Wayne P.

The overall cost of a system is based on the display size. A new current unit in the smallest size will be about $1,000 retail. What most find out is the larger displays are better for the imaging feature. The reason for that is the amount of "real estate" that is recorded can be very large which makes individual returns very small on the screen. Bigger screens display stuff bigger. My first imaging unit was the 5" diagonal screen, my next two have the 10.4" diagonal screen. You can't go wrong with either brand, get the one that you are the most comfortable with. Visit a retailer that has the units on display and push some buttons to see which one you prefer.

The Humminbird Side Imaging units in the Side Imaging view, show everything from the water's surface to past vertical under the transducer on both sides of the transducer-that is 180 degrees of left to right coverage. It also has a view that is more downward looking like regular sonar and the same left to right coverage. Lowrance with the Structure Scan accessory has the same approximate coverage. A Down Imaging or Down Scan unit has the downward looking imaging beam that has a width similar to the 2D sonar pulse. An imaging beam is very narrow front to back and wide to the sides which is unlike regular 2D sonar that has a somewhat inverted cone shaped beam. The max range setting for a Humminbird Side Imaging view is 360' and that is on both sides= 720' total coverage. The advantage of the Side Imaging/Structure Scan is the horizontal coverage. The Humminbird Side Imaging is especially useful in shallow water since it still will show that 720' in less than 2' depths. You don't have to be above fish or bottom features to see them.

4,000 square feet is "decent sized"? That is less than 1/3 the size of an Olympic swimming pool. Are your other fishing spots mud holes?

You ADD a switch to automatically turn the pump on/off. Either a float operated switch or an electronic one that has a couple of probes that detects water to turn on the pump. I used the electronic ones in my fiberglass bass boats--they have no moving parts. The float type can break or malfunction in rough water. The pump itself can be any brand. The cartridge type are the easiest to maintain. If you fish in the rain a lot, get one that has a capacity of more then 500 gph. If you fish the Great Lakes, one over 100 gph is better and two of those.

No, not the first inch. The first right side vertical row of screen pixels (they are tiny things). The second row vertically is HISTORY and so are all to the left of that. The Lowrance 510 screen is 480 pixels wide and 480 pixels high. A 2D sonar pulse is not directional so the transducer can be "pointed" in any direction. If you pay attention to when a return is recorded and use a visible reference point when that first row if recorded, then you maybe can determine where that return is.in relation to the boat. As I stated before, if something is not repeated on the first row of pixels, it is not within the coverage of the sonar pulse.

The rig in my avatar is your answer. Trick worm--3/0 Gammy Octopus hook #02413 Finesse worm--2/0 Gammy Octopus hook #02412

I use 50# Spiderwire Stealth. I prefer the stiffness it has over the more flexible brands. Easier to un-do a semi-professional over-run. Spinnerbaits, Chatterbaits, and buzz baits. I use the Uni-knot.

I use them for deep schooling bass with a weighted swimbait hook. Still get the same motion as working it on or just below the surface. I'll be using it that way tomorrow.

You can use a battery disconnect switch. There are several types and even a switchable circuit breaker. Do a web search for both.

The Big Foot switch is the one most used to turn a hand controlled trolling motor on/off. A lot less effort to close the contacts than an auto dimmer switch or the really old fashioned foot operated starter switch. There is a foot controlled transom mount motor available, BUT for more precise boat control, a bow mounted model is the best. http://www.cabelas.c...-thrust-1.shtml

With regular sonar, the shape of the sonar pulse is somewhat an inverted cone that gets larger in diameter as the depth increases. Anything that can reflect the sonar pulse will show up on the display but it's direction is not shown and it is impossible to determine which direction. An incomplete fish arch just means the fish was not directly under the transducer so it could not be displayed at the variable distances it takes to create the arch shape. Refer to the tutorial on the Lowrance web site about interpreting sonar. Only the very first right side vertical row of screen pixels is current data. Everything to the left of that is history. If a return is not constantly being recorded on the first row, it is not within the coverage of the sonar pulse. For a common frequency 200 kHz with a 20 degree cone angle, the amount of coverage is about 1/3 the depth but at the spec. strength (usually -10 db). The actual coverage can be a lot more at weaker strengths. I have seen some tests that show a recorded return of a floating object with the 200 kHz frequency. The distance from the boat position to a displayed return depends on where on the screen the return is recorded, the screen scroll speed, the speed of the fish, and the speed of the boat. It can be any distance. Just remember all recorded data is HISTORY. There is technology that will indicate which side of the transducer a return is on, and technology that will show actual direction and distance from your present location to a return.

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Yes, a color display is easier to see in direct sunlight. All GPS units create and save waypoints, show speed, show the track as you navigate, BUT not all have good mapping and some have no background mapping. Units that have no mapping of any type are called Track Plottters, units with some type of mapping and/or have the capability to add mapping are called Chart Plotters. What you may want is a media card reader built-in that you can add digital mapping. Some Lowrance units are available with some good mapping software already built in at a extra cost (Insite)-- check the unit specs in your search to see what is available. Very important when you decide what unit to get is ask about the mapping and what it includes that you can use. Don't assume that the waters you fish are contained on any digital mapping software whether built in or media card added. Display size is most important when having more than one view displayed at one time. Bigger is better in that case. That "bigger" is the budget buster. The "rule of thumb" is get the largest display unit you can afford with the features you want. Units that have or can support imaging that looks left and right will benefit with a larger screen. Those would be the Humminbird Side Imaging units and Lowrance HDS units with the accessory Structure Scan. Any of the imaging technology units cost more than units that don't have that technogy in the same display sizes. I use the imaging technology and can say that will change the way you fish and perceive what is "down under". Down Imaging or Down Scan is a good introduction into that technology at a lower cost. I assume the Humminbird 597ci HD SI Combo is the one you are referring to in the $650 range. That cost can be beat by some creative internet shopping. $650 is MSRP. The Humminbird DI units have Down Imaging and regular 2D sonar and the Lowrance DSI units have Down Scan only. The higher end models from both mfg will give you StructureScan/Side Imaging, Down Scan/Down Imaging, and dual frequency regular 2D sonar. Garmin has some good equipment with sonar and GPS, but they don't have any models with the imaging technology. As suggested by several others when this topic is discussed, visit a store that has a lots of units on display and push some buttons to see which you are comfortable with. Bass Pro, Cabelas, Gander Mt. etc. have several brands and models on display. After that ask for an opinion here or on some similar forum about the exact unit you are considering. More than likely someone will have the same one and can help you decide.

First of all you need to decide what features you want in a sonar unit. Color or Gray scale display. GPS included Display size Regular sonar or imaging sonar, or both. After you decide on the features you want, then you decide how much you are willing to spend to get what you want.

What the 788ci HD DI has that the 597 doesn't is the capability of sharing data with another similar capable unit. It has two memory card slots to hold a map card and a blank card for screenshots/recordings/waypoint management/unit updates. You can also just use two map cards if you need that capability. It has a better backgound map with contours for some waters and it has three preset buttons for favorite views. The rest of the features are the same and both will read the Navionics Hotmaps Premium edition and not the additional features of the Navionics Hotmaps Platinum edition.

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I use my Humminbird 1198c SI as a portable sometimes. With any electronic equipment, you imagination is your only limitation. The setup the Crestliner has will easily work with a Humminbird Side Imaging unit since only one transducer is needed. That subject has been discussed before: http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/103104-best-depthfinder-for-rented-boats/

I make them as I need them. It only takes a few seconds to put it together after getting the wire length correct. I carry a couple of spares "just in case" I break one off when a larger bass gets wrapped up in the timber.

The hook is a Gamakatsu Octopus 4/0 #02414. I add the weedguard using braided stainless steel leader and attach it to the hook with 1/8" electrical heat shrink tubing. I use that hook for its strength to handle big bass in heavy cover and the weedguard won't break off plus it is more sturdy than the wimpy single wire used for regular weedless hooks. edited----- A better look at the hook: This is why I use it:

I use yellow most of the time. I do not color the line black near the lure though. Black is one of the most visible colors one can use other than a flourescent one. The line used in my avatar is a multi-color called Daiwa Saltiga. This is some dirty yellow line that have had on one of my reels for several years.

A "hot spot" looks like there are fish there. There is nothing "hot" about any place with no fish. I look for bass and baitfish with Side Imaging. I usually concentate that search at major structure elements, but I don't fish an area unless fish are there. That is why I got that technology, so I can fish where the fish are. After the thermocline forms it really gets easy--don't look at any areas that are deeper than the thermocline. Additionally set your unit to highlight the fish so they are easier to see. That is why those units have all those adjustments available.

If you can swim that may be a good project. A high center of gravity with that hull isn't a good idea.

Blue gills. I've caught catfish, snapping turtles. painted turtles crappie, blue gills, shell crackers, pickerel, bowfin, largemouth and smallmouth bass, stripped bass, white perch, warmouth, and some others with that presentation in over 35 years of use. It isn't a bass lure, it's a fish lure. If you actually feel a hit, usually it is not a bass unless it is very small. The most frequent color I use is Grape. It didn't take me long to realize a colored tail version is a pan fish magnet.

Panfish will grab a Slider eagerly by the tail, especially one with a colored tail. A bass with take the whole thing unless they are less than 4" in length.