MrSimon
Well-known member
I thought about this for a long time and finally got a Humminbird 898c SI HD and a Minn Kota Terrova 80#. I got them installed last week and set up the iPilot link.
I took it out on Saturday for the first time .... and HOLY COW its awesome! All the hype is true, this set-up is a true game changer in how you fish ... especially if you fish lakes with lots of structure. I'm not sure river fishermen would benefit as much, but they might.
Some of the things that I absolutely love are:
1. The ability to run my trolling motor from either a foot pedal, a remote control, or from the Humminbird unit.
2. The SpotLock feature. Its essentially a GPS enabled electronic anchor. It works! I was in moderate wind and it held me within 10 or 15 feet of my spot for 20 minutes straight.
3. Track recording. There are a ton of ways to set tracks (record while trolling, record while running, retrace where you just were, set waypoints, pre-record tracks on your PC etc etc) and the system will follow the tracks with incredible accuracy.
4. Side imaging. Basically, you can see exactly what's on the bottom 200 feet to either side of your boat. Yes, its that good.
5. Freeze screen. While watching your side imaging (covering 400 feet of water), if you see a rock pile you can freeze the screen, set a waypoint right on top of the rock pile and then tell your trolling motor to take you to it and hold you on top of it.
So putting it all together ..... I used my big motor to cruise a shoreline while watching the side imaging screen. I marked a half dozen pieces of structure that looked interesting along the way (remember some of that structure was 30 to 50 yards to either side of my boat). Then I linked those spots into a track and the boat took me to each one in turn. At each piece of structure I hit one button to hold me right on top of it for as long as I want, then hit the same button and it will resume the track and take me to the next spot. Repeat the process until I've fished each spot.
Its ridiculous how amazing this system is.
I took it out on Saturday for the first time .... and HOLY COW its awesome! All the hype is true, this set-up is a true game changer in how you fish ... especially if you fish lakes with lots of structure. I'm not sure river fishermen would benefit as much, but they might.
Some of the things that I absolutely love are:
1. The ability to run my trolling motor from either a foot pedal, a remote control, or from the Humminbird unit.
2. The SpotLock feature. Its essentially a GPS enabled electronic anchor. It works! I was in moderate wind and it held me within 10 or 15 feet of my spot for 20 minutes straight.
3. Track recording. There are a ton of ways to set tracks (record while trolling, record while running, retrace where you just were, set waypoints, pre-record tracks on your PC etc etc) and the system will follow the tracks with incredible accuracy.
4. Side imaging. Basically, you can see exactly what's on the bottom 200 feet to either side of your boat. Yes, its that good.
5. Freeze screen. While watching your side imaging (covering 400 feet of water), if you see a rock pile you can freeze the screen, set a waypoint right on top of the rock pile and then tell your trolling motor to take you to it and hold you on top of it.
So putting it all together ..... I used my big motor to cruise a shoreline while watching the side imaging screen. I marked a half dozen pieces of structure that looked interesting along the way (remember some of that structure was 30 to 50 yards to either side of my boat). Then I linked those spots into a track and the boat took me to each one in turn. At each piece of structure I hit one button to hold me right on top of it for as long as I want, then hit the same button and it will resume the track and take me to the next spot. Repeat the process until I've fished each spot.
Its ridiculous how amazing this system is.
