Improvise

[Shelly J]

Anybody ever rig up a boat type fish locator and transducer for ice fishing?

[Peleewalleyeguy]

They have lots of through the ice fish finders. I just got a Cabelas catalog solely about ice fishing. Lots of fun if you find fish. Be careful! Peleewalleyeguy.

[Jawbreaker]

Anybody ever rig up a boat type fish locator and transducer for ice fishing?

I've rigged up 2 of those. Pain in the neck. Finally broke down and bought one made for ice fishing.

[Madd Matt]

Last year I took my Lowrance HDS 12 Gen2 Touch out on Lake Erie for ice fishing...
My buddy made fun of me and was getting pictures because he said that I was nuts and nobody that ice fishes would take a $3,500 fish finder out on the ice...

I never did understand why that was such a crazy idea. My life is worth a lot more than the fish finder. If I'm not confident that I'm not going through the ice, I wouldn't be out there!

We where in a Polaris Ranger 6x6, so I had plenty of space for an extra deep cycle marine battery.

However, I was extremely disappointed in the performance. I even set it in "Flasher" mode and did everything I could to get the refresh rate and everything as fast as I could get it. It was WAY too slow. I ended up borrowing my buddies extra flasher, a Vexilar 8 (low cost and cheap), and for seeing my bait in regards to the fish it was head and shoulders above the Lowrance.

I put the Lowrance away and this year I bought a couple of $300-400 flashers online and will be using them.

I have done some additional reading and research to see if maybe there was a setting I was missing, or some way to use it better for ice fishing, but all the forums and research told me that it wasn't going to be any better.

Don't get me wrong, it wasn't a complete waste, and I would use it in a heartbeat rather than go without anything. But if I have to chose between a $250 Used Vexilar or my so called "top of the line" Lowrance, I'll take the Vexilar.

I could "see" my bait, but when a fish came in, and I moved my bait in response to the fish the lag time on the screen was probably .5 seconds to almost a full second. With the Vexilar and units designed to be flashers for ice fishing it is so close to "realtime" that you can't notice the lag in the movement in the water vs. the screen.

I like seeing my bait move when it is actually moving, and I like seeing the fish in real time too...

[ebijack]

Yes, you could buy a transducer made for ice fishing, If you don't have an extra around. Or buy an older unit of the same brand your running so you can transfer waypoints/ and map card and modify the transducer. Or make a wooden base that holds the unit, has a swing arm that is adjustable that you can easily adjust the cable length/arm for the depth ice your fishing. Depends on your requirements. The battery concern again depends on your mode of transport out on the ice, hours of use etc.
Like mentioned, a flasher always is a "real time" and very accurate sounder that can mark fish in the weeds. I love em. If you can afford both, go for it. The GPS with waypoints is very helpful just like soft water. IMHO

[FishOn205]

using a boat style unit with transducer is very simple!! I made 2 last year out of old units I had laying around. as long as it has the flasher setting and the matching transducer all you need is a 5 gallon bucket (with lid), small lawn mower battery and piece of pvc pipe. (1"-1 1/2" works best)
first thing you want to do is mount the base of the fish finder to the bucket lid, and put the lawn mower battery in the bucket. drill hole in the bucket lid big enough to put the power and transducer cables through the hole.(hole needs to be big enough to fit the cable connections through the hole). hook the power cables to the battery and put all extra wires in the bucket with the battery. then take your piece of pvc pipe probably 3' worth and screw the transducer to the bottom of the pvc pipe so transducer is below the pipe. electrical tape or zip tie the transducer cable to the pvc pipe.
when you get to the ice drill your holes then put your transducer down in the hole I leave mine just up from the bottom of the ice so the fish don't get tangled up in it. put your bucket by the hole and wedge the top of your pvc pipe between the bucket and the handle so it doesn't move. and youre ready to go.
just as a side note if you drill 3 holes in a triangle you can use this setup with two fisherman and the flasher should pick up both jigs. just make sure you put the transducer in the top hole of your triangle. it might take some practice to get the holes the right distance apart for the unit you have to be able to pick up both jigs.
this setup worked great for me last year and I was able to fish two guys to one flasher unit and be successful doing it.
it might sound a little bit hillbilly or jerry rigged but it works and you don't have to spend the extra money on a whole new flasher unit if you have an extra finder laying around.
hope this helps
heres a picture of one of the flshers i put together last year

[Hoytman86]

using a boat style unit with transducer is very simple!! I made 2 last year out of old units I had laying around. as long as it has the flasher setting and the matching transducer all you need is a 5 gallon bucket (with lid), small lawn mower battery and piece of pvc pipe. (1"-1 1/2" works best)
first thing you want to do is mount the base of the fish finder to the bucket lid, and put the lawn mower battery in the bucket. drill hole in the bucket lid big enough to put the power and transducer cables through the hole.(hole needs to be big enough to fit the cable connections through the hole). hook the power cables to the battery and put all extra wires in the bucket with the battery. then take your piece of pvc pipe probably 3' worth and screw the transducer to the bottom of the pvc pipe so transducer is below the pipe. electrical tape or zip tie the transducer cable to the pvc pipe.
when you get to the ice drill your holes then put your transducer down in the hole I leave mine just up from the bottom of the ice so the fish don't get tangled up in it. put your bucket by the hole and wedge the top of your pvc pipe between the bucket and the handle so it doesn't move. and youre ready to go.
just as a side note if you drill 3 holes in a triangle you can use this setup with two fisherman and the flasher should pick up both jigs. just make sure you put the transducer in the top hole of your triangle. it might take some practice to get the holes the right distance apart for the unit you have to be able to pick up both jigs.
this setup worked great for me last year and I was able to fish two guys to one flasher unit and be successful doing it.
it might sound a little bit hillbilly or jerry rigged but it works and you don't have to spend the extra money on a whole new flasher unit if you have an extra finder laying around.
hope this helps
heres a picture of one of the flshers i put together last year

That's not hillbilly, that's some damn fine American ingenuity!

How much time do you get out of this setup?

[FishOn205]

I fish with this for 2 days then just to make sure I don't end up with a dead battery I just throw it on the charger over night to be on the safe side.
ive never just left it on to see how long it will last.

[Shelly J]

Appreciate your input.That sounded like a great idea.I enjoy making my own stuff and using it like tieing your own harness.Where's a bucket? Thanks and Merry Christmas.

[Rodsabendin]

I use an Elite 5 on both hard and soft water. They make an Ice kit for it so easy to swap.