Humminbird 360 Imaging — Boring A Hole In Your Wallet (Part Two)

See if this sounds even remotely familiar. You want to catch more fish and you have spent good money on a fish finder or two, or three to accomplish just that. But, for whatever reason, it hasn’t helped. Oh, you see objects on the screen, you may have found fish and dropped down and caught them a time or two but overall, you’re disappointed with your results and continue to look for the newest and the best finders on the market to hopefully make the difference in your personal fishing success. You like your finder but want more. Does that ring a bell?

I just released an e-book in the “Kindle Store” at http://www.Amazon.com ($8.97) to teach anglers how to turn their “current” fish finder into a fish-catching machine. Amazon has already sold quite a few copies and I have received some great reviews. I truly believe I can help anyone catch more fish using the information found in “Fish Finders.”

In “Part One” of this article, I announced that the fishing industry’s newest finder or better stated “fish finding system”, the “Humminbird 360 Imaging” would debut in Florida at the ICAST show. I was privy to this launch back in February at the Bassmaster Classic when they gave those in attendance on Media Day, a glimpse of what was in store. All I can say is there was a “buzz” in the room, as if someone had just discovered electricity. And why not? We were after all at the greatest bass fishing event in the world, the famed Bassmaster Classic, with 50 of the best anglers in the world in the room. Who wouldn’t be excited.

However, I had a different take on this latest innovation. The Humminbird 360 imaging system looked fantastic and most likely is just that. But, as I thought about my Lowrance LCX27c on the bow of my Triton boat, and the LCX27c I have on the console of my boat, and the Humminbird 997 that sits on the right side of the console of my boat, and the Lowrance LMS520 that sits just below the 27c on the bow, I realized that though I know each of those finders well enough to write a book about them, I still had just scratched the surface when it came to utilizing their individual features, including mapping, route planning and execution, image adjustments, and color adjustments just to name a few. And that’s not even starting with the computer chips, downloads to my personal computer, and on and on.

So, what am I supposed to do? Should I hop on the wagon, throw away my other finders, go purchase the upgraded Humminbird 998c which IS compatible with the new 360 Imaging system, or should I continue learning about the finders currently on the market? There is more at play here than meets the eye.

It happened in the computer world, the cell phone world, the video gaming world and now has hit home in the world of fish finders. We’ve entered an era of TOO MUCH INFORMATION — INFORMATION OVERLOAD. I bet the cell phone in your pocket right now can do 100 times more than you ask it to do. Why, because you most likely don’t either need it to do more, or don’t have a clue how to make it do more. (Don’t worry, you can admit it … you’re among friends.)

In “Fish Finders” I simply state: “this is not an owner’s manual” for any fish finder. I try to strip away the technologies and get to the meat of the problem. How to turn the knowledge gained from these incredible devices into more fish in the boat. It is a method of taking ANY working fish finder and teaching you how be be sure what fish are showing on the screen and to help you understand how to interpret what’s there into actually catching those very fish.

This can be done for less than the cost of a buffet dinner at a cheap local restaurant. And, once you’ve got the book, the fun really begins.

One of my friends told me this morning, “I love re-reading chapters in your book because I learn something new each and every time.” (Bob Johnson, Provo, Utah) That is a great point. Once you read the book for the first time (and it is an easy read), you simply go out on the water and put its principles to work. In the process you will have some successes and perhaps a few failures. Don’t worry about the failures we all have them, but the successes need to be added to one by one until you are successful more times than not.

There is no short-cut to spending time on the water. All the writing in the world won’t prepare you for what’s waiting out there on your home lake or reservoir.

You may decide that the newest and greatest fish finder in the world is your cup of tea. And, that’s great. But, before you spend the money and have to encounter a new and steeper learning curve for software, operating systems, and owner’s manuals, why not give my methods a try. For $8.97, what do you have to lose?