Humminbird Ice-385ci

[jake125]

Looking at getting a new flasher. Has anyone looked at these or no any information on them? Not real sure what to think but the GPS and navigation would come in handy. Just looking fr some advise. Thanks guys

[PerchJerker]

I haven't used the HB unit on the ice but have used Lowrance LCD units on the ice, and they do a nice job. In all honesty I prefer a 3 color flashr for ice fishing, but it doesn't take long to get used to a graph, and learn what it's showing you on the screen.

I have played around with the Ice-385 a bit and it has a nice, bright clear display --- it looks really good.

If you don't already have a handheld gps and a map card, then going with the Ice-385 and a HB LakeMaster card makes a lot of sense.

And if you want to use it in a boat and on the ice, the Ice-385 has a rebate right now where you can get a portable transducer for use in open water. It makes a lot of sense if you would use it year 'round.

Hope that helps. You can check out the Ice-385 and the rebate HERE at Pro Fishing Supply if you want.

[Nick Kuhn]

Doesn't the 385 have a digital version of the typical circular flasher display? I know my 798 has it, and on the graph it also has the live view flasher display as well. Enable all the views and play with one in the store.

[tsande00]

I think the ice sonar units will mark just as many fish for you as a standard flasher like Vex or Marcum. I am not a fan at all of the flasher emulators that some of these units offer. You just can't emulate the real thing. Leave it on the sonar mode though and they work great. I still prefer a standard flasher for the simple fact I dno't like seeing the history and when your in a school of fish there are lines everywhere and it is harder to keep everything straight...the history remaining on the screen for 10 seconds or more only further complicates the mess.

All that being said, if I were to do it all over again I might go with one of the higher end ice sonar units that have GPS and accept lake chips. I can't imagine a better bang for your buck. Also the ability to use the sonar in your boat would be a huge plus.

[Torgesom]

I just bought one--literally. Picked it up online and saved 100$ on tax and the actual price. I heard good reviews about the 383 being used on ice from a guy and sold his marcum. He said it's just as real time, no interference issues, and is "a good 4 season unit." In Don I trust! I messed with it at a big box store and liked what I saw. The cone angle says 20 and 60 degrees, but I think it's a bit optomistic considering that is a reading at -10 db's when all other flashers/sonars use -3db's as standard (even Hbird does). I don't know if I'll use the flasher or graph mode--perhaps both. The flasher features are identical to the Ice-55. People love their Lowrances, hopefully I love this thing! Now I need to find a decent deal on a Lakemaster chip. I'll let you know how it goes this year!

[tsande00]

I think you'll be happy Torg. I've spent a lot of time using my buddies Lowrance ice machine and they work very well and are real time. Your new 383 is of higher quality than his unit so I'm sure it will suit you well.

I'm still tempted to buy one since I need a new graph for the boat anyways. I'd love to have two "flashers" for when fishing with some of my friends who don't fish enough to warrant owning one of their own.

Let us know how you like it once you get out on the ice.

[Norm1980]

I purchased a 345c last year (same as the 385ci just doesn't have the gps). I went with it over a flasher because i can use it all summer in my boat. I used it while in a 8x16 ice castle with 2 other guys using vexilars (fl12's) and didn't get any interferance from their units. I think the target separation isn't as good as regular flashers but otherwise I didn't have any complaints about it ( i used the flasher screen not the graph screens). The flasher screen has multiple colors and also shows the depth in the middle like the higher end HB flashers do.

I didn't get the model with build in GPS (went with a garmin handheld instead) for the fact I would like to use my GPS while im driving across the lake and its just that much easier to have the handheld in my truck vs having the 345c unit out while driving.

[Ed Carlson]

As a packaged combo GPS sonar, it's a good deal really. The cost to also rig it for summer use is a bit higher than a Vexilar is, but not by too much. A bit of a small display but if your using one or the other views, mapping or sonar, that is not an huge issue really.

The newest version of the Humminbird Ice-385ci can run LakeMaster mapping, NDTRAX and MNTRAX mapping (I think it can run TRAX, I will check on that more to be 100% sure, and get back to you.), as well as Navionics, so that is a big plus.

I have a hunch, there may be some "Holiday Specials" that may pop up in this unit...just a hunch.

[Torgesom]

There's a free rebate for a skimmer suction cup transducer from HBird right now. 7.99 shipping and handling. Pretty cheap to rig for summer.