As a professional fishing guide, it is my job to take customers out on the water and have them enjoy a day of fishing. Most of my clients are not only interested in catching fish but also they want to take something home with them. Hey, I’m not talking about fish….we always practice catch and release. I’m talking about information that they will use in the future to help them from now on out of their own boat. I have always believed that this education aspect of a guided trip is really what has long term value. Teaching new techniques or offering other information can be more important than just todays catch. It’s the same with regard to learning how important electronics as a part of some very effective techniques.

Increasingly, it has become essential to be able to use every tool that you have at your disposal to improve your opportunities to catch fish. Improved fishing lines, rods and reels, lures, new techniques all can play a part in helping you catch more fish. So it goes for electronics….perhaps they have made the largest strides in innovation and have become a huge advantage to thoses that have learned to use them more effectively.

It is also my job to be aware of what advantages are made each year in marine electronics to at least the degree it can help me put more fish in the boat. I don’t pretend to be the ultimate electronics guru (there are several of those on the internet) but I do know how the best use them to catch fish and I can teach you how to do it also. I try to keep abreast of the latest offering of the most well know electronics manufacturers and how they may help me be more successful out on the water. Sometimes seemingly small differences between the various brands can be HUGE in effectively helping you to put more fish in the boat. I’m always trying to evaluate those differences.

It’s no secret to those that know me, I prefer Humminbird units and can recommend them with out hesitation. It is not just blind brand loyalty on my part that makes me favor Humminbird. I have some very key reasons as to why I’m convinced that “Humminbird is the Smart Choice”.

• Price: Without a doubt, Humminbird is the most value oriented line on the market. As you well know, low price does not equal value. Although Humminbird is the most competitively priced units out there, you also get unrivaled customer service and the highest technological innovation available. I’ve never had to send a units in for repair but if you do, they provide the quickest turnaround in the business. Humminbird is located in Eufaula, Alabama, and they have established a reputation for fast service.
  Great product, great service, great price. That equals value. Advantage: Humminbird.
• Innovation: Humminbird is known for great product innovation. After all, they were the very first to offer fishermen side-imaging technology. And to this day, they continue to produce the highest definition images available. You have to see it to believe how crisp the new Mega Imaging units perform. Screen interpretation is easier than ever. Advantage: Humminbird.
• Costs Less: I am most familiar with the larger screen sizes and based on my comparison of other premium units, Humminbird has a clear price advantage. On the largest 15 inch screen size on the Solix 15 price at $3499 you can compare to Lowrance Carbon 16 at $5199 or with 3-D at $6199. Even on the Helix 10’s and 12’s, Humminbird is consideralbly under the competition.Advantage: Humminbird.
• Lake Master Mapping Cards: This means more accurate maps with 1 ft. contours and functionality not available with other systems. Lake level offset lets you key in the current level and your map adjusts accordingly. Lake Highlight lets you select the contour range you want to fish and colors the map to pinpoint those specific areas. Humminbird will accept Lake Master cards and Navionics card but Lowrance will not accept Lake Master. Advantage: Humminbird.
• Ease of Use: Although you can find differing opinions regarding this, I’m a firm believer that Humminbird is much easier to use and to teach others to use. The menu system is more user friendly and simple even though the unit it controls is very complex and innovative. This is the true genius of the engineers at Humminbird. They built a system so complex and powerful but yet simple to control and operate. There are very few settings you adjust to get the best images you will ever see. Changing screens is easy and fast. There are single button present just like on your car radio to get to you favorite and most used screens. Nothing could be easier and faster than that. Advantage: Humminbird.
• Connectivity: Humminbird links directly with Minn Kota trolling motors for I-Pilot to give you capabities like following contours, re-tracing your trail, all hands free. Humminbird 360 is another great enhancement only on Humminbird. Auto-Chart Live is another Humminbird exclusive where you can make your own maps. Adantage: Humminbird.
• Image Quality: Humminbird Mega-Imaging is second to none and is the most high definition picture available in marine electronics today. There is no guessing what’s down below and sonar interpretation just got a lot easier. This is what it’s all about: An image that shows the structure, the cover on the structure, and the fish in the cover. This is the ultimate image in high definition. Advantage: Humminbird.

If the list of items above do not convince you of the advantages and that “Humminbird is the smart choice”, then you should give me a call and let me get you out on the water to show you what is possible with the right electronics.