Ice 55 vs FL-8 in Shallow Water Situations

[marine_man]

Can anyone tell me how the ICE-55 stacks up against the FL-8 in a shallow water panfish (or crappie) situation with stacked fish?

I realize it has a zoom, but the zoom feature on the Bird is more of a magnifying glass than a increase in target separation.

Thanks!

marine_man

[CJH]

How shallow are you talking? I used my Ice55 in 8-10ft of water and didn't any problems telling what was going on.

[marine_man]

In that range...

How about fishing suspended fish (crappies) that are stacked ontop of each other? Could you tell the difference between the fish with the "zoom"?

marine_man

[magic_minnow]

Get a showdown

[marine_man]

I've considered that as well; but have decided to stay with a multi-color system at this point.

marine_man

[CJH]

If there is separation then you will see it. If they are right on top of each other you are going to get a strong return just like you would anything else. I can tell when I have lost the bait off of my jig based on the color/size of the return (remember its 6 color scale for strength of return). My buddy fishes an LX5 right next to me and we get the same return, I just can determine it better based on the colors.

[Ed Carlson]

The (LP) Low Power Mode is a huge benefit in shallow water situations, especially panfish in weeds.

For that reason I would recommend the FL-12, or FL-20...or an S-Cable on a FL-8 to add this enhanced feature to gain the shallow water performance.

[Surface Tension]

If you own a Vex the (LP) Low Power Mode or Suppression cable on a FL8 is a must have.

[fishinJohn]

With the ice 55 you can tell the difference in size between a sinker and a lure. With all of the gain steps (25) you get all the detail you will need, even in shallow water. What evidence do you have that the 55 uses a magnify rather than true zoom? Other people talking on these threads or has hummingbird come forward and said that yes, we have produced an inferior product? Just curious. Fishing 2 feet of water isn't the best with any flasher I have used though.

[marine_man]

My evidence is based purely off playing with it in simulator mode in the store; I have no on-ice time with it.

That said, I have heard the "magnify" comment from a couple other users in the past, and that's how I interpreted it when in the store.

Just my perceptions...

marine_man