true depth

[gman2002]

so i was just thinking , when you guys talk about depth ,do you just drop your transducer to the water line or do you go to the bottom of the ice ? i go to the water line ,just wondering if this is the right way or if there is a right way. i guess what i was thinking was that one guy could say 12 ft. and the next guy could drop his below the ice and say 10

[EBass]

Water line like you stated

[eyebjim]

The bottom of the ice will change as the thickness increases. I always use the water line.

[GRH]

water line when giving out depths

[Northlander]

I measure fishable water not ice. I go from the bottom of the ice.

[Ruegs23]

I as well go from the bottom of the ice.

[fishersofmen]

Bottom of ice. I usually say 10 fow below the ice.

[Deitz Dittrich]

water line for me... But even then I get confused as what I have been looking at on my LX-5.. When people ask me though what I caught them at, I do my best to tell them water line depth.

[shizzy]

I take my initial at the water surface, but if the ice is thick I go lower to get a cleaner image.

[Marbleye'd]

water line....I just add couple feet to what my flasher is reading.

[polarsusd81]

I always measure from the bottom of the ice. When I write or tell a report, I will always say for example "7 feet of water under the ice." It can pretty easily be translated into top of water depth too. But I hang my ducer under the ice so it is easiest for me to tell that depth.

[Ed Carlson]

For comparison to a known lake depth, as in a mapping situation, than from the water line would be most appropriate.

[Desperado]

For what depth we were over, I go from the water line to the lake bed.

For where the fish were, I usually go by how far off the bottom they were.

[RonWBasser]

I'd have to side with the water line group. That's the pretty much how everyone does it that I know.

[B-man715]

I always go with the top of the ice (and if somebody says a given depth I ask where they got the reading). At the end of the year the difference could be 4 FEET!! Example: The crappies I caught at first ice were in 10 FOW. In March would somebody call that same spot 6 FOW????? cause my map still shows TEN.........

[pikerliker]

I do my depth at the water line. I drop the transducer lower for fishing.

~piker

[ZEEK1223]

If I am using a map to find certain pieces of structure, I will always go from the water line. When fishing on Red, 2-3ft can make a huge difference.

[gman2002]

yea thats what i mean 2-3 ft can make a huge diff. maybe we should try to figure out one set way for all ice fisherpersons to measure depth so we are all on the same page. maybe a bill , have it passed through - IceLeaders.com . world wide

[ozzie]

the water line- as this is the most consistant depth in the same spot, for the most part, during the winter. where as the depth of ice and the amount of cord you have in the water vary during the season and from graph to graph...water levels usually won't fluctuate as much in the winter so a 28ft hole at the begining of the ice season is usually still 28ft from the water line at the end of the season where it might be 25-26ft deep from the bottom of the ice by the end of the season.

[PerchJerker]

I agree that the waterline is the best or most accurate depth, but I tend to go by what my flasher is telling me. And if I have questions about it, I ask to make sure it's clear.

[south_metro_fish]

I agree with the waterline. The actual depth matters but when zeroing in on where the fish are, you depend more on how far off the bottom they are. So actual depth maters more for knowing what kind of area you are fishing. Where the ice thickness maters is where the fish are right under the ice. Then putting your transducer down to the bottom of the ice level would help you locate how far from the ice they are. Just my thoughts of the mater.