Looking for feedback on Humminbird 596C HD

[Gotta Bite]

I am considering upgrading my sonar this year. I use an older monochrome humminbird 300 series and it still works well and I catch a fair amount of fish using it. I just want to upgrade to a color model and have seen that the 596C HD has a real time transducer so I can actually see the fish tracking my lures etc. I like what I read about this unit and the price is right but I can't seem to find any user feedback on this model. I know that RayMarine or Furono are probably the way to go, but I am holding off on that until I upgrade to a true fishing boat, which I'm hoping the electronics will be included with it. Let me know if you have one or know someone who uses this model and likes or dislikes it. Thanks.

[Jolly II]

I bought a 596c HD at the beginning of the season last year. It had everything I was looking for in a sonar unit, with out breaking the bank. I was able to find one on the digital Oasis website for $400 last March. That was the best price I could find it for last year, however I think the price has come down a little since then.

I used it all last season, from spring brown trout fishing to fishing off shore in July. The unit worked great for me, and I could see the display pretty well from the back of my boat when rigging lines or working a fish. I didn't play around too much with the settings on it. I just tweeked some of the basic functions until I got the picture I was looking for. No problem marking downrigger balls down to 100' feet, after that I usually only could mark the center rigger. I've got salmon trackers on my port and starboard riggers with the tails bent so that they pull out, and were probably out of the cone. No to mention that I've always notice that the salmon trackers returned a weak signal anyway, even with other sonar units I've had. The unit marks fish and bait very clearly down to 200', I almost never look deeper than 200' feet so beyond that I'm not sure. We would also mark a lot fish swimming in and out of the spread.

It would have been nice to spend the money on a Furuno unit, but I have limited dash height on my boat, and the 596 fits perfecting on my dash. Not to mention the price. The Furuno units aren't cheap, and I'm not made of money yet. I think for our salmon fishing applications on the lake it's a decent unit. Good luck.

[Gotta Bite]

Jolly II ,

Thanks for the feedback. The units is down to $359.00 at Cabelas. I will actually be there this weekend to get a hands on preview of the unit. I read a Post from Billy V who must be a Hunninbird user. it has enough power to mark the rigger balls and tracking the movement of fish which is what I wanted to do, but in a cheaper package until I upgrade to a true fishing boat as opposed to my cabin cruiser. I would like a GPS combo but my handheld will have to do for a few more years.