If you spend the colder seasons ice fishing, you probably have considered purchasing a fish finder. The good news is that technology has come so far from what it was.
Nowadays, ice fishing fish finders offer exceptional features such as high-resolution LCD screens, GPS plotting, and all-in-one travel packs that provide an easy solution to help you catch more fish.
Table could not be displayed.Our Pick: Lowrance HOOK² Ice Fishing and All-Season Pack
This affordable ice fishing fish finder offers a high-resolution screen and autotuning sonar (ease of use). The pack comes with all the gear and accessories you will need to set it up at home and easily carry it onto the ice. It has two transducers, a battery, a charger, and a carrying case.
This unit has GPS, allowing you to mark waypoints to save your favorite ice fishing locations. It also features sonar, side scan, down scan, and a split screen mode to monitor underwater as you fish. This fish finder by Lowrance offers a very easy-to-use interface with reliability from a top brand in the industry.
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Runner Up: Garmin STRIKER Plus
The Garmin Striker Plus has many features, including a dual-beam ice fishing transducer. This helps you see where the fish are easier. It also features a great carrying pack, making it easy to bring onto the ice.
The color screen is great and can provide crisp contour mapping of the terrain below you. The unit has GPS functionality so that you can save your best fishing spots. Garmin has an excellent reputation within the fishing community and their Striker Plus ice fishing fish finder doesn’t disappoint.
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Honorable Mentions
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Things to Consider When Purchasing an Ice Fishing Fish Finder
What is an Ice Fishing Transducer?
The transducer is the “eye” of the fish-finding device. It sends a signal into the water, waits for it to come back, and processes an image depending upon the results. Fishermen use transducers while ice fishing by suspending them in the water through a small hole usually augered out. The best practice is to keep the transducer just below the water’s surface for the best readings.
Imaging
The imaging process is how the ice fishing fish finder outputs what the transducer collects onto the display screen. This is where different fish finders begin to differentiate from each other. Ultimately, the best fish finder is the one that can give you the best information in an easily understandable way.
Accessories
Many ice fishing fish finders come in travel packs that include many accessories. The most important are quality cords for charging, a charge, a battery, stands, and plastic containers to keep it all in. The higher quality fish finders provide better accessories.
The Best Ice Fishing Fish Finder Features
The best fish finders for ice fishing give you options when viewing the screen, such as sonar, side scans, down scans, contour mapping, and GPS plotting. When spending money on a fish finder, make sure to purchase one that comes with these features built into it.
Battery
A quality battery for your fisher finder matters a lot when ice fishing. Once on the ice, many anglers can’t charge anything because there’s no source of electricity. If that’s the case, then long-lasting battery life is very important. Another consideration with fish finder batteries is how well they hold up to charges over time. Often batteries lose their ability to hold a full charge.
Display
We are fortunate to have fish finders with such amazing displays. The LCD is commonplace with ice fishing fish finders, which no longer cost a fortune. When purchasing a fish finder for ice fishing, buy something with at least a 4″ screen.
Accuracy
You want to ensure that the instrument you buy provides accurate readings. It can become demotivating and misleading knowing that your readings could be incorrect.
Ease-of-Use
When buying fish finders, it is best to purchase one that provides simplified readings. Most people get confused when there are too many readings available. There’s nothing worse than spending hours going through manuals and calibrations just to start fishing.
Cost Consideration
You shouldn’t buy a fish finder worth $2000, the functions are only marginally better. Something between $200-500 is sufficient for most ice fishermen.
Portability
The newer models are almost always portable, which is great. They come in easy-to-carry traveling packs that can be stored away with the rest of your gear during transportation.
Weather Resistance
The elements can become extreme when ice fishing, making it all the more important to have a device that can withstand snow, rain, wind, and the occasional fall on the hard ice.
Usability
One of the most important features of a quality ice fishing fish finder is its useability. A lot of models, including our top two picks, have designed their interface to be easily understandable with pre-built features with a push of a button.