Does your flasher work on TOP of the ice?

[Kokanee9]

My first flasher was an old Eagle/Lowrance that used 2 6v lantern batteries. I was able to put a bit of water on top of the ice and see below the ice how deep it was at that spot. I'm guessing it was new in the early 80's.
That one was retired quite a few years ago.

The flasher that I have now is a Humminbird ice-55. This one needs the transducer below the ice to work.

I'm wondering if any of the flashers made by other companies will work from on top of the ice like that old one I had.

This would save drilling a lot of holes to find out how deep it is under the ice.

[AppleJax]

Marcum and Vexilar will work but only on solid black ice with very little to no air. White ice forget it....

[WayneChristie]

Have you tried putting your transducer in a bag of water on the ice? Seems odd an ice setup wont shoot through it. My fishfinder usually gives a decent reading if I pour water on the ice.

[npauls]

My ice 45 will shoot through clear ice.

[Kokanee9]

Have you tried putting your transducer in a bag of water on the ice? Seems odd an ice setup wont shoot through it. My fishfinder usually gives a decent reading if I pour water on the ice.


What type are you using? Like AJ mentioned, if there is any white ice, forget it. I haven't run into any perfectly clear black ice yet this year to see if the 55 will work through that. Even lowering the transducer down the hole - it has to be very close to, or below the ice to work properly

I still have the flasher itself, but the transducer stayed inside a boat that I sold back in the 90's. If I could even find a transducer, that would be great.

[baptiste_moose]

My LX-5 will shoot through ice. I carry a water bottle to make a good connection and remember to crank the gain!!!

[slingshotz]

My ICE-55 works fine though solid ice but it does need a little water to seal properly. And the gain does need to be turned up more for it to work better.