Put the BG Prowler II in VFW Lake today. Wanted to test out my new Humminbird si and the kayak. The kayak is a beast...LOL. It is heavy but once in the water it is solid as a rock. The force required to paddle it is more than the Ride 115 but it is a much bigger boat. Tracking is superb. It handles great in the wind also. I am not a fan of the rod pod as it takes up a lot of room. But having said that it is the perfect place to mount the 899 Humminbird. The seat is extremely comfortable and I only kept it in the low position today. Before I knew it I had covered the whole lake. Hardly any water came up through scupper holes. This thing can carry a bunch of gear. The Predator 13 probably would have served me better but it is all I can do to manage the weight of the BG and the Predator is 16 pounds heavier. All in all I like the boat...will see what the year brings.
Now for the Humminbird 899 si. First let me say the way my transducer is mounted there is no way to get it level by deploying the transducer arm once launched. So keep in mind the images are from a slightly off centered transducer....which will make a big difference. But am going to HOOK1 in the a.m. to get an arm that just lets me flip it over and it is level in the water. Today was just a fun day trying out the unit. I saw a few things that looked a little odd under the water and saw why I was getting hung up some of the places I fish there....LOL. The pics are of trees...lay downs....rocks...and one man made something. I will let you si gurus interpret my pics. This is going to be a very useful item. Had the wind not been howling so would have stayed out much longer.
I've been waiting for this....great write up. I like the rod pod on my Predator, but it sits a lot lower than the Prowler. Agreed on the seat...I can't say enough about it. I understand where your coming going from a Ride to the Prowler. I paddled a Pescador (Tarpon mold) then the Predator. Felt like I was trying to propel a tank.
Congrats on the boat and getting it out...couldn't have asked for better weather!
Last edited by goreds.king; 03-11-2014 at 06:16 PM.
Randy ... Thanks for the report on the Bird ... I had my maiden Voyage with my HD-SI 998 two weeks ago at the Mike Ernst Yak tourney ... absolutely loved it ... still need to get with PHD. DR. Merv on the fine tuning ... But for me with GPS and trolling ...SI and DI ... breath taking ... And a Bonus is the H-Bird Service Dept ...
On the picture you titled "Rocks?" I say yes, there are some rocks there however a few of the lighter colored blips have shadows behind them which means they are suspended off the bottom. I believe these are fish.
On the picture you titled "Rocks?" I say yes, there are some rocks there however a few of the lighter colored blips have shadows behind them which means they are suspended off the bottom. I believe these are fish.
Yes you are right. I was looking at them yesterday on my Mac and I came to same conclusion. I got the new transducer arm today so I can have a level transducer.
Great images Alpha. I'm hoping new electronics are in my near future.
Thanks Jeremy. I have had mine out in the water twice now. It is all I expected and more. I have already located bluegill beds in deep water....which is the reason I purchased this unit. Of course there are no Gills on the beds yet but most of the time they will come back to same ones year after year. I researched this for two years and for the past year I have watched every instructional video I can find on the NET.....and watched them over and over. I was concerned how well this would work an a kayak...as there is a lot of misinformation out there. It works great on a kayak. It is great to locate fish or structure on the si and then go to the spot with the GPS and use the di and 2d. It will change the way I fish. I must admit it is a bit bulky on a kayak but I will just have to work around it.
I was just on a website that had images of transducers and LSS-1 modules mounted. They had 20 or so different pictures. It looks very realistic now. I was thinking of using the Ram arm that I am currently using and putting a bubble level on the plate to ensure it is level.
Maiden Voyage 3-11-2014
Great report ... <'TK><
