Using lcd screen type fishfinders for ice?

[frabillfisher]

I was just thinking about this and wondered if anyone has tried using one of these types of fishfinders for ice fishing I know they make the one by lowrance the "ice machine"...wondering if you just put the transducer at the end of kinda a t shaped stand and leveled it out in your hole?.. ...kinda short on money to get a vexilar

[icecold]

before i got a vexilar i used a eagle lcd that i rigged up for icefishing, It worked pretty well as I would set fish alarm to show a fish icon when a fish under the hole, It wouldnt show me in detail like the vexilar but at least i knew there were fish down under

[wishiniwerefishin]

I also use an LCD for ice fishing. Mounted it to an older flasher battery box, and made a little T type unit for the transducer to mount on, works pretty well. Not quite a Vex, but still better than nothing.

[fishin789]

I have an Eagle ultra portable that I use in my boat that I used for ice fishing before I got my vexlar.I would unscrew the suction cup from the bracket and use a sheet metal screw to screw the bracket into a 1 x 2 and would just hang it over the edge of the hole.It worked good.Instead of buying batteries I made a long cord with clips and just clipped it to the battery from the boat that I kept in the truck.I don't see any reason you couldn't use a vexlar battery if you didn't want to haul a big battery around with you.

[kslipsinker]

Your main concern would be keeping the screen from freezing if you are outdoors. If you are in a heated shack, it wouldn't be a concern. The X67 and similar Lowrance models have a special screen that will not freeze as readily as normal graphs.

[pathogen]

Several years ago, a friend of mine used an LCD type depth finder in the manner I was using my Vex. It worked well for him but the one thing I noticed was that although the Vex showed everything in "real time", his LCD had just a moment of "lag". It was still quite useful but he had to pay a bit more attention when an interested fish showed up on the screen. I don't know if the lag factor has been eliminated in new units or maybe it's something that still exists.

[eurolarva]

I use a velexar battery and a collapsable cooler for mine. If it is real cold out I will use a couple of hand warmers in the cooler. My eagle has an analog mode that will give a much faster response time. The main thing to watch is depth and the bottom structure. Usually the fish will be on the bottom and you will notice a small change in depth and what looks like structure on the bottom that was not there before. I tested this on the weekend with my aquaview. Granted it is not a velexar but it is a lot cheaper then 400 dollars and better then nothing.

[NELS-BELLS]

I rigged up my Eagle Ultra II for ice fishing before I got my Vexlar. When I was in a warm fish house it worked great. If I was outside in the cold, it would get real sluggish and eventually the screen would stop moving. I also noticed that it sucked the battery juice a lot faster than a flasher.

Nels

[Chad711]

No lag with the X67, I personally dont use anything for the puck just drop it down the hole, I have the cord wrapped around the unit. The only bad thing with the Lowrance is it doesnt like other flashers, you can adjust for interfearance but not if you right next to another sonar.

[Dennis Steele]

I used a LCR on ice befroe and they do work. I used an Eagle brand sonar that had fastrac feature that was real time.

The fished showed as a bar across the entire screen and I could pick up my jig or a split shot and minnow if I could get the tranducer perfectly level. I can't remeber the company's name but they used to sell an ice arm that you could mount to your LCR to hold your puck or even the skimmer transducer. Then you would get a small RV fridge bubble level, place it on your puck ducer to level it out. It worked fine in a warm shak but like others said it got pretty slow in the cold. I do think that a flasher style sonar like the Marcum LX3 or Vex is best for ice fishing situations. You get more detail and can interpret the signals better.

[slick814]

I've got the Lowrance M68 Ice Machine. IT's an excellent unit. and won't freeze up like some have said. It's good to -30, and if you're fishing without heat at that temp, well, pesonally, I think you'll freeze first.

The flasher is real time, maybe an improvement over past years models.

Thing is, price wise, if you're looking to save on the cost of a Vex, you won't. The Ice Machines are $399 or $499, depending on whether or not you get the GPS model. However, Thorne Brothers will throw in a summer transducer for the boat, and the unit is a multi-mode Sonar, Flasher, and GPS unit in one. It can be use for ice or open water, reads through the ice, and personally (although I may be biased), I think it's a great deal. It's especially a good deal if you compare it's price to the price of separate flasher, sonar & GPS units.

I haven't had any problems with it when other units are around, but haven't had the chance to use it in a really crowded situation, either.

All in all, I'd have to say it's been on of the best investments I've made in my all around fishing arsenal...

[skunked_once]

I mounted my Lowrance X-45 on top of a battery box and use my motorcycle battery inside the box for power. The hardest part was rigging a moveable arm to mount the transducer for fitting in the hole. It works well for finding bottom depth and does show the fish (see other posts).