Need advice..Humminbird 859ci HD XD

[bigturk_80]

At the end of last season my graph crapped out.  I need to upgrade, and was looking at the Humminbird 859ci HD XD combo.  Anyone have this unit, or have any input on it? 

 

 

[Todd in NY]

I have the 859ci HD DI GPS unit and it works great. They are no longer making those units now, and if I had to buy a new unit I would probably go with the Helix 9 or 10 (unless they were practically giving away the 859's). I just bought a 698ci SI GPS combo for $399 NIB at Gander last week because they were marked down from $799. Those clearance prices might be right around the corner on the bigger units if you can hold out a little longer on getting one.

Edited February 3, 2016 by Todd in NY

[bigturk_80]

I've got until spring to figure it out.  Radioworld (Canada) has them on clearance 300 bucks off.  I was looking at the Helix and the 859, and other than not making them anymore, what are the pros to the Helix over the 859?  Looking at the specifications, it seems the 859 is a more powerful unit??

 

http://radioworld.ca/859ci-p-12425.html

Edited February 3, 2016 by bigturk_80

[Todd in NY]

The Helix 9,10, & 12 allow you to make custom maps of the lake bed. I fish many different lakes and it would be nice to have a more custom map of the lake bed to help me mark and locate fish structure. They call that feature Autochart Live. Plus, I'd rather have the 9" screen on the Helix 9 over the 7" screen on the 859 when fishing in deep water. But it all boils down to personal preference. If you find that awesome sale price on the unit you want, it might be a good idea to jump on it. I'm not sure what the advantage is with the XD feature over the DI or SI unit when it comes to the 859, but I don't typically fish in water deep enough to need the XD.

[Todd in NY]

I just opened your link. I'm surprised the XD only comes with a 200 kHz transducer. I figured they would have a 200/455. But $300 off seems like a heck of a sale price.

 

Never mind, the Humminbird web site says it comes standard with a 200/83/50 transducer. But a 7" screen is only about 3.5" high, which makes seeing small marks hard to see in really deep water (IMHO).

Edited February 3, 2016 by Todd in NY

[bigturk_80]

I've never owned an SI or DI.  I fish almost exclusively on Erie for walleye, and occasionally salmon on Lake O.  Other than seeing bait clouds off to the side of the boat, do you find any other advantages to any of the side or down imaging?  Talking strictly open water offshore trolling here....

[Todd in NY]

DI and SI can help identify any kind of structure that fish might be using for cover. My Lake Ontario boat doesn't have an SI capable FF. I also don't use the DI that much on Lake O. I have it more for fishing other lakes for bass and structure-hugging fish. I have the SI on my smaller boat that I use more for bass fishing. I mostly use the split beam view on Lake O, which is 200/455 with my 859 and 200/50 with my old Lowrance. I don't like the extra cost of the SI units, which is why I jumped on that 698 SI when it went on sale.

 

On that note, I like that the XD has the 200/83/50 kHz transducer.

Edited February 3, 2016 by Todd in NY

[bigturk_80]

Ya, for $499 Canadian it seems hard to go wrong.  That's only about 25 bucks US now.

[Todd in NY]

I thought the Canadian dollar would've recovered some by now. That sucks!