Bassman37

Yeah, unless I can find a Striker 7 sv to check out in the next two weeks I may end up buying the Humminbird Helix 7 GPS/si combo. I did spend a bit of time looking at one at Cabela's a few weeks ago and it seems to be a quality unit but the thing that was leading me to Garmin was availability of their chirp technology. I wonder if it really is any better than than Humminbird?

Well I took a run out to BPS today to spend some time with the Garmin Striker 7 GPS/sv because as I stated earlier I had called and they said that they were in stock. It ended up that they had a whole two in stock and none on display and according to the department head they must have at least five in stock to put one on display. So bottom line I am still in a holding pattern as I really want to try this thing out a bit before parting with $500.

Hi and welcome aboard from a fellow former Californian. I lived in Pleasanton in the East Bay area and would have been outside fishing instead of inside looking out at the snow if I was still there.

Don't really care how many...it was really a funny video with Bill Dance in leathers with his usual Tennessee cap!

Welcome Tim!

I'll post my thoughts after I compare them both next week at Bass Pro Shop.

I have been waiting for the Garmin Striker 7 side view to arrive in local stores so that I can play around with it and get an idea of its capabilities as well. I too have been considering the 7 inch Humminbird models but the Garmin price of $500 is about $200 less so I am interested in comparing the graphics. I just today received my Bass Pro Shops circular that included the Garmin Striker at list price. I called my local store to verify availability and I plan to visit them next week. Cabela's tells me they have no idea as to when they will receive stock on it.

Thanks...I was wondering how it works.

Thanks for waking them up!

Welcome Dave from a former Western New Yorker (West Seneca) now living outside Chicago. Really miss WNY! Kevin

Beautiful fish...congrats!

I am planning to purchase a side imaging fish finder and need to understand if I can power it from the same 12 volt battery that powers my MotorGuide 45# trolling motor. I have heard that it may pick up some interference from the trolling motor. If I should use a separate power supply, what would you suggest based on approximately 8 hours use in a day? Would the 12 volt 8 amp rechargeable battery that Cabela's sells make sense? Thanks in advance, Kevin

You are absolutely correct as the two small ponds in my subdivision are finally ice free. 60 degrees today should totally defrost the larger ones.

Hi there all, new to this forum and just found this thread. I live on the Aurora/Naperville border just waiting for the ice off the ponds.

I have thought about the same thing and I was just looking at the rechargeable 12 volt at Cabela's last week wondering how long it would work on a side view unit. How much run time do you get with it? Thanks, Kevin

I fish mainly for Largemouth and some Crappie and always practice catch and release in the local county forest preserve ponds. A buddy of mine belongs to a sportsman's club with a private pond and we do take some from there as they claim that it is currently overstocked and ask their members to do so.

Thanks Goose52 for sharing your great setup! I think that I may go in the same direction as you have.

Thanks for the good thought. I am currently using rod holders that I fabricated to fit in the oar locks but I am planning to add Cabela's rod holders to the inside of the transom this spring which would free up the oar locks when not in use. Thanks again, Kevin

I have a 10 ft Porta-Bote with a 45 MotorGuide trolling motor that I mount on the transom alongside a Humminbird Fishin Buddy. I plan to upgrade from the Fishin Buddy to a new side imaging/GPS fishfinder unit with the transducer mounted on the trolling motor and I am trying to decide where to mount the fishfinder unit. I am thinking of using a snap type base mount on one end of the middle seat as the seat needs to be removed anyway to fold up the bote for transport. Is there anyone that utilizes a similar setup on their Porta-Bote that could provide any thoughts or ideas? Thanks in advance!

I bought mine at Menards but Home Depot has them as well. They are the 3 inch block size with adhesive peel off backing available in white or black.

I agree with Scott's comment. There should be no noise to that degree from any new trolling motor.

Thanks for the update Wayne. I really want to be able to check this model out in a store before I make a purchase as it looks to be what I need but with the weather around here it will probably be a month or so before I do so.

Went to Cabela's and Bass Pro yesterday and neither have the Garmin Striker 7sv. I was told by the "expert" at Cabela's that Garmin will not be shipping this model as a result of a patent violation lawsuit brought forth by Navico, the parent company of Lowrance regarding their DownScan imaging technology. According to him the ITC has banned Garmin and their distributors from selling equipment that includes this in the US. Has anyone else heard anything on this? Thanks.

Thanks for the clarification Scott. From what I have been reading the chirp technology is a gotta have!

Is that at Bass Pro the Garmin Echo Map 73sv that lists for $999 on Garmin's website?