Humminbird ICE-55 Flasher

[DTro]

I finally had the chance to take the new ICE-55 Flasher from Humminbird on a little test drive, so I thought I would post my initial impressions and share what things I liked about the unit in the short time I had with it.

First off, it’s hard not to be impressed by the HUGE display and 6 color palette that seems very easy on the eyes. I like how the unit sits up a bit higher than the competition and has a nice storage area and wrap for the transducer cord and float. The form factor seems well designed and the unit fits nicely into a 5 gallon bucket.

I was able to try a handful of depths and jig sizes and didn’t run into any issues with losing even the smallest jigs on the display. I even tried the smallest jig I had (2mm Tungsten Fiska) and was able to pick that up fine in 25ft of water. I was also able to test out the max depth of the unit while fishing in 150-300ft of water this past weekend. The auto depth find was a very nice feature out in that deep water. In the shallower section of water, the auto find was able to pick up the bottom and displayed the correct depth of 176ft, then it was just a matter of switching the knob to the correct manual position. Even in a bit of current the ICE-55 picked up the large bucktail jig in 176ft of water. Once over that max of 200ft though I couldn’t use it. This is one area where the Vexilar has a definite advantage. Granted most of us aren’t fishing in over 200ft of water, there are select times when you might need it, such as this past weekend.

I think the one big advantage of this unit is the ability to not interfere or have interference with other brands of flashers. Although it’s usually not a chore to get rid of interference with the right combinations of IR button pushes on other flashers, it is one less thing you need to worry about.

I also liked the large bright backlit LCD display. It’s nice to look down and see a digital readout of the depth and not have to do any math in your head.

I hope to spend some more time with the unit so I can get accustomed to the more advanced features such as the adjustable zoom and depth target. I did not use them enough to form an opinion either way.

If there was anything that I didn’t like about this flasher it was not being familiar with the user interface and which buttons to press to get what I needed. I’m so used to my LX-5 that it’s hard not to reach for what you are comfortable with, especially with limited fishing time. Just a small learning curve that is expected any time you use something new.

When it comes to the flasher market, you really can’t go wrong when it comes to the top offering of brand X, Y, or Z, each has their own benefits and the ICE line of flashers from Humminbird is welcomed competition as it can only means better things for the future of ice fishing.

I look forward to seeing what is next!

[Shack]

Good review Dtro. Thanks!

[harvey lee]

Great review Dtro. I have used the Ice 35 and have also been happy and impressed with this flasher. I have only used the Ice 55 one day and it is a very user friendly unit. The 6 colors are awesome.

[Lisa Almquist]

I saw my friend Steve T.'s in action up on Burntside this past weekend and I gotta say I've got some serious locator envy now. It's bright and easy to read. Loads of features!

[sptitz]

Last weekend at Burntside was my first time out with my ICE 55, I loved it! I have been using a Vex FL-8 shallow water model for the past 13-14 years or so and have no complaints but it was a time for an upgrade. I think what I like the most is being able to read the display from off to the side and a fair distance away.

Dtro, just out of curiosity (sp), where were you fishing 200 feet deep? For Catfish?

[DTro]

Dtro, just out of curiosity (sp), where were you fishing 200 feet deep? For Catfish?

Lake Trout fishing on Lake Superior

[Northlander]

DTRO sounds like the cheesey boys hit the lakers pretty good last weekend. How did you guys do again?