I am looking into adding a gps/fishfinder combo to my boat. I have a minn kota ipilot trolling motor and have been looking at the compatible humminbird models. Reading the reviews, I find they don’t work well in water less than 6ft deep and have a few parts that may no be as strong as they should.
Does anyone have any personal experience with humminbirds?
Does anyone have the gps/fishfinder and trolling motor package?
If so what are your thoughts on their use and abilities inshore?
Thanks in advance.
~You holdin’ your mouth right?~
GMC z71
Sea Hunt xp19
Yamaha 115
I have a 859CI HD DI COMBO…seems to do all I need and then some…nor have I had a problem with it in shallow water.
If you dont get good answers here, try the freshwater section.
I upgraded from the Humminbird 383c to 998c SI.
I do not have a trolling motor so I cant speak to that feature, but I have talked to bass fisherman that will spin the trolling motor to scan the areas they want (must have side imaging).
I dont think any fishfinder works all that great with less than 6ft of water. Your sending a sonar ping out the side and bottom of the transducer. At rest mine sits 12" below the surface which drops that 6ft to 5ft or less of transmittable water.
Visit the humminbird site, look in their products>closeout section. I picked up the 998c SI for $700 off retail (last years model).
The user interface is easy to configure and navigate.
Plan to spend many hours learning how to use it correctly and to the fullest. It’s pretty amazing some of the things you drive pass all this time and are just now finding.
Personally I have never had a need for a sonar inshore fishing except for depth. I use my gps and the depth reading to find the ledges, holes, etc.
That Humminbird Ilink feature is useless IMO in saltwater tributaries. Unless you are trolling on the lake I don’t see the benefit. The ipilot feature already lets you cruise the bank, record a path and stick to it. About the only benefit I can see is that as you work a creek you could set the ipilot to cruise and stay in a particular depth. Making sure you don’t get to close to the bank. Not sure how pluff mud mounds or oyster rakes play into that. Personally I wouldn’t trust my depth finder to drive the boat inshore. Too many obstacles.
Some of the guys on Lake Murray really like the Humminbird units. However I would say more than half of them use the Lowrance. Get the unit that looks the best for you. I wouldn’t let Ilink sway your decision.
“Banana Pants”
Indigo Bay 170
90 Johnson
Wilderness Ride 115
I like my Humminbirds 
They work just fine.
Capt. Larry Teuton
Cracker Built Custom Boats
“Ships are the nearest things to dreams that hands have ever made.” -Robert N. Rose
Thanks guys!
Good info.
~You holdin’ your mouth right?~
GMC z71
Sea Hunt xp19
Yamaha 115
I have an 1197 with side imaging and I really like it. Previously had lowrance hds unit. I like many don’t use much sonar in less than 6 feet of water but I will use the side imaging in shallow water, which I guess really is sonar. You can literally see which docks or pilings are holding fish. The only complaint I have with the unit is typing say a name for a way point. It doesn’t have a keyboard that pops up, you actually have to scroll through each letter, kind of a pain.
Other than that I love the unit but I don’t have it paired with my minn Kota so I can’t be of much help there although I also don’t think that will be of much use inshore. We have fished the near shore wrecks and i think the sonar does a great job. I did post some sonar pictures of a dolphin beside the boat on the si if you want to get a feel for what the si looks like on the hummingbird. It’s in the fishing discussion. Flipper hull red.
Sea Hunt BX 21
150 Yamaha
My 898 hd si works well in 2’ of water… my twin vee can do 2’ water just fine… also look up ipilot here on the forums, there have been some great posts by owners with ipilot/h’bird paired up. I have both and they are game changers for those who like to fish without traditional anchoring. There is a wiring need: the ipilot uses a coax like cable back to the humminbird, aka link, that must be done, somewhat of a bother but works great when you want to plan out miles of fishing without touching a steering wheel. Really outstanding stuff.