West Basin thank you for your great reply. I have watched a lot of YouTube videos and they make it look easy but not much as far as using them on Lake Erie. In a number of the pictures I have seen posted here it appears that a number of people are using them so I was hoping for more from other users. I am leaning towards the Garmin ice fishing bundle so I can use it all year long. Not having a chance to use or see one in action yet makes me slow to flip the switch on an expensive instrument like that.