There is no other form of angling quite like ice fishing when it comes to finding fish.
You can’t look at anything like surface conditions to try and predict where the fish are going to be, all you will see is ice, so where do you drill your hole?
Best Underwater Fish Finder For Ice Fishing
Best Handheld Fish Finder For Ice Fishing
Your guess is as good as anyone’s, but with an ice fishing fish finder, you can tell pretty quickly if you’ve drilled your fishing hole in the right place. If you’re not sure what to use to drill a hole, click here. Otherwise, read on.
The best ice fishing fish finders will show you if there are fish in your spot immediately and what depth they are at so you can adapt tactics.
And if they are not there, you can save time waiting to find and drill in a new spot.
Once you’ve found a great spot, you can mark it on the fish finder’s map to come back to it another day and examine the charts to see why the fish might be hanging out there, saving you hours of time searching for them in the future.
The Best Ice Fishing Fish Finders From The Review
Before the full review, here’s a quick look at the best 3 finders from the lineup…
Top Pick
Garmin ECHOMAP UHD 73cv Panoptix Ice Fishing Bundle
Has everything you need for both ice and summer fishing with charts, GPS, deadly accurate sonar, and a flasher for vertical fishing.
Garmin ECHOMAP UHD 73cv Panoptix Ice Fishing Bundle
The best ice fishing fish finder in the review is the Garmin ECHOMAP UHD 73cv Panoptix Ice Fishing Bundle.
This fish finder has everything you need for both ice and summer fishing with charts, Global positioning system, deadly accurate sonar, and a flasher for vertical fishing.
Charts
You’ll be able to plan where to fish using the charts, see exactly what’s happening underwater with the sonar, watch fish eat or refuse your baits with the flasher, and mark great spots to come back to another day.
Best Handheld Fish Finder For Ice Fishing
Deeper PRO+ Smart Sonar
A portable fish finder that you can connect to your smartphone to see what’s happening underwater.
Deeper PRO+ Smart Sonar
The best ice fishing fish finder that’s a handheld is the Deeper PRO+ Smart Sonar. This fish finder is super portable.
You can carry it in your pocket and when you’re ready to fish, connect it to your smartphone or tablet and drop it in the water or cast it from the shore.
Function
It’ll show you detailed sonar images of your fishing spot, save positioning system data of where you’re fishing, build maps for you, and it even has a flasher mode to switch to once you start seeing fish come into your area.
You can use it anywhere, and all year round, plus all your data is saved in the app on your phone so you can use it to plan your future fishing trips.
Best Underwater Fish Finder For Ice Fishing
Garmin Striker 4 with Portable Kit
A regular fish finder, portable fish finder, ice fishing fish finder, and an ice fishing flasher all in one unit.
Garmin Striker 4 with Portable Kit
The best ice fishing fish finder for underwater is the Garmin Striker 4 with the portable kit.
This fish finder is affordable, gives you detailed sonar images, has a positioning system for marking spots, and an inbuilt flasher for honing in on your targets.
The fish finder even makes contour maps of the areas you fish in to give you the most detailed depth data of your fishing spots possible.
Our Best Ice Fishing Fish Finders
Best Underwater Fish Finder For Ice Fishing
Garmin Striker 4 with Portable Kit
A regular fish finder, portable fish finder, ice fishing fish finder, and an ice fishing flasher all in one unit.
Garmin Striker 4 with Portable Kit
The Garmin Striker 4 with Portable Kit is a regular fish finder, portable fish finder, ice fishing fish finder, and an ice fishing flasher all in one unit.
It’s the perfect fish finder for use in winter, summer, and in fresh and saltwater.
Features
This ice-fishing fish finder comes with everything you need to make it a portable fish finder. Included with the Garmin Striker are a 3.5-inch display, portable carrying case, battery, and charger, plus a transom mount ice transducer.
You can happily carry these fish finders around in one hand and use them anywhere from on small boats to kayaks and of course, on the ice.
Sonar
These fish finders use CHIRP sonar technology to give you accurate LCD sonar images of any fish or structure beneath you while fishing.
It has a depth range of up to 1600ft in freshwater and 750ft in saltwater, more than enough for any lake you’re ice fishing on and for inshore fishing in the ocean.
Ice Flasher
This ice fishing fish finder also comes with a built-in ice fishing flasher that is perfect for the vertical fishing we do when ice fishing and jigging in the summer.
With the ice fishing flasher, you can see the bottom depth, your bait depth, and the depth of any fish that swims near it.
You can even see the fish chase and eat or refuse your bait so you can change to stick with your current tactics. It’s an ideal ice fishing sonar system for ice anglers.
Real Time Sonar
These fish finders also come with real-time sonar technology with their A-Scope feature. With this feature, ice fishing anglers can enjoy watching fish on the fish finder display live and how they react to your bait.
There is also a Fish ID feature that makes understanding the sonar image easier, which displays fish symbols instead of arcs, or a mix of both to help a beginner learn how to read the images.
GPS
As well as the excellent ice fishing sonar features, the fish finder also has a built-in GPS so you can mark good fishing spots and navigate with ease.
You can even create your own contour maps with the Quickdraw feature of any areas that you fish.
The only things holding this ice fishing fish finder back are that you can not add any charts to it and that the screen is a little small, but that’s what makes it so affordable and portable.
Specs
- Size Display: 3.5 inches
- Display: Color
- Waterproofing: IPX7
- Power: 200 W RMS
- Frequency: 50/77/200 kHz
- Sonar: CHIRP
- Flasher: Yes
- Global Positioning System: Yes
- Memory: Internal
- Charts: No
- Transducer: Portable
- Depth: 1,600 ft freshwater, 750 ft saltwater
- Wi-Fi: No
- Bluetooth: No
- Water Temperature: Yes
Pros
- Durable and waterproof
- Comes with a protective portable cover
- Includes a positioning system for marking fishing spots
- Make your own maps with Quickdraw
- Fish ID feature helps you see fish easily
- Accurate sonar images with CHIRP
- Has a flasher for vertical fishing
- A-Scope feature lets you watch fish under you in real-time
- Easy to see color display
- Fully portable
- Good for summer and winter use
Cons
- The display is a little small
- You can not add any charts to it
Lowrance HOOK² 4X Ice Fishing and All-Season Pack
Great all-around fish finder for ice fishing and summer fishing too.
Lowrance HOOK² 4X Ice Fishing and All-Season Pack
The Lowrance HOOK² 4X Ice Fishing and All-Season Pack are great all-around fish finders for ice fishing and summer fishing too.
Features
The All-season pack comes with ice fishing transducers and a regular transducer for use in the summertime, and you get a portable case, battery, and charger, making this a portable fish finder you can take anywhere and use on any vessel like the regular fish finders.
CHIRP
This ice fishing finder comes with CHIRP sonar to give you excellent detailed images of the entire water column with a depth range of up to 170ft.
The depth range is more than enough for use in freshwater and inshore fishing when saltwater but it won’t quite cut it offshore as you’re almost always fishing deeper than 170ft.
Range
The ice fishing sonar sends out a wide beam angle for increased coverage to give you an image of a larger area of what’s beneath you so you will be able to see fish coming and have more time to prepare.
GPS
These ice fishing sonars also come with an accurate global positioning system and a pretty good basemap.
You can mark good spots, see your boat speed, and navigate around with ease. You can’t add other charts though, or make your own.
Another thing this ice fish finder is missing is an ice fishing flasher.
Ice fishing flashers are great for vertical fishing, but you can make do with the normal sonar.
Specs
- Size Display: 4 inch
- Display: Color
- Waterproofing: IPx7
- Power: 200 W RMS
- Frequency: 50/77/200 kHz
- Sonar: Broadband sounder, CHIRP
- Flasher: No
- Global Positioning System: Yes
- Memory: Internal
- Charts: No
- Transducer: 2 included
- Depth: 170ft
- Wi-Fi: No
- Bluetooth: No
- Water Temperature: Yes
Pros
- Accurate sonar images with CHIRP
- Wide beam sonar has good coverage
- Simple and easy to use
- Accurate GPS for marking good spots and navigating
- Comes with 2 transducers: 1 for ice fishing and 1 for your boat
- Easy to read crystal clear screen
- Comes with a good basemap
- Includes a portable protective cover for ice fishing
- Durable and waterproof
- Can be used in any season
Cons
- You can not add any charts or maps
- Doesn’t go very deep for use when offshore fishing
- No flashers for vertical fishing
Humminbird PIRANHAMAX 4 PT
Fully portable and comes with a protective case, battery, charger, and transducer.
Humminbird PIRANHAMAX 4 PT
The Humminbird PIRANHAMAX 4 PT ice fishing fish finder is fully portable and comes with a protective case, battery, charger, and transducer.
You can use it on the ice, on a boat, and a kayak, making it a great unit for use all year round.
This ice fishing finder uses dual beam sonar to give you an accurate image of what’s beneath you up to 600ft, more than enough for any lake.
It also comes with a Fish ID feature that makes it easier to read the sonar image, and there are water depth and fish alarms so you never miss an opportunity or go too shallow when on a vessel.
You can also zoom in on the sonar image to allocated depth ranges so you can see what’s at certain depths in more detail.
Display
The screen on this ice fish finder is 4.3 inches, full color, and readable in all light conditions.
It’s also waterproof, so any splashes or even a hazardous capsize won’t break this ice fishing gear, as long as it doesn’t go deeper than 1 meter for more than 30 minutes.
The Humminbird PIRANHAMAX 4 PT is one of the best fish finders if you’re on a budget as it’s incredibly affordable, but you do miss out on features like positioning system, maps, and an ice flasher.
Specs
- Size Display: 4.3 inches
- Display: Color
- Waterproofing: IPX7
- Power: 300 W RMS
- Frequency: 200/455kHz
- Sonar: Dual-beam
- Flasher: No
- Global Positioning System: No
- Memory: Internal
- Charts: No
- Transducer: Included
- Depth: 600ft
- Wi-Fi: No
- Bluetooth: No
- Water Temp: No
Pros
- Lightweight, durable, and fully portable
- Comes with a carry case and a portable battery
- Excellent depth range
- Provides super accurate sonar images
- Has a Fish ID feature to make it easy to identify what’s on the screen
- You can set fish and depth alarms
- Easy to zoom in for a closer look
- Crystal clear sunlight-readable color display
- Easy to use and affordable
Cons
- Comes with no GPS or charts
- No ice flasher for vertical fishing
Humminbird ICE H5 Chirp GPS G3 Fish Finder
Designed as a fish finder for ice fishing and every other kind of fishing too.
Humminbird ICE H5 Chirp GPS G3 Fish Finder
The Humminbird ICE H5 Chirp GPS G3 is designed as a fish finder for ice fishing and every other kind of fishing too.
The Humminbird Ice Helix is one of the best fish finders around if you’re looking for one you can use all year round.
CHIRP
The Humminbird Ice Helix comes with CHIRP (dual spectrum sonar) for super detailed images of the entire water column down to 400ft. You’ll be able to see any fish under you as well as bottom routers, fishy features and more so you can plan your fishing tactics accordingly.
Flasher
The Humminbird Ice also comes with a flasher for vertical fishing that lets you see the bottom depth, the depth of your bait, and the depth of any fish that swims by.
Using it, you can move your bait to the depth of any fish, and see if they refuse your lure so you can change to something better.
It even has a feature that charges your glow-in-the-dark lures for you.
Features
As well as having the great sonar features mentioned above, this ice fishing fish finder also comes with a GPS, a detailed basemap, and you can add charts to it via the MicroSD card slot.
This means you can see the bottom contours of where you’re fishing to find good spots, navigate to them, and mark productive fishing spots to return to another day.
Self Mapping
The fish finder also has a self-mapping feature called Autochart Live that’ll create contour maps of where you’re fishing, giving you the most detailed maps possible to help you understand where you’re fusing and plan your tactics accordingly.
Navigation
The navigation features also make it a great ice fish finder for use outside of winter.
You can mount it to any vessel and use the excellent sonar features to catch fish anywhere. It’ll even create maps of the area you’re angling in for you with AutoChart Live.
Price Range
The only limiting things about this fish finder is that it’s pretty expensive compared to other ice fishing fish finders due to the chart and GPS features and it has a rather shallow maximum depth of 400ft, which is fine in freshwater and shallow water inshore fishing in the sea, but it’s not deep enough for offshore fishing.
Specs
- Size Display: 5 inches
- Display: Color
- Waterproofing: IPX 7
- Power: 500 W RMS
- Frequency: 50/83/200 kHz
- Sonar: CHIRP
- Flasher: Yes
- Global Positioning System: Yes
- Memory: MicroSD
- Charts: Yes
- Transducer: Portable
- Depth: 400ft
- Wi-Fi: No
- Bluetooth: No
- Water Temp: Yes
Pros
- Comes with a full portable kit with cover, transducer, and battery
- In-built flasher for vertical fishing
- Super detail images with the CHIRP sonar
- Good sized, easy to read color display
- Waterproof, durable, and easy to use
- Great for use in summer too
- Accurate GPS for making spots and navigation
- Comes with an accurate basemap and you can add your own charts
- Self map your ice fishing spots with AutoChart Live
- Charge your glow in the dark jigs with it
Cons
- A little expensive
- 400ft maximum depth is a bit limiting
Top Pick
Garmin ECHOMAP UHD 73cv Panoptix Ice Fishing Bundle
Has everything you need for both ice and summer fishing with charts, GPS, deadly accurate sonar, and a flasher for vertical fishing.
Garmin ECHOMAP UHD 73cv Panoptix Ice Fishing Bundle
The Garmin ECHOMAP UHD 73cv Panoptix Ice Fishing Bundle is an excellent fish finder for ice fishing and for regular fishing outside of winter too.
Display
The fish finder comes with a large 7-inch screen with excellent resolution and contrast that makes it easy to read in any light conditions.
You can also split the screen into 3 on the fish finder to see multiple data views at the same time, like the flasher, sounder, and charts, giving you all the info you need to know what’s going on underwater in one place.
Touchscreen
The fish finder also has a touchscreen plus navigation buttons on the side. The touch screen makes it easy to navigate through the software, and when you’re wearing gloves you can use the buttons so your hands don’t get cold.
Sonar
This ice fishing fish finder comes with both CHIRP and ClearVu down imaging. CHIRP is perfect for general scanning and will give you a detailed image of the entire water column, while ClearVu is the best for seeing extra detail when you have found a fishy spot as it uses high frequency waves that pick up more detail.
Flasher
This ice fishing fish finder also comes with a flasher for vertical fishing, which is what ice fishing is all about. Ice fishing flashers show the bottom, your bait, and any fish, live, so you can move your bait past fish, and see if they eat it or not.
They are one of the best things to come out of ice fishing electronics.
Fish ID
This ice fishing fish finder also comes with a fish ID feature making it easier to read the sonar images, and you can even record and review your sonar history for post fishing analysis of what worked where, when, and why. It’s also useful for marking spots that you might have missed because you were too busy catching fish on them.
Charts
This ice fishing fish finder also comes preloaded with LakeVu charts giving you 1ft contour maps of 17000 US lakes.
This is not only great for picking good ice fishing spots but ideal for use outside of winter for navigation with the GPS and finding good areas on any lakes you haven’t fished before.
Price Range
These ice fishing finders are extremely expensive, but that is because they come with everything you need to fish on the ice, and on boats, in any bit of fresh or saltwater on the planet.
Specs
- Size Display: 7 inches
- Display: Color touchscreen
- Waterproofing: IPX7
- Power: 500 W RMS
- Frequency: 130-300 kHz
- Sonar: CHIRP, ClearVu
- Flasher: Yes
- Global Positioning System: Yes
- Memory: MicroSD
- Charts: Yes, LakeVu preloaded
- Transducer: Panoptix
- Depth: 800ft
- Wi-Fi: Yes
- Bluetooth: No
- Water Temp: Yes
Pros
- Large, sunlight-readable screen
- The touch screen makes it easy to navigate the software
- There are also buttons for when your hands are wet
- Accurate GPS for navigation and marking waypoints
- Comes preloaded with LakeVu charts
- Built-in flasher makes ice fishing easy
- Great for use on boats and when ice fishing
- Record and review sonar history
- Good target separation and fish ID feature
- Split the screen to see your GPS and maps, flasher, and sounder all at once
Cons
- Extremely expensive
Lowrance HOOK Reveal 7 SplitShot Ice Pack
Another great option for all year use as far as ice fishing finders go.
Lowrance HOOK Reveal 7 SplitShot Ice Pack
The Lowrance HOOK Reveal 7 ice fishing sonar is another great option for all year use as far as ice fishing finders go.
Features
The pack comes with a carry case, ice transducer, and is preloaded with C-Map US Inland charts that give you 1ft contour maps of over 4000 US lakes.
With all these features at your fingertips, you’ll be able to see fish with the sonar, find good spots with the charts, and mark them with the GPS and use it to navigate your vessel safely around in the summertime too.
Display
The ice fish finder features a large 7-inch screen that has great resolution and contrast so you can see your charts or sonar image clearly, even in direct sunlight. You can also split the screen into 3 views to use the sonar, charts, and positioning system at the same time so you’ll never miss a trick.
Sonar
These ice fish finders come with both CHIRP sonar and DownVison sonar to give you detailed images of everything that swims beneath you down to 500ft.
CHIRP gives you accurate images of the entire water column and is great for prospecting and general use.
Once you have found something that looks fishy, you can switch to DownVision mode to get even more detail and see what fish are down there and even their size.
FishReveal
Another great feature of this fish finder is FishReveal. FishReveal removes any clutter like debris from the sonar image making it a lot easier to identify targets to fish for.
It works by enhancing the image so you can see the shapes clearly and know what they are more easily.
GPS
You can also use the GPS on the fish finder to locate good spots on the lake you’ve found with the charts, and mark them so you find them again.
The GPS and charts are also handy for when the ice has melted and you’re boat fishing, as you can navigate around the waters safely, and mark good fishing spots that might work in the winter too.
Battery
The only downsides to these ice fish finders are that they come without a battery, so you’ll have to buy a 12-volt separately to take with you and there is no fish flasher for vertical fishing.
Specs
- Size Display: 7 inches
- Display: Color
- Waterproofing: IPX 7
- Power: 300 W RMS
- Sonar: CHIRP, Downvison
- Flasher: No
- Global Positioning System: Yes
- Memory: MicroSD
- Charts: Yes, C-Map US Inland preloaded
- Transducer: Included
- Depth: 500ft
- Wi-Fi: No
- Bluetooth: No
- Water Temp: Yes
Pros
- Comes preloaded with bottom contour maps of over 4,000 US lakes
- Durable, waterproof, and shock-resistant
- Large, bright, easy to read LCD display
- Simple and easy to use
- Gives accurate sonar images
- Create your own maps with Genesis Live
- Use DownScan Imaging for a super detailed image
- Accurate GPS for navigation and marking fishing spots
- Target separation made easy with the Fish Reveal feature
- Compatible with multiple chart providers
- Good for all year round use
Cons
- No built-in flasher for vertical fishing
- You’ll have to buy a battery separately
Best Handheld Fish Finder For Ice Fishing
Deeper PRO+ Smart Sonar
A portable fish finder that you can connect to your smartphone to see what’s happening underwater.
Deeper PRO+ Smart Sonar
The Deeper PRO+ Smart Sonar fish finder is a little different from the other ice fishing fish finders featured in the review as it comes without a display and uses your smartphone or tablet instead.
Connectivity
It’s pretty cool as far as ice fishing electronics go, coming as just a ball that acts as the transducer that also creates a Wifi hotspot for you to connect it to your smartphone through.
Once connected, you can use the Deeper Pro app to see exactly what’s under the transducer.
Range
The genius of this design is that you can drop the transducer anywhere within 330ft of your phone and still see a detailed sonar image.
This means you can tow it behind a boat, use it from the shore, cast it into an area that looks fishy, and of course drop it in your ice fishing hole
Sonar
The fish finder uses a wide dual-beam angle for good coverage and hits depths of up to 260ft, more than enough for lakes, rivers, and fishing from the shore.
It sends the image to your phone or tablet and you can easily identify fish, structures, and the bottom.
The fish finder also has a flasher mode for vertical fishing, ideal for angling on the ice, and it even builds contour maps within the app using the GPS for you.
Battery
The fish finder has a long battery life of 6 hours which is pretty good, but you can’t extend the battery life by swapping out the battery.
So, when it dies you’ll have to stop fishing and recharge it which may be a little inconvenient on a long fishing trip.
You can charge it in your car, via a wall socket, and with a power bank, so you’ll be fine charging it in the evenings on a multiple day fishing trip.
Weight
The fish finder is also quite heavy to cast, and you might risk losing it if you don’t use a heavy enough line, so don’t use anything under a 60lb braid.
Specs
- Size Display: Smartphone or tablet
- Display: Smartphone or tablet
- Waterproofing: Fully
- Frequency: 90/290 kHz
- Sonar: Dual-beam
- Flasher: Yes
- Global Positioning: Yes
- Memory: Smartphone/cloud
- Charts: Self-mapping
- Transducer: Included
- Depth: 260 ft
- Wi-Fi: Yes
- Bluetooth: No
- Water Temp: Yes
Pros
- Fully portable and castable
- Connection range of 330ft
- It creates a detailed GPS sonar contour map for you
- Simple and easy to use
- A solid battery life of 6 hours
- Simple to charge with Micro USB
- Gives you nice detailed images for ice fishing
- Has a flasher mode for vertical fishing
- Great for shore fishing, ice fishing, and drift fishing
Cons
- Once the battery life dies, you have to go and recharge it
- Heavy when you want to cast it
What Are Ice Fishing Fish Finders?
Fish finders for ice angling are similar to a normal fish finder except they don’t need mounting to a boat and are fully portable fish finders.
They come with a display unit, an ice fishing transducer, and if it’s a top-rated one, a protective carry case and battery life to power them with.
Usage
Using them is easy, just carry the fish finder to your ice hole, connect up the battery and transducer to the display, and drop the transducer in the ice hole.
Within a few seconds, you’ll start seeing sonar images of any fish swimming under you and begin catching them.
Why buy an ice angling fish finder?
Going out on the ice without a fish finder is like going angling blind in comparison…
Going out on the ice without a fish finder is like going angling blind in comparison.
You can’t see anything but ice and therefore have no clues as to where the fish might be hiding.
Once your hole is drilled you can either sit and wait for a few hours to see if any fish eat your bait, or look and see if there are any fish there with a fish finder and move spots quickly if not. This is just one advantage, here are some more.
Advantages
- You can see what depth fish are sitting at and drop your bait down to match
- Use flashers to pinpoint lure, fish, and bottom depth to target your catch more effectively
- Use the charts and GPS to plan your fishing spots effectively and know where you are on the lake
- Find structures where fish might hold like pinnacles or fallen trees
- Mark good spots to come back to
Who Should Own a Fish Finder?
In my eyes, fish finders aren’t for a serious angler only, but for anyone who goes out on the ice to catch some fish.
They make a huge difference to your catch rate, and you don’t just have to use them in winter either, they work in summer too.
With a good fish finder, you’ll be able to build a picture of any lake you like in every season.
Within a month or two of using them, you’ll understand the fish movements in the lake and how they think, and always be on top of them.
Things to Consider When Looking for the Best Ice Angling Fish Finders
Finder Display
The display is one of the most important parts of any depth sounder as it’s where you’ll be reading all the sonar data and controlling the unit from. The key things to consider are size, readability, and usability.
Size & Readability
The larger the screen, the easier it’s going to be to see. Screen sizes vary from 3.5 inches to 7 inches in the finders above but, the larger the screen the higher the price.
The best way to approach this is to go for the biggest screen within your budget.
Resolution
Readability also comes down to resolution, color, and a backlit display.
All the finders in the reviews above are in color, are sunlight-readable for use in every light condition thanks to their LED backlight, and have good contrast.
TIP
Make sure any finder you pick has all of these so that you can use them no matter the lighting.
Finder Usability
If you’re on the ice, you’re going to be wearing gloves, and it’s worth thinking about how you’re going to operate your finder with them on.
Many fish finders have either touchscreen controls, buttons, or both.
Using a touchscreen with gloves is a no go, it needs bare skin to function, so when looking for a finder to use with a glove on, you’re going to want one with buttons.
TIP
All the finders in the review have buttons to make using them in the freezing cold weather with gloves as easy as possible.
Sonar Features
There are some key things to look out for when it comes to sonar features and ice angling, mainly accuracy, depth, and whether the finder comes with a flasher or not.
Sonar Depth
Every finder in the review has a different maximum depth it can read to and the depths range from 260ft to 1600ft.
You should think about where you plan on fishing, and how deep the water gets, not only for winter but for summer angling too if you plan on using your finder all year around.
TIP
Once you have worked out the deepest bit of water you’re likely to be fishing in, then pick a finder to match.
Location
If you only plan on using the finder on your local lake, 260ft is most likely more than enough.
But, if you want to go fish in the ocean in summer and then lakes in winter, a finder with a range of 1600ft is going to work better for you.
Sonar Accuracy
The accuracy of sonar comes down to the frequencies the sounder supports, and how they are sent out.
The most accurate images come from CHIRP sonars that send out up to 5 multiple frequency waves simultaneously from low to high to give you the most detailed image of the entire water column so you can spot fish, structure, bottom contours, and more.
Finder Flashers
A flasher is an incredibly useful tool on the ice.
It shows you the bottom depth, your boat depth, and the depth of any fish under you.
Check out the Garmin Panoptix PS22 Ice Fishing Bundle in action…
You can use the flasher to move your bait to the same depth as the fish, and you can start watching fish approach or chase the bait and either eat or refuse it.
If the fish eats it, you know you’re using the right lure, if you don’t you know to change or fish it differently.
Information like this is priceless and only the best ice fishing flashers give it to you.
NOTE
Not all finders come with a flasher feature, but a lot of the ones in the review do and I highly recommend getting one that includes a flasher.
You don’t just have to use it on the ice either, it’s perfect for any kind of vertical angling like jigging, and in any season.
Sounding Out
Thanks for reading my article about the best ice fishing fish finders, I hope you enjoyed it and found the best ice fishing fish finder for you.
Ice angling is tough enough and tools like fish finders and flashers make it a whole lot easier.
Best Underwater Fish Finder For Ice Fishing
Best Handheld Fish Finder For Ice Fishing
You’ll be able to find better spots faster, and target the fish you’re seeing with the flashers more effectively than ever, catching more fish in less time, and getting home before you get too cold.
If you haven’t quite made your mind up about which ice fish finder is right for you based on frequently asked questions, here are my top rated ones from the article and for different reasons.
Top Pick
The best fish finder for ice fishing in my eyes is the Garmin ECHOMAP UHD 73cv Panoptix Ice Fishing Bundle.
This fish finder has every sonar feature you could need from flashers to CHIRP and ClearVu.
It’ll give you incredibly detailed sonar images down to 800ft and it comes preloaded with the charts of 17000 US lakes, plus a GPS to use while you’re on them.
Best Underwater Fish Finder For Ice Fishing
My top-rated ice fish finder if you’re on a budget or want something more portable is the Garmin Striker 4.
This fish finder is small, light, affordable, has great sonar including CHIRP and flashers, plus it’ll let you know your position and even make maps of where you’re fishing for you plus a load of other useful features.
Feel Free To Share
Thanks again for checking out my article, I hope you found it useful and have found the fish finder for you.
Please share it around with your fishing buddies or anyone you know who’s looking for the best ice fish finder. They are the best ice-angling tools around, so you can spend more time fishing and less time freezing.
Also, be sure to check out the site for other fishing information, such as this review of the Lowrance HDS fishfinder series or this review of the best ice fishing floatation suits.
Happy hunting, and tight lines.
