I decided to post in this forum because y'all are very helpful in answering other people's questions. I also just joined the awesomeness that is kayak fishing a few weeks ago. So I just scored a humminbird 597 ci down imaging and have it completely rigged up and ready to go. So my question is, mind you this is only my third time out in my kayak (2013 pescador) are there any tips for a rookie using his electronics for the first time? I mean, should I just leave the rods at home and try to learn the device/find interesting spots? That would be very hard to do by the way!! Thanks for any tips or insight!

I would take one rod with a 1/2 jig and a couple of extra jigs. Go out looking for interesting things with your FF, when you think you've found something stop and throw your jig at it from different angles. This will help you identify what you are actually looking at and you just might catch a nice fish to boot. Look for hard bottoms, soft bottoms, rocks, sharp drops, gradual drops, wood, vegetation etc, with your FF and jig you should be able to find it and learn what it looks like on the FF.
Be careful paddling and looking at the FF to much,it very easy to run into things, so I hear!

Check out YouTube and other sites that have people talking about your unit. There could be some good info that someone has covered in one of those videos. Also check the Hummingbird site for videos. I spent some time doing that before I took my Lowrance unit out, and it was helpful. I wouldn't say that I am the best at it yet, but I'm learning more each time.

One other thought would be to look at similar units that have sonar and image scan. Structure and cover is easy to see on an image scan unit, but unless you have a concentration of fish, they can be hard to spot since they might just show up as a speck. When you see examples of the sonar next to the image scan, it can help you know what you are looking for to spot fish. Now bait balls are a different story. Those are usually easy to see.

Congrats! Good advice above...

I might leave a few rods at home, but not all of them! Ever! Just start with the factory settings and tinker with one thing at a time. Graphs are fun to use, especially the imaging ones. I'm always curious about what's down there!

Awesome advice guys, Especially about what to look for. I was so hoping y'all would not agree with leaving ALL rods at homes. Although with lows projected in the 20's, fishing might be very tough. I will take pics of anything of interest that I graph my first time out this weekend.

HawgHunter02, I'm in the same boat (pardon the pun). Just bought a used kayak (Ascend FS12T) and will have a fish finder on it next month. I'm too chicken to go out a a cold day though, I hate the cold.