Wayne P.

Yes, I posted it over there too.

Water visibility is about 3"-5" and the bass I saw and caught on beds were in 4'-5' depths. I saw them with Humminbird Side Imaging.

I saw some on deep beds yesterday with my electronics and a lot of bass were in the 3'-5' depths. I caught a bunch of bass Wed and yesterday. The water temp was in the mid 60's in the afternoon.

I've seen a couple in operation on a 420 acre electric only lake. Also one of them used on a 10,000 acre lake in just one of the creeks.

They used to roam around on land and eat Tyrannosaurus rex for lunch. Then that comet thingy hit the earth off the coast of Mexico and killed most of them. The ones that survived evolved into marine animals and are on the way back to dominating the earth again. It may take a few million years though. That is why they are so agressive and put up such a struggle when caught. "That's my story and I'm sticking to it". LOL

Yes, you are missing something. Only one of the trolling motor transducers is a Side Imaging transducer. I posted that picture to show what a Side Imaging trolling motor puck transducer looks like. I don't use either of those transducer now. I am using the one with the Transducer Shield and Saver mount in the second picture. The 1198c SI uses the HDSI transducer, I was using the puck type when I was using the 798ci SI on the trolling motor.

I don't have any of them linked. I have no use for that function. Most of the places I fish, I have memorized via many years of experience. Each has its own Side Imaging transducer. The bow unit uses a trollling motor mounted SI transducer-That is the one I use the most since my purpose on the boat is fishing. The two console units have transom mounted SI transducers. All are connected directly to the battery with individual circuits using 12 gauge marine grade wire spliced onto the unit power cords.

I did all the research just like you are doing and based on the functionality of each brand, I chose Humminbird. While it is nice to see all the "stuff" the imaging technology will show, I fish when I am on the water. The Humminbird Side Imaging units have the adjustabilty to make it a fishing tool not just a searching tool. I have three Humminbird Side Imaging units, "the fish can't hide"

If you are going to be using the rig with swimbaits and or weighted heads, you need a rod that can handle the weight when casting. A swimbait rod rated for 2-6 ounces will be your best choice. A more flexible rod will wear you out in a short time. Rule of thumb, "use a rod that is rated for the presentation".

You can catch the trout on topwater baits in the middle of the day over 50' depths if you pay attention and are in the right location. Around the end of May traditionally you can catch largemouth and smallmouth bass on shallow flats. The spawning is about a month later than lakes East of the Blue Ridge.

Other options are units with smaller displays or with less features. The top of the line large screen units with imaging are the $2500 + models.

Good observation T9, All the weight should be the attached baits, not any weighted head. Depth and speed control should be adjusted by the size and weight of the lures. A weighted head rig is just an misguided interpretation of that presentation.

No imaging transducer can be used as a shoot-thru. The sonar pulses that do the side scanning won't work through air. It is really simple to know what is availble for Humminbird, go to their web site and look at all the transducers listed and what units are listed they will work with. Yes, the Humminbird inter-unit communication system is a lot less cluttered and a lot less parts with the newest models--just a single Ethernet cable. There is a trolling motor puck version of the Compact Side Imaging transducer used with the 798ci HD SI. It is the large one in this picture. The dual frequency 2D trolling motor puck is the smaller round one. To use the HDSI Side Imaging transducer on the trolling motor, the Transducer Shield and Saver is the best mount system and looks like this on a trolling motor:

Traveler, both Humminbird and Lowrance have transducers that are specifically made for trolling motor mounting. There is no reason to adapt a transom mount transducer for the trolling motor when there is an alternative. There are a couple of ways to deal with marine electronics, mounting them and installing them. An installaton uses the correct parts for the purpose. If you have severe usage planned, there are transducer protectors that will minimize breakage.

For any LCR unit, get the highest vertical pixel count screen you can afford or within comparable units. The more screen resolution you have the better the images you will get. Humminbirds do not have a ping rate adjustment. The unit adjusts that according to the depth. All properly installed units are "accurate". It's the display quality that counts.

You can have a LSS-1 transducer on the trolling motor and the transom. Just buy another LSS-1 and daisy chain the LSS-1 boxes. The Humminbird units come with a single transducer that does Side Imaging, Down Imaging and Switchfire 2D sonar.

Yes, IF you have Ethernet capable units and the Ethernet cable.

Did you read the instructions below the log-in boxes???

This time of year I have the best success with red cranks, lipped and lipless. The Bandit Mistake color works well too.

Get a Humminbird Side Imaging unit and you can see them on the beds and fish directly for them no matter what the water color is or what depth the beds are.

It a very popular boat in some parts of the country. It used to be one of the two boat sponsors for BASS.

Sonar and the Imaging technology is better than infrared and night vision. It sees through any water color and at any time of day or night with equal effectiveness. You can't catch them if you can't find them.

Both are 3/4"in diameter. The threaded version is longer than the non-threaded ones. The base usually has the threads at the bottom of the hole on quality craft. Either one will work fine. BUT loosing the seat and pedistal in rough water is more of a possibility though without the threaded type if your base has the welded nut on the bottom of the hole.

Due to the thousands of bass fishermen and crappie fishermen that use SIde Imaging, your question should have been. "Does anyone other than me use Side Imaging for catfishing?"

Yea, I kind of use Humminbird Side Imaging for bass fishing. Bass fishing is the only fishing I do. I have broken the plastic transom mount of the 798ci SI a couple of times, but I expect that since I fish in trees and stumps a lot. That is a good contraption but there is a custom spring loaded mount commercially available made by Transducer Shield and Saver.