I just purchased a Humminbird 898c SI Combo and I am debating mounting the system in the front of the boat and having the transducer off of the trolling motor "or" having the monitor at the console and the transducer off of the transom. Any thoughts and/or experiences shared are appreciated. A additional, "inferior" unit is available as a second unit.
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Guess it probably depends on where you spend the most time in your boat while fishing?? If you troll, especially with down riggers, electronics at the console is essential, but you might not need your best unit there. I have decent sonar at the console and the bow and had utilized both fairly equally until I switched the electric trolling motor head over to an I-Pilot. Now the pendulum has switched over to the console electronics because I don't have to spend as much time at the electric motor for boat control.
Good luck deciding...
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Gorgehound is right...where do you spend the most time fishing? I've set my boat up so that I can my finder from the console to the bow since I like to find structure from the console, then switch to the bow to fish. I don't troll much so a permanent mount at the console doesn't work for me. So what does all this mean? Mount is where you need to look at it the most or set it up so you can move it from one location to another using the Humminbird's networking.
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I like to watch the depth and look for structure when running down the lake. If you're only going to use one locator, having the option to move it from the console the to bow something to consider.
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My boat came with a humminbird 323 on the the console with the transom mounted transducer. I added a 525 up front but I used the same transducer with the help of a transducer switch. (also mounted on the dash) you can look those up on humminbird's website. they also have a switch to use one electronic unit with two transducers.
I wouldnt operate without a unit on the dash for navigating through waters, keeping in mind the transducer is in back. but if ur only transducer is mounted on ur bow mount trolling motor, u obviously cant drive around with the trolling motor down. It all depends on what works best for you.
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My unit was mounted on the dash in front of the steering wheel for several years. It was never where I needed it when I was fishing.
I now have it mounted on a board and I can move it to any place on the boat.
The transducer is mounted on the bow and that's fine.
I love being able to move the finder around the boat.
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I set up my Humminbird SI unit on the Helm, and then purchased a more basic without SI capability for my bow mount Terrova US Transducer. I interlinked my two units together so I can share waypoints / data between the two. This would be even easier now that they have Ethernet ports, and you can share all the data including GPS coordinates. My two units have built in GPS, but you may be able to get away with only one having it now with the new network. Double check on that for sure as you may still need the Navionics package installed on both units to see the maps.
If you opt to use Cannon's Electric Downriggers, or want to use the Speed-n-Temp, you can control them via the network connection as well. You can use the bottom tracking feature of the Humminbird sonar to run the riggers at a preset distance above the bottom of the water column you're trolling in. If you curious, the system works pretty well as long as your batteries are in good condition and fully charged. Your balls can be moving up and down at a pretty good pace in a body of water with an uneven bottom such as flaming gorge leaving you high and dry in no time at all. [
] Places with a fairly flat bottom you can go quite some time on a charge.
When using the SI feature I typically run through an area to gather data and set Waypoints to re-visit later, and not so much while I'm actively fishing. I've found that the imaging process goes smoother via the Helm position, and if you have a Bimini top over you, the extra shielding from the sun helps you view your data clearer than being out in the bright sunlight.
Hope this helps.
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Thanks for all of the advise. I spoke with a few local bass pro's and they recommended that I keep the SI on the console and connect it via ethernet to the smaller sonar on the bow, that way I can scan and mark structure at the helm and use the smaller sonar to find fish. Thanks again!!!
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Just a tip, mount your graph on a ram mount it takes the shock of rough water and waves way better that will help save your graph from an early death
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