Humminbird 797C2 SI Combo Fish Finder Review

Humminbird 797C2 SI Combo Fishfinder
By Iain Loveman

The graphic below is an actual image captured by the head and transferred to a SD card. We were fishing Head Lake, near Norland, Ontario.




I purchased a Humminbird 797C2 fishfinder awhile ago and have had a couple of outings to familiarize myself with it so I thought I would give you a heads up on what I have found so far.

The fish finder goes together pretty easy, actually it is pretty well plug and play.

After a quick review of the instructions I jerry rigged the unit to work on my boat. I simply mounted the Humminbird 792c transducer to a piece of 1x2 about 3' in length and will mount it to the transom with a C clamp.

I slotted out a piece of 2 x 6 to allow the wires to slide into the hole provided and then inserted them the unit. I then pushed the head into the mounting bracket until it snapped into place and presto, it was ready to go.

I had to strip back the coating on the power cable about 6 inches to allow me to connect to my battery. (If you try this remember to install a fusible link with the proper fuse.)

I should emphasis here if you really want to use the Hummingbird 797C2 to its full potential
read the manual. This unit is loaded with all the bells and whistles and you will be missing out on a lot if you don't.

My first fishing outing was on Kashawigamog Lake, north of Minden, Ontario and I swore there was no fish in the lake, until I realized I hadn't turned on the Fish ID. I did however use my knowledge of bottom and structure to guide me around the areas where my prey would be lurking.

In order to operate the unit it is just a matter of powering it up, hit the menu button, selecting one screen at a time and setting your preferences and then exiting. This will get you into a basic fishing mode. The 700 series uses Side Imaging Sonar which gives you a wide and precise survey of a large area of water, excellent detail of the bottom and structure that attracts fish. The side imaging is viewed like an aerial photograph only underwater. (see below)

Get this! The manual indicates that typically the side imaging sonar searches and area that is
360 ft. wide to each side. That is 720 feet total side coverage. It will also cover a depth of up to 150 feet. WOW!

One of the options is to snapshot or record what is on the screen. You will need a MMC/SD card and a card reader. The card and reader I purchased at Best Buy but any computer store will carry them.

If you purchase the chart card do not use it to record or snapshot or you will lose your maps. The card I purchased holds 2 GB's of data, plenty for my purposes. I haven't had the chance to explore the GPS section yet, so I will be adding my comments soon.


Addendum
I recently sold the Hummingbird 797C2 to a gentleman in Mississauga, Ontario and he reports ...


"Yes, so far so good - the Humminbird has been working well. I'm still learning how to use it and exploring it's functions.

First trip with it was a week's holiday in Lake Huron north of Sauble Beach around the fishing islands. I'll first mention that I mounted the unit on the starboard side about 15 inches from the centre of the boat. This seemed to be the best happy medium based on reading the instructions (not too close to the prop, yet not too far away from the boat's centre line so as to be out of the water at higher speeds).

I've noticed that in shallower water (under say 15 feet) I lose the side imaging capability on the port side. Yet, in deeper water, both sides function well.

Test 1: Pike Fishing I used it to locate weed beds in approx 12 feet of water (FOW). The side imaging was excellent at this as it basically showed images that resemble bushes of weeds under water.

At the same time the sonar worked well too indicating the bottom and the weeds on top of it. Only when weeds were very dense did the sonar "think" the bottom was only 4 feet when in reality it was 12 and the weeds were 8 feet high.I did not see any fish marked on the side imaging, yet of course wasn't watching the screen all the time. The sonar marked a few fish.

Test 2: Smallmouth Bass fishing

The key to fishing in this area is finding underwater structure, typically rock piles/shoals in generally flat areas. The side imaging was good at this as I could find some know rock piles quite easily as long as I was trolling near them. The sonar also worked well.

Test 3: Salmon Fishing

This type of fishing I do most often and was able to try it on Lake Ont for the first time last night. Both the SI and the sonar worked great. I was able to mark schools of bait fish in 100 FOW, 80 feet beside the boat.

I'm still learning to decipher the sonar. I'm not sure how it marks bait schools vs. the fish that are often around them.

Next test will be this coming weekend in Georgian Bay trying for Bass, Pike and Salmon in 12 Mile Bay which is fjord like so the images should be interesting."
Ken

Customer Review

February 22, 2008
"Side Imaging Quality Works as advertised. With a correct installation, you will get pictures even better than the ones posted at the Hummingbird site.

Unfortunately, this unit will at first hurt your fish catching ratio.

This is because I guarantee you will be looking at the SI more for the first few months then fishing.

After the coolness factor fades a little (for me I still am awed by it) then you will finally get to fish.

Here is where the unit excels. How many times has the mantra "Fish Structure!" been uttered by the pros? Well, this unit lets you find structure in the middle of the lake. If you are like me, you may have fished the high pressure spots along coasts and visible structure.
This unit allows you to easily find those hidden underwater fish goldmines.Ever wonder which bridge pillar is holding the crappie? With the SI unit I can latterly see clouds of fish along one pillar while they may be ignoring the others."
rudyiowa


Humminbird 797C2 SI Combo Specifications:

  • Display Size: 5" Diagonal
  • Display Matrix: 640V x 480H
  • Display Type: 256 Color TFT, Sunlight Viewable Hemispherical Viewing
  • Power Output(RMS): 500 Watts
  • Power Output(Peak to Peak): 4000 Watts
  • Operating Frequency: 83kHz, 200kHz & 455kHz
  • Sonar Coverage: Side Imaging: (2) 86°@-10db (180° total coverage);
    DualBeamPLUS: 60° & 20° @ -10db
  • Depth Capability: 150Ft Side Imaging, 1500 Feet DualBeam PLUS
  • Target Separation: 2 1/2 Inches
  • Temperature: Included in Transducer
  • Speed: GPS Speed Included
  • Power Input: 10-20 VDC
  • Standard Transducer: Side Imaging/DualBeam PLUS - XNT 9 SI 180 T
  • Transducer Mounting: Transom Mount Standard - Transducer Exchange outlines other options
  • Unit Mounting: Gimbal or In-Dash
  • Unit Size(Gimbal Mount): 6.9" W x 7.7" H x 4.5" D (min)
  • Unit Size(In-Dash Mount): 6.9" W x 5.4" H x 1.25" D; Required Minimum 3" Behind dash clearance
  • Communication: NMEA O183 Data Output, Humminbird Fishing System Network
  • GPS Receiver: 16 Channel External GPS WAAS/EGNOS
  • Waypoints, Routes & Tracks: 3000 Waypoints, 50 Routes, 50 Tracks with 20000 Points Each
  • Cartography: Built-in 30 meters UniMap; Optional Navionics Gold or HotMaps Premium on MMC or SD Card

Click Below To Order
HUMMINBIRD 797C2 SI COMBO W/ T/M AND GPS

Humminbird 797C2


ONLINE ONLY
List Price
$1,179.99

Your Price
$971.14