#1b (forgot to mention) Its also cool at the launch when people walk up to your boat and blurt out “Holy $%!@…look at his big screen TV”

So in conclusion, I want to confinscate everyone’s H/bird units before tournament time so I can keep my advantage. Humminbird is bad for fishing, and no one else should own one

Have to agree with all the above. Iknow it has helped my catch rate just from finding deep water structure that I never new was there.

Would I ever have a boat with out it. NOT IN THIS LIFETIME.

Randy nailed it, except for the winnings part I cant say that…YET. When trying to run structure it just makes it easier and for me that translates in to a better time followed by better fishing.

I can’t really add anything to that. I do agree. It’s the same for me. I don’t regret spending the money.

A side question for those salmon fishermen who run the SI on any of the great lakes…

Has SI been able to increase catch rates of salmon??

I am hoping that it does, but have yet to apply it in big open water situations. I’m really hoping that it will do a great job of locating schools of alewives as well as pods of kings associated with those schools. I assume it will work nicely (alewive schools can be HUGE… hundreds of yards long and 50 feet thick at times), and the salmon should be such big targets, I would think they would “mark” very nicely…

It certainly has advantages in finding and identifying structure… But have any of you salmon guys had any success in the open water realm??

— Or, for you open water walleye or musky guys – I would pose the same question.

I have, on occasion, marked a pod of 4 or 5 salmon with my old 2d sonar. Go over the pod, catch a fish off the rigger. Make a wide loop, go back, mark one less fish on the 2d, then the rigger goes off. Make a loop and repeat. One pod I kept going over and I went from 5 kings to 1, catching one king each pass, and marking one less 2d mark each pass. That last fish must have been too lonely to want to bite. I’m hoping that SI will allow me to do the same thing, but to cover a much wider path… Mark pods of kings to the side, make a waypoint, and then go try to get after them.

Whittsend

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I have, on occasion, marked a pod of 4 or 5 salmon with my old 2d sonar. Go over the pod, catch a fish off the rigger. Make a wide loop, go back, mark one less fish on the 2d, then the rigger goes off. Make a loop and repeat. One pod I kept going over and I went from 5 kings to 1, catching one king each pass, and marking one less 2d mark each pass. That last fish must have been too lonely to want to bite. I’m hoping that SI will allow me to do the same thing, but to cover a much wider path… Mark pods of kings to the side, make a waypoint, and then go try to get after them.

Whittsend

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Spot and stalk fishing. I love it! That’s how I hunt, I might as well fish the in the same fashion.

Exactly.

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A side question for those salmon fishermen who run the SI on any of the great lakes…

Has SI been able to increase catch rates of salmon??

I am hoping that it does, but have yet to apply it in big open water situations. I’m really hoping that it will do a great job of locating schools of alewives as well as pods of kings associated with those schools. I assume it will work nicely (alewive schools can be HUGE… hundreds of yards long and 50 feet thick at times), and the salmon should be such big targets, I would think they would “mark” very nicely…

It certainly has advantages in finding and identifying structure… But have any of you salmon guys had any success in the open water realm??

— Or, for you open water walleye or musky guys – I would pose the same question.

I have, on occasion, marked a pod of 4 or 5 salmon with my old 2d sonar. Go over the pod, catch a fish off the rigger. Make a wide loop, go back, mark one less fish on the 2d, then the rigger goes off. Make a loop and repeat. One pod I kept going over and I went from 5 kings to 1, catching one king each pass, and marking one less 2d mark each pass. That last fish must have been too lonely to want to bite. I’m hoping that SI will allow me to do the same thing, but to cover a much wider path… Mark pods of kings to the side, make a waypoint, and then go try to get after them.

Whittsend

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I’ve done this trolling for muskies in ciscoe inhabited lakes. Works well…

It’s a good question. I have Lowrance on my boat, so all my Hbird experience is either with buddies or I get feedback from customers. The truth is that I have had some very loyal Lowrance guys add the Humminbird SI units to their boats, in addition to the Lowrance units. They love ’em! Some of my tournament guys that have Lowrance as a sponsor have actually “hidden” these SI units below the console. I know that sounds like a bunch of bull, but I promise you it’s true. My point is, if these guys go to that much trouble to have SI in the boat, it must be pretty valuable on the water. It certainly makes your time on the water more entertaining, if nothing else.