Topic: Which unit to use where??? Recommendations & opinions please.

[Chicken Joe]

Thanks for allowing me to be a member of your forum. I look forward to being a part of this community.

I'm a newbie to the forum & a newbie to the bass fishing scene. I purchased my first bass boat March 2013 & after fishing blind (No electronics) all of last season, I decided to buy a complete set up. I purchased 2 units 899ci si HD, 778c Hd w/quadra beam ducer & AS Interlink. So, I've gone back & forth on which unit to use at the helm & which to use at the bow? If I use the 778c at the helm, I intend on mounting the ducer as shoot thru hull.

Any suggestions, opinions & explanations would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[rnvinc]

A lot will depend on where you think you would get the most benefit out of your new SI unit...

SI is a fantastic tool for finding new structure under and out to the sides of the boat...and the added ability to mark that structure as it is seen on the SI display is even more beneficial...

Some fishing methods are benefitted by using the SI at the console for finding and marking new structure...and then go to the bow and use vertical presentations or cast towards a buoy that was toased out to mark the structure...

Some fishing methods are benefitted by maneuvering with the TM...then fishing and searching with a bow mounted SI at the same time...

As the SI unit is probably the higher end technology between the 2 units you have...is SI going to benefit you more at the console looking for structure...or at the bow, fishing and looking for structure at the same time...??

Rickie

[Chicken Joe]

Ricky,

Thanks for the feed back. Being new to all of this, I'm not sure which method would benefit me the most. What would be the pros & cons of either  method?

[rnvinc]

Using my example type fishing...

I slow troll for crappie...either following contour lines or slow trolling from waypoint to waypoint...

99.9% of my fishing day is spent at the trolling motor ...a $3000 SI unit at my console would be a waste of money for 0.1% of the time I spend at the console...

Conversely..take a general bass fisherman...

They motor around with their big motor searching with their SI for likely fishing spots on the SI image...when they find a fishy spot- they drop a waypoint on it or toss out a buoy...and then go to the TM to fish that spot they just found...their SI searching tool is best used at the console...

How do you normally fish...??...and then maybe we can determine where SI would benefit your fishing style the most...

Rickie

[Chicken Joe]

Well, fishing without electronics, I would roll around on the lake until I saw some place that looked fishy (grass, stick ups, docks , etc) & start slinging line. LOL

Pretty primitive way to fish, hopefully the electronics will change that.

[ezfishn]

Don't forget the old ways...LOL  You might just see more of that with the electronics.

[rnvinc]

Well, fishing without electronics, I would roll around on the lake until I saw some place that looked fishy (grass, stick ups, docks , etc) & start slinging line. LOL

Pretty primitive way to fish, hopefully the electronics will change that.

One way to look at this is that SI scanning from the console can cover a lot of water pretty fast...but then you have to take the time to shut off the big motor...move to the bow...deploy the TM...reposition the boat...and then start fishing the new fishy spot...

If the SI unit is at the bow...you may not be able to cover as much water as fast...but now seeing the new fishy structure SI just a matter of throwing your bait at it...eliminating the in-between steps between seeing the structure on the SI and actually fishing the new fishy structure...

Rickie