Humminbird has been around for over 30 years, and the Eufaula-based company was one of the early innovators of depthfinder technology. But BassFans probably know that throughout the past decade, dependability was sometimes a question.

Not anymore. Techsonic was the previous Humminbird owner, but when Johnson Outdoors (parent company of Minn Kota) purchased the 'Bird in 2004, things went uphill quick. Johnson retooled the Humminbird hardware and the new units are not only more functional, but rock-solid too. And the high-end units can go head-to-head with the best out there.

The unit we tested – the 787c2 Combo Fish Finder – is a dual chartplotter and fishfinder, and had all the critical features we needed. Best of all, it was very simple to use.

The Tests

We recently had the opportunity to put in 6 solid days of testing with the new 787c2 under all types of conditions, including deep and shallow fishing. The full-color, 640x480 resolution (5-inch screen) and extremely sharp images of drops, grass, stumps and brush were clear and accurate. Even in bright sunlight we easily read the unit, and we've heard from good sources that it doesn't wash out over time.

The 787c2 features the same display used by the military in fighter jets and is called "hemispherical viewing technology." It's trademarked by Humminbird.

Because this unit has two separate transducer cone angles (20- and 60-degree beams), it was equally effective for both deep-water and shallow-water views. Anglers can add optional QuadraBeam Sonar for 90-degree applications as well. In 20 feet of water, the 90-degree beam covers 40 feet of bottom.

Even in extremely shallow conditions the picture quality was very clear and single strands of coontail could easily be distinguished.

Bottom hardness was also easy to recognize by color – from very hard (narrow red) to muck (wide red band), and the sounding characteristics of this unit helped us distinguish springtime bedding locations and shell bars. And fish were easily distinguished from structure – a big plus.

We utilized many of the over 2,000 possible waypoints, and had no trouble finding them again. We even marked beds. No need for bed markers any longer. Mark them on the unit, then come back and catch them.

Our unit was mounted in-dash, but it's equally effective on a gimbal or Johnny Ray mount, depending on your preference. There's one button to turn the unit on and off and brighten the screen. Other single-button features include zoom in and out, split-screen, and built-in temperature and GPS speed.

The built-in 16-channel GPS/WAAS and Navionics mapping makes sure you'll never get lost, even on unfamiliar lakes. The unit has options of Navionics Gold, Hotmaps, or Hotmaps Premium, based on the user's preference.

Other Impressions

This unit is highly sophisticated, but can be used by the novice as well. Turn it on, choose the screen preference with a one-touch View button and you're ready to go. The unit does the rest.

We used the split-screen mode of GPS and depthfinder most often, and the split-screen can be sized to the user's preference. For flasher lovers, a color flasher screen is also available on this unit.

The push-button zoom feature allows the user to zoom in and out with a simple push of either a + or – button on the front of the unit.

We also liked the surface temp and GPS mph display. They're clear and positioned well on all the available screen displays .

Following and memorizing a destination track was also simple, and aided our navigation.

Overall, this unit is a recommended buy.

Notable

> MSRP on this unit is $699.99 and it's optional on Ranger, Bass Cat and Skeeter boats.

> To learn more about Humminbird, visit www.humminbird.com.