Depth Finder Shooting through Ice?

[keystone]

Could I shoot through the ice with my Vexilar FL18 to find fish?

[#Boater#]

Yep, just put a little liquid on the ice.

[loosegoose]

Works great as long as you find a spot where the ice is relativly clear and you pour water on the ice so the transducer can complete it's circuit.

[minneman]

I bought a torch with the ignitor button, to put on the 1lb tanks of propane, no need to carry water around! works great, about 20$ at the hardware store.

[Minnetonka]

No need to carry water around. Just spit on the ice and put the transducer on it. I try be very quick about this since if you do not get the reading fast enough the spit freezes. I also find that you have to put a little downward pressure on the transducer. The clearer the ice is the better this works. I was out this morning on Minnetonka and was able to get good readings through 16 inches on ice.

------------------
"I'd rather be fishing"

Mike

[Ray Esboldt]

A MarCum or Vexilar flasher shoots through the ice no problem with a little liquid to work with. However, be careful not to mar the surface of the transducer. Your flasher just is not going to read the same if the transducer is beat up.

I really like the handheld units for shooting through the ice. I own the MarCum LX-i. It's light. The transducer surface is durable. The readout is on top. And, it floats so you can use it in the canoe as well without fear of losing it.

------------------
Ray Esboldt
MarCum
Stone Legacy

[Ishmel]

For shooting through the ice I carry a water bottle with the squirt top on it. I've found that mixing some salt in with the water keeps it from freezing long enough for me to try and mark fish through the ice also.

[gophish]

yes, it works. like they said just put a little water on the ice. i've shot through about 2 feet of ice and got a depth reading down to fourty feet. just remember that if you read 8 feet deep on top of the ice. it is really only about six feet deep below the ice when you use the vex. for fishing. that threw me off one day.

[Toad]

Have to agree on the Marcum LX-i. Wonderful little tool for cruising around quickly to scout depths. Most all flashers certainly read through ice with a spot of water on top, but the little LX-i is so easy to carry around that it's become a tool I rely on during every trip.

Having also used different handheld depthfinder models-- Polarvision, etc.-- none has worked so consistently well, or quite so accurately, as the LX-i. Some of the other units haven't always read depth accurately, nor do they always read through certain types of ice. Nice tool to have along.

[Ron Anlauf]

All will read through the ice with a little water but you do need some smooth ice to shoot through and I've found a lot of rough ice this year. You can read fish with the depth finders as well as the LXi. The LXi will first mark the bottom and then anything off the bottom and will give the depth it's at and an audible beep. I carry the self lighting torch to create enough water. It doesn't spill or freeze.

Ron Anlauf

[Steve Foss]

If you want to shoot through ice, bring hot water in a container like a liter water bottle.

Cool thing is, when you dump a bit of warm water on the ice, it melts its own little basin, which pools the water and gets you a good reading. A liter of water goes along way when it's warm, because it takes less water to make your puddle.

This will work regardless of the brand of your flasher, and I've sounded 100 feet and more this way.

------------------
"Worry less, fish more."
Steve Foss
[email protected]

[This message has been edited by stfcatfish (edited 01-26-2004).]

[Deputy Grizz]

Glad to see no one has mentioned "use anti-freeze or windshield washer fluid" which has been used by folks in the past.
It's illegal to put that stuff on the ice!

[road kill]

The old "Green Box" shoots through the ice better then the vexliars when you have cloudy or rough ice. It does not seem to ricochet off the ice because it has less power.
Have Fun!

[cisco kid]

Tried the salt in the h2o today. Much gooder!!!

------------------