Any suggestion on the handheld depth sounder/finder?

[IamI]

looking for a handheld depth sounder/finder on the ice, can shoot through ice and give out the thickness of ice and water depth.

[FlyTheory]

looking for a handheld depth sounder/finder on the ice, can shoot through ice and give out the thickness of ice and water depth.

I've got the Blackhawk (I think that's what it's called). It works if there's no snow on the ice, nor any significant bubbles in the ice. I use an auger and drill down 2" into the clear ice and then transmit the signal. It's handy compared to drilling and dropping a strong down. Sometime you need to fill the hole with a little water for proper transmission. And for flood ice you will have to drill down the the clear ice before you take your reading. Large learning curve but it's generally worth it! Got mine at the fishin hole for $120. It won't tell you the thickness of ice though :(

[IamI]

I've got the Blackhawk (I think that's what it's called). It works if there's no snow on the ice, nor any significant bubbles in the ice. I use an auger and drill down 2" into the clear ice and then transmit the signal. It's handy compared to drilling and dropping a strong down. Sometime you need to fill the hole with a little water for proper transmission. And for flood ice you will have to drill down the the clear ice before you take your reading. Large learning curve but it's generally worth it! Got mine at the fishin hole for $120. It won't tell you the thickness of ice though :(

thank you very much for your experience.

I guess yours is hawkeye as:

http://www.thefishinhole.com/index.cfm?action=product&kw=/NORCROSS-MARINE/HAWKEYE-HANDHELD-DIGITAL-SONAR/&se=25885

[FlyTheory]

That's the one! Feel free to message me with any questions or troubleshooting :) it's a useful tool to have, and on early ice it's magic. I'd reccomend you purchase one!

[RavYak]

That's the one! Feel free to message me with any questions or troubleshooting :) it's a useful tool to have, and on early ice it's magic. I'd reccomend you purchase one!

That is interesting. I take it you have to have it pressed against the ice or just under water? Also do you find the accuracy depends on how you hold it(if at an angle etc)?

Almost any flasher/fish finder can shoot through ice and give you a reading but I have found it to be unreliable especially once the ice gets thicker or if there is any layer of bad ice. We used to try and shoot through the ice but realized we were wasting more time trying to do so then just drilling a hole and checking. I guess if you only have a hand auger it would be worth doing though.

[stubblejumper01]

I also have the Hawkeye. I use it to shoot through old frozen over holes to check depth. It even sometimes shows fish on screen too. I primarily use it for depth though. Makes it quick to find the depth I want at Canyon Creek and the Narrows on Slave. Just pour a little water and you're good to go

[bogwalker]

I have a hawkeye 1c which is a full color full range fish finder. runs on 4AAA lithium batteries. has a flasher mode for ice fishing and regular sonar type mode. have tested it in the shushwap and works real good.. http://www.hawkeyeelectronics.com/fish-finder/

[WayneChristie]

I use a hawkeye as well, usually just carry a waterbottle with me to shoot through the ice. great tool to save a lot of hole drilling if you are looking for drop offs and structure. also use it in the tinner and canoe in open water when Im fishing unfamiliar waters.

[EZM]

I use a hawkeye as well, usually just carry a waterbottle with me to shoot through the ice. great tool to save a lot of hole drilling if you are looking for drop offs and structure. also use it in the tinner and canoe in open water when Im fishing unfamiliar waters.

I have also had good results with kicking any snow away and pouring a little water on the ice.

Lay the transducer down on the wet spot and it should provide good readings.

[Isopod]

My fishing buddy has an older model hand-held depth finder, bought about 15 or 20 years ago. It looks pretty much like a flashlight, I think it is called Polar something, but not certain on that. At any rate, it gives depth to the bottom very accurately and since he's had it so long it has certainly proven reliable over the years. We use it every ice-fishing trip. You do need relatively clear ice, and a small layer of water to form a bridge between the depth finder and the ice... other people's frozen-over ice fishing holes are very reliable places to measure. It has proven invaluable for finding the depth to the bottom, particularly for locating features like drop-offs where depth can change quickly over short distances and setting up right on the drop off can be the key to good fishing.

[Dubious]

I just take the fish finder off my boat for the winter. If you put a little bit of water on top of the ice it will read right to the bottom so you can see the depths. If the water is murky or dark I just clamp it to a piece of wood and my fishing bucket drop the transducer just down the hole and read the screen like normal. Worked pretty good and it could be a lot cheaper

[dodgeboy1979]

I have also had good results with kicking any snow away and pouring a little water on the ice.

Lay the transducer down on the wet spot and it should provide good readings.

this is what i do with my flasher and it works awesome

[PerchBuster]

I've got the blue coloured one and it also will show if a fish is below and has a fish alarm on it. Works good for checking depth quickly. Just add water on top of the ice and set it down for a reading. Great for walk ons when trying to hit and set up on a specific depth contour without drilling a bunch of holes to get there. I don't walk on much anymore and usually just drill holes until I find fish with the camera regardless of the depth. If interested I would sell mine as I don't use it very much anymore the last year or 2. PM me if you want to buy a used one. Cheers. :)

[cschache]

I didn't see a mention unless I missed it is the Marcum LX-I, been pondering on buying one, still in my research stages unless someone can give some feed back on it?

[RavYak]

I didn't see a mention unless I missed it is the Marcum LX-I, been pondering on buying one, still in my research stages unless someone can give some feed back on it?

I was interested to learn more about these after seeing them in the fishin hole. They have the Marcum LX-I's and the Hawkeyes.

The LX-i's are twice the price but are more powerful(rated to 300 feet vs 200 feet for the Hawkeye) and they use a narrower beam(12 deg vs 25 deg) which means they will be more accurate on steep drop offs etc(wider beam hits more ground and will return the highest point it hits). The LX-i also comes with a case and its display is on the top which I would think would be nicer to use.

Like most things you get what you pay for, from the sounds of it the Hawkeye is good enough for the average fisherman but if you want the best or if you fish deep waters a lot for say lakers then the LX-i would be the way to go.

[cschache]

I was interested to learn more about these after seeing them in the fishin hole. They have the Marcum LX-I's and the Hawkeyes.

The LX-i's are twice the price but are more powerful(rated to 300 feet vs 200 feet for the Hawkeye) and they use a narrower beam(12 deg vs 25 deg) which means they will be more accurate on steep drop offs etc(wider beam hits more ground and will return the highest point it hits). The LX-i also comes with a case and its display is on the top which I would think would be nicer to use.

Like most things you get what you pay for, from the sounds of it the Hawkeye is good enough for the average fisherman but if you want the best or if you fish deep waters a lot for say lakers then the LX-i would be the way to go.

Thanks RavYak, there is always some new gadget that I think I need but I like to move around and find the fish and I think one of these would save me time by not drilling so many holes to find drop offs etc. thanks for the info, I think I will purchase one! what's a couple of hundred bucks in the big scheme of things! LOL

[huntsfurfish]

I was interested to learn more about these after seeing them in the fishin hole. They have the Marcum LX-I's and the Hawkeyes.

The LX-i's are twice the price but are more powerful(rated to 300 feet vs 200 feet for the Hawkeye) and they use a narrower beam(12 deg vs 25 deg) which means they will be more accurate on steep drop offs etc(wider beam hits more ground and will return the highest point it hits). The LX-i also comes with a case and its display is on the top which I would think would be nicer to use.

Like most things you get what you pay for, from the sounds of it the Hawkeye is good enough for the average fisherman but if you want the best or if you fish deep waters a lot for say lakers then the LX-i would be the way to go.

Agree
Get the Marcum LXi

I had 2 of the hawkeyes and neither worked well if at all. Last one was nothing more than a paper weight. Even had trouble reading in drilled hole.
Some happy users on here.:) Maybe I had the only bad 2.lol