si versus di

[sdtransplant]

looking to upgrade this year from the old 1199hd si combo to a gen3 or 4 helix mega unit 8or9. can't decide if i want to go si or di, in the spring we fish 10 to 15 ft water, later up to50ft. was wondering what would be your preference for the upgrade? does the si really show the detail in deeper water ,all the pics i've came across seem to be from shallower water . or what would be your choice.

[buckhunter24_7]

Side imaging is a absolute must have

[dschaible]

SI all the way, i personally use 2d and rarely use DI. SI isnt going to work in 50 fow that's what 2d is for.

[Rizzo]

You can use SI in deeper water but your frequency and distance are going to have to be changed. Sensitivity and contrast may also have to be changed to make it effective. In my experience most people don't know how to properly use their electronics to get the most out of them. There is no one setting that will do it all. The factory setting is used as a baseline and in some cases works OK but fine tuning them is a must.

The best way that I have found to get a good baseline setup is to start the unit in demo mode and let the screens play through while making adjustments so that way you can see just what it does in terms of showing fish and structure. Choosing the right color palate is also a huge help especially with DI and SI. When you finally get things dialed in you will know without a doubt whats a fish, rock, weeds or even a stick poking up from the bottom.

[gone_fishing]

I would still go with an SI model. As far as I know, all SI models have DI capability.

Do you plan to keep your 1199 and run the new unit along side it? This would allow you to dedicate the new unit to SI and the old to 2D/DI/GPS. My primary gripe with SI is it's a lot information packed into one screen. Best way to view it is full width when possible.

[sdtransplant]

The 1199 is in the dash so will leave it for the 2d /di/gps , and mount the new unit on a ram mount above it. Then will get a dedicated di transducer for the 1199, the original transducer for the 1199 doesn't have the clear view on the di that I had on a di unit only. I have sat over known trees and rocks and just get a bottom with no detail, have tried different settings and frequencies , have tried different palates seem to show the best in the amber on the si.

[BRK]

If you're not set on a bird I would say try Garmin, there are some good deals on the 93sv UHD right now and it's both panoptix/livescope compatible.

[Bfishn]

$599 for either the Garmin Echomap UHD 93sv or Lawrance Elite-9 Ti2 right now at Cabelas.

[Enslow]

If you wanna know what’s on the side of the boat cast up in there.

[Kentucky Windage]

If you wanna know what’s on the side of the boat cast up in there.

Stay tuned for more great fishing strategies from Enslow folks.

legend

[sdtransplant]

Will have to admit Enslow has a point

[Kentucky Windage]

Will have to admit Enslow has a point

It’s a great strategy for the blind.

[shorthairsrus]

Nice part is u can put the transducers right next to each other I use 2d and maps on my older bird. Rest of the bs on the Garmin. I would get the mega bird garmin is ok but not as good imo as da bird

[Enslow]

Stay tuned for more great fishing strategies from Enslow folks.

legend

Are you calling me a fishing legend? I don’t fish much cuz I can’t run these new fangled graphs. I need bigger sausage fingers to run the touch screen.

[BRK]

For me functionality goes a long ways. Garmin is alot easier to navigate through options and menus. They produce a batch of updates all wrapped into one file; no searching online for the specific model you have.... I've also got almost every lake I fish on Navionics with Garmin and everything updates through active captain as it needs when I sync it. The picture quality may be just short of a MEGA SI unit, I'll find out soon enough as mine is a 93sv UHD, but I've got a livescope ready unit as soon as I'm greedy enough to purchase it. Just feels like the 'birds have too many damn choices compared to Garmin.

[Captain Ahab]

I've had an 1198c bird and a Helix 10. I thought they both really sucked compared to Lowrance and Garmin. The plugs on the back alone are enough to pass on those 'birds. They bounce out all the time in a good chop. 2d sonar is horrible compared to Lowrance as well. If I was to go for one unit it would be Garmin with the option of Livescope to use both boat and hard water.

[Enslow]

While everyone sausage fingers their flat screens I already have 27 casts in an know fish aren’t there ...

[Captain Ahab]

I’ve been swapping the Livescope from boat to ice for a couple years now. Works great.

[Enslow]

Lol can’t see out the window with all those graphs .

[tikkalover]

Duh, just raise the seat all the way up and look over everything. Might as well be running a tiller boat.