Conference wahoo::fishing-v2

    	I doubt that the pail on the ice trick would work.  ANY air under 
    the transducer ruins the signal.  In fact, if the ice has too many air
    bubbles it messes you up.
    	The best way that I've heard of is to bring a squirt bottle of
    vegetable oil (NOT anti-freeze or petroleum oil!) and squirt a little
    puddle on the ice, set the transducer in it, and take your readings.
    If the weather is warmer and there's water on the ice the oil isn't
    needed.
    	The whole key to it is NO air under the transducer.  That's why
    we have streamlined transducers that hang slightly below the hull,
    to get them below the turbulance.
    					B.C.  

    Never heard of the pail trick.  As .-1 said, you can sometimes shoot
    through the ice, water on the surface helps.  
    
    Are you implying that your going to lug around a standard boat
    battery???  
    
    A motorcycle or lantern battery will do.  
    
    -donmac

    THANKS FOR THE INFO.
    
    Spoke to my friendly neighborhood Tackle shop.
    
    - seems that the transducer (for best results) has to be submerged down
    the ice hole - attached to an angle bracket would do.
    - ICE has air trapped in it and would screw the reading up.
    
    - After thinking about it A motorcycle battery would suffice - not as
    heavy.
    
    - Up here in CANADA (Toronto) the price I have to pay for that extra
    TRANSDUCER = $49 can. or about $39 U.S.
    
    - HOW are the prices there in New England... Is there a good
    catalogue/mail-order place.
    
    Thanks Again
    
    Martin

I watched a fisherman do this on lake Merrymeeting in NH.  All he did was build 
a simple wood frame to hold the transducer under water to avoid the freezing
problem.  He had a car battery with him but since he drove out on the ice it
was not big issue.

The system worked, what he watched for was the occasional blip to indicate
what level the fish were swimming by.  His theory was that his bait should be
set accordingly.

The system worked but he didn't catch anything.  Perhaps it made him feel good
to know that fish swam by.

    has anyone confirmed that this will or will not work through ice?
    
    or does a hole have to be dug? i guess it would be worth testing on a
    place that your familier with, I was thinking about trying it, My
    depthfinder work's on 6/12v battey so i was thinking of bringing it
    along or even just taking it out to check a few spot's to see if it
    would work, seems to me no-one here actually uses one on the ice
    correct? because if they did i think we'ld have more specific answers.
    BC the veggie oil sounds like a good idea I'll keep that in mind,
    should i mark on the bottle for Kiv's use only?
    
    							Ronni
    

 Gil,

 The portables do work real well on the ice. Actually
in bass-pro I belive this is a tranducer holder 
attachment for ice use.
 Yes, a hole must be dug. Something about the ice
acting like a mirror and confusing the heck out of the
transducer...
 Another note, batteries don't last all that well in the
cold (must recharge frequently)
 
 - Dave

    ya i seen the setup it would'nt take much to make one up, i
    think i might give it a shot i have enough room on the sled 
    so it would'nt be a problem taking it along, 
    
    
    				thanks, Ronni
    				looking forward to ice out

Transducers can shoot thru the ice providing that you establish good 
contact with the ice surface.  Someone mentioned using veggie oil which 
will work, or just pour a little water from the minnow bucket.  The degree 
as to how well it works depends largely on the amount of air trapped in the 
ice.  I've never had problems shooting thru black ice which contains almost 
no air bubbles.  Other times can be hit or miss.  I usually have a good 
idea as to the approximate depth, so if the LCR is indicating a fairly 
strong bottom signal at that approx depth, then I know it is working.

My .02 worth...

-HSJ-

    
    I have used sonar through the ice a fair amount. What Joe says about 
    black ice is true, but 95% of the time the ice isn't in that condition
    and you do need to drill a hole. Once it snows and the snow melts, the
    games over and you need to drill a hole. Besides with a power auger
    were talking 10 seconds to burn another hole. 

    The other question is what do you expect to see? Just the bottom? Fish
    and the bottom? In shallow water (less than 15') I wouldn't be counting
    on seeing any fish. In deeper water, I have many a time seen fish on
    the TV and adjusted my jig to the same depth and caught the fish. What
    you see on TV is about a second behind what is actually happening. It
    can get annoying watching a fish ignore a jig that you think is right 
    under its nose. You have to remember that you have a specific cone angle 
    for your unit. You could be looking a 30 foot circle at the bottom of
    the cone. Thats a big area. 

    If you are just looking for depth in shallower water use a sounder. If
    its deeper then you can see two things so it would warrant the use of
    the electronics. 

    Batteries do wear down quickly with my unit. I am going with a bigger 
    battery this year, like my trolling motor battery.

    Rich

    I have used my LCR on the ice for several years.  As was metioned
    before, a motorcycle battery works very well and is not too heavy.  If
    you are going to watch the LCR while you fish, definitely cut a hole in
    the ice.  I like to use the LCR initially to get a general idea of the
    depth and if there are any drop-offs by taking readings every 50 feet
    or so.  I use a little squirt bottle of windshield washer solvent to
    squirt on the ice.  Then place the transducer on it for a good reading. 
    It at least saves you a lot of drilling before you find an area you
    want to try fishing.  As stated before, try to keep the air bubbles out
    from under the transducer.
    
    Dave