1. I would like to know if side imaging has improved your catch rates? Is it worth the investment!!!
2. Has it changed the way you previously fished? Fishing deeper or more isolated cover or structure.
3. Do you tend to spend more time on a piece of structure that shows fish?

I am trying to evaluate whether to upgrade. I have some more questions if Hummingbird SI users dont mind.

1. Absolutely!! For me it is worth every penny!! and I only fish maybe once every 3-4 weeks!
2.Tremendously!! It is much easier to find and visualize both stucture and cover.
3.No, same rules apply. If they ain't bitin', move on!

If you have the money, go with it! If not, save up a little longer and get one. I don't feel the sonar portion is as good as say a Lowrance, but the SI is indispensible for finding creek channels, humps, depression, brushpiles, and any other underwater structure you could imagine. I have a 997 on the console to locate specific spots. Plan on putting a Lowrance on the TM to stay on the spots and get a better look at it than what I get with the hummingbird sonar. My success rate has gone up tremendously vs previously when I used an Eagle 320-probably catch 50-60% more for any given amount of time on the water.

Let me know if you have any more questions- would be glad to help.

worth every penny.

Worth every penny.

But the SI is not going to help you catch more fish. That is still between you and the fish.

What it will do is help you eliminate areas that are not holding fish.

I haven't had mine long enough to know how many more fish I will catch but I do know it will be a lot.

I have found old bridges, boats, brushpiles, creek bends, ditches, humps etc, that I never knew were there and probably would not have found. It stands to reason if you fish on better structure you will catch more fish.

Just fishing bridges is a good example of what the unit will do. If the unit shows fish then try it, if the unit shows NO fish then you just saved some time. This has worked for me, I have seen exactly where the fish were and caught them. Fishing where no fish were showing I caught NO fish.

I have looked under docks and been able to pinpoint the ones with fish and could see exactly where to cast to catch them.

Jeff is right, it won't make you a better fisherman (at first) but it will let you fish where you should catch more.

Let's face it, there's a few fishermen that couldn't catch fish if it was raining Crappie and you gave them a net. Those guys should save their money.

I want to be buried with mine.

I'll let you know next week. A new 997 is being installed on my Lund as we speak. I drank the kool-aid

I wish you guys would stop with this....I don't want to spend $1300 on more electronics!!!

Then don't.

Spend $2000 and really splurge.

JayDon. At leats your Kool-Aid can be blue, green, amber, gray or inverse.

I hope you guys spend most of your time riding around looking for bridges and sunken boats while I'm jerking slabs off standing timber.....

Shut up fool, its our 2k an we can do whatever we want!

And it ain't like we can't see those trees under water that are loaded with fish that nobody else can see. That is, unless they took notice when the lake was down. But who would do a thing like that?

I'd like to have one myself but I'm not spending 2k just yet.
I'm afraid I'd be looking for lost treasure instead of fishing though.
I'm thinking about putting my old super sixty flasher back on the boat...
I can see brush on that better than a graph. Plus the blinking lights keep me entertained!

Thanks for the feedback!! I guess I better start a hummingbird fund.

1. I have not caught more fish.
2. It has not changed the way I fish. Which is why I probably don't catch anymore fish.
3. I do spend a bit more time on structure.

With all that said I love the unit. I love seeing what is going on down there.

It's good to see that there are so many folks using this very powerful technology and more waiting in the wings to get it. This will continue to propel fishing technology to the next level. I can recall just a year ago, most where thumbing their nose at Humminbird's technology but now most see the light.