Hummingbird 997 SI questions

[Crappie Gobbler]

I am thinking about buying Hummingbird 997 SI. Before I spend that kind of money and take the nagging from the wife, I want to be sure that it is worth it. I fish primary for crappie and occasionly striper in SC lakes (Murray, Wateree, Greenwood, Clarks Hill). I have a Lowrance 522c IGPS with Navionics Hot Map now on my Tracker Pro Deep V. Is there a big difference between 997 and 797? I need to know all the Pros and Cons! Does it have that clear of picture that you see in the books? Can you find structure such as trees, brushpiles, ledges,etc. easily and see crappie on them? Is the GPS good and do I need to get the Navionics package that is offer with it? Where is the best place to mount the transducer and which kind do I need to buy (transom or thru hull). Will it be a problem on a aluminum boat? Any info or advice would be great. Thanks!

[beagle man]

well I dont know much about the 997 I have the 797 and the more I use it the more I like it and I really dont know that much about it. I have found stake beds,big broke off trees, barrels arround points, and large trees laying on the bottom. I fiddle with it and get it all messed up then have to redo everything but thats kinda fun also. I would say on a scale of 1 to 10 it is a 8.5 and moving up.

[minnowsoaker]

don't know much about the si's but the only shoot-thru hull transducer I know of that will work on work on an aluminum hull is an alumniducer made by Vexilar. They have adaptors to fit most sonars. I have one on my boat and it works good.

[fished-out]

...Is the GPS good and do I need to get the Navionics package that is offer with it? Where is the best place to mount the transducer and which kind do I need to buy (transom or thru hull). Will it be a problem on a aluminum boat? Any info or advice would be great. Thanks!

When I bought mine, the Navionics package pre-loaded as a package with the 997 'Bird was at least a year old and didn't include all the lakes in the latest package. I skipped the package deal and bought the Navionics chip separately. The GPS is fine; I transferred all the waypoints from my Garmin without problem and it put me where I needed to be. If you want SI, you can't use a shoot through the hull transducer; you have to use the special (big) SI transducer. I have it mounted on an aluminum boat and it works great. Transom location is critical with these transducers if you're going to get a good result, especially on a deep V. Also, when you take it off SI and just want a 2-D picture at high speeds, it doesn't work well above about 35MPH; I use an A-B switch to a 2nd, high speed transducer for that.

[Crappie George]

Go ahead take the plunge you will be glad that you did for sure I have never been sorry a day in fact I am sure that it will help you catch more fish of any kind

[Cane Pole]

This thing has it share of problems just like any new technology. I wouldn't bet a paycheck on it to catch more fish. If you are a troller, the GPS sucks. I don't worship the thing. It serves it's purpose. It is the only pracitical sidescan available for the fisherman. Get one and try it out. Forget the NVB maps. They suck. Get the plugins. MOAO.

[possumcop]

I used mine in the Big Sandy River a couple of weeks ago and caught 30 crappie. I just ran around till I would find a stake bed and stopped and fished it. I would catch fish out of all of them. These were not my beds and I had not ever fished there before in my life. I would not leave home without it. The first tourny my partner and I used it in we won, on Neely-Henry lake Alabama. We won enough for my partner to buy one too.

[Cane Pole]

I used mine in the Big Sandy River a couple of weeks ago and caught 30 crappie. I just ran around till I would find a stake bed and stopped and fished it. I would catch fish out of all of them. These were not my beds and I had not ever fished there before in my life. I would not leave home without it. The first tourny my partner and I used it in we won, on Neely-Henry lake Alabama. We won enough for my partner to buy one too.

You better fisherman than most of us. Average fisherman want do this good. I don't care what he has hanging on his boat.

[possumcop]

I called a friend to come up and spend the night with me and go with me the next day. We caught 49 the next day with the same pattern. We did not fish any of the beds that I fished the day before. He was amazed at the 997 and what it would do. I have a place at Three Cedars across from Country Junction. You probably know where that is.

[ShilohRed]

From what I have seen and read of the 797, Your getting about half of what your getting with the 997, Not only in screen size. But in the output of the SI its self. Also the screen i is HD on the 997. And if you compare them on the humminbird site. You will see theres a big difference between them.
I still have the first unit. The 987c-SI, And can tell you, It has allowed me to catch fish on waters that I have never fished. And this was from being to find about everything out there. And when you find the beds the crappie are near.
Stripers. I have found a lot of nice stripes with mine. As just scanning and see a school of fish. And the bait fish will be in a ball. And you can see the stripes feeding on the bait fish.
I for one will not do without one of the 900 units. If mine breaks down you can bet I will be replacing it with a 997.
Also you can PM Weezer he had both. And sold hte 797 and bought the extra 997 or I think I am right.
If you can find someone that has each. I would see both on the water. I know the 797 would beat not having one. But I keep hearing I bought the 797, And sold it to get the 997 as its just better.
If you learn the unit and set it up right. Yes it had the clear pictures. Here is a shot of my older unit.

Pete
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...edlakes028.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...achlake007.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...scantree01.jpg