Check it out

http://i533.photobucket.com/albums/ee339/arnoman_photos/bb.png

Note bait pods and a few fish.......a

^^^arnoman's pic (was just missing the img tags)

That's incredible! Thanks for posting the pic, arno!

arnoman -- Well... right after I did that I wondered if I should have. I hope you don't mind.

Now... interpreting these sonar images:
I know the left pic is the left side of the boat, and the right pic is the right side.

Are those pillars that go from the bottom (the light-blue) thru the water (the dark blue), to the surface and then to the bridge?

Is that a bait pod just above the word "Course"?

The pic looks great. Did you capture the screen using the unit itself, or with a camera?

PS -- if anyone is interested, walmart.com has the 797c2i SI for $800.

Nah man thats cool, yes, yes, and the unit accepts an SD card like a dig cam and my card reader on my comp reads it. Notice the tops of the columns do not go all the way up. Thats because that portion of the sonar beam is under the boat. The larger white specs are fish. I'll try to post a pic of a school if I can keep my hands out of the bait tank long enough.......a

Other than the "neat" factor....how is the SI helpful? It seems like its strong point is verifying structure - that is really not that important most of the time in striper fishing. Do you crappie or "green" fish a lot? I can see where the SI would be great for crappie or bass.


Does the picture being sideways not get on your nerves?

It's not as helpful as I hoped it would be but when I'm over a school I can see which side of the boat they're on and know a little more about their concentration.

When I'm looking for them, I thought that it would show the schools to the sides of me. It can go as far as 360 feet to each side. It SHOULD and I'm a little disappointed.

I am still hopeful I will be able to do that. Nobody, (as far as I know) uses this unit for that purpose. I have searched extensively for info about it.

I don't green fish and it will help when planer boarding along the bank. I am actually starting to depend on it. You get used to the vertical display...........a

I have the 797 c2i si. I got it from Cabelas with the navionics upgrade.

The navionics is well worth the money. They claim it includes all of North America In and Near-Shore. I've ran the boat in Lanier, around St. Simons, around Brunswick and off of Sea Island. The navigational data has been accurate and complete (so far).

My Side Imaging display is not as graphic and detailed as the image above. I'm still learning how to read the data and may have to "tweak" my installation. I did find it most useful when navigating narrow tidal channels in the bay. It shows you exactly which side of the boat has the deeper water (which is especially useful when crusing at night).

Good luck with that humminbird Sharky, let us know how it helps you catch fish.