# Sonar for ice.



## TClark (Apr 20, 2007)

Looking for opinions here.
Been looking at the Garmin® Striker 4 Sonar/GPS Combo for $99.

Good? Bad? Ugly?

Thanks in advance,
Terry


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## allwayzfishin (Apr 30, 2008)

I think it would do just fine. The only thing I’d suggest is a good case and possibly an ice diver.


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## HeaVyMeTaLFiSHinGFiEnD (Oct 2, 2010)

I used mi


TClark said:


> Looking for opinions here.
> Been looking at the Garmin® Striker 4 Sonar/GPS Combo for $99.
> 
> Good? Bad? Ugly?
> ...


I used my striker on the ice last year. While the flasher units built into the garmins arnt as sensitive as a vexilar or other dedicated ice sonar it did the joh pretty well. Ill try and find a picture of my setup, but i basically had the head unit on a ram ball mount attached to an old plastic tool box. It was nice because i had enough room in the toolbox for the battery, transducer , scupper, and rods. The only thing you have to make sure of is getting your transducer to sit horizontal in the water. The nice thing about the garmins to is you can switch cone angles.


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## HeaVyMeTaLFiSHinGFiEnD (Oct 2, 2010)




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## swone (Jan 24, 2007)

It will definitely work. I have a Striker 7 that I use with the ice conversion kit . The only drawback I have to mention is that it has a lag compared to my Vexilar but if you have never used a Vexilar I don’t think it would be a problem. It drives me crazy because I’m not used to the timing


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## bustedrod (May 13, 2015)

use my garmin on the ice, i have a wooden box the batt sits in and the ducer is held on by a flexible arm so i can adjust it in the hole. i usually i put the ducer down the hole and rotate the ducer 180 so it sits under the ice in the hole out of the way. use the a scope and you get a real time on the edge. have a striker on the back of my boat and it works great you will like it..


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## STRONGPERSUADER (Nov 5, 2006)

I’d go with a Marcum or a vex. They have been in the game forever and rule the roost. I’ve had the LX7 for sometime and upgraded to the lx9 last year. No disrespect to Garmin, great sonars, but you definitely get what you pay for in this situation. Good luck.


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## bumpus (Jan 17, 2015)

A buddy of mine bought a striker four and we could never get it to show anything other then the bottom it wouldn't pick up any size lure even with the gain turned to the max


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## miked913 (Feb 29, 2008)

I have a striker 7 ice pack and I love it, I don't even use the flasher mode any more I like it on traditional sonar with the a-scope on. If there is a "lag time" I'm too slow to notice it.









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## HeaVyMeTaLFiSHinGFiEnD (Oct 2, 2010)

bumpus said:


> A buddy of mine bought a striker four and we could never get it to show anything other then the bottom it wouldn't pick up any size lure even with the gain turned to the max


Was the transducer sitting flat through the hole?


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## HeaVyMeTaLFiSHinGFiEnD (Oct 2, 2010)

STRONGPERSUADER said:


> I’d go with a Marcum or a vex. They have been in the game forever and rule the roost. I’ve had the LX7 for sometime and upgraded to the lx9 last year. No disrespect to Garmin, great sonars, but you definitely get what you pay for in this situation. Good luck.


I agree. I pulled the trigger and bought my vex last year and couldnt imagine being on the ice without it.


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## TClark (Apr 20, 2007)

Found a Marcum LX-6S for under $100.


Alwayzfishin??
Ice Diver??


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## swone (Jan 24, 2007)

miked913 said:


> I have a striker 7 ice pack and I love it, I don't even use the flasher mode any more I like it on traditional sonar with the a-scope on. If there is a "lag time" I'm too slow to notice it.
> View attachment 335475
> 
> 
> Sent from my moto z3 using Tapatalk


I don’t know if lag time is the right term, but it’s just a little bit different timing and I found it incredibly annoying, but then again I’m usually annoyed when it comes to anything being different. Because I’m a man. And I only like things to change when I change them.


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## miked913 (Feb 29, 2008)

swone said:


> I don’t know if lag time is the right term, but it’s just a little bit different timing and I found it incredibly annoying, but then again I’m usually annoyed when it comes to anything being different. Because I’m a man. And I only like things to change when I change them.


Sorry but that sounds like something my wife would say. Maybe you me "Wo" man?

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## bumpus (Jan 17, 2015)

HeaVyMeTaLFiSHinGFiEnD said:


> Was the transducer sitting flat through the hole?


Yeah I took a dowel rod and zip tied it to the transducer then drilled a hole in a piece of 2x4 to keep it straight up and down


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## fishwendel2 (Nov 19, 2007)

Buy the ice transducer and everything will be fine. Yes...almost the same price as the unit itself but well worth it. No monkeying around just drop it in the water and you are done. 


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## bumpus (Jan 17, 2015)

fishwendel2 said:


> Buy the ice transducer and everything will be fine. Yes...almost the same price as the unit itself but well worth it. No monkeying around just drop it in the water and you are done.
> 
> 
> He may do that I'm not sure I told him to send it back and buy a vexilar
> ...


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## swone (Jan 24, 2007)

and the survey says… Number one answer!!!


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## Dan1881 (Aug 27, 2018)

I use my striker 5 with the ice transducer it works great..i mounted mine to a small plastic work cooler..works perfectly, battery is stored inside.


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## bustedrod (May 13, 2015)

nice


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## Ey3FrenZy (Jun 9, 2010)

I'm a huge fan of the Vex. But, I also wanted to try out a digital ice combo so I purchased the Garmin Echomap. Yes, it's nice that it has a map, split screen and all these different features, but the first and most annoying issue I noticed was the "lag" on this digital unit compared to the Vex. If you've never fished with a Vex or Marcum then you wont even "see" the difference. Nowadays there are so many great ice fishing units out there, you just have to see what you're willing to pay.


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## dgfidler (Sep 22, 2014)

I made an ‘ice box’ for the Garmin echomap plus 93sv. I took an old Ryobi charging unit and rewired it so it outputs power to the cord rather than 110 input. Kdrill setup uses same battery. I put a ram Mount in the box also. I had this ready to go last year and we never got ice that I was comfortable going out on. Hoping for cold weather to move in. 











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## bustedrod (May 13, 2015)

thats a nice set up ya got there. when ya ice fish with kool electronics its like a video game , teasing the fish to bite, leading them to see how far they will chase that day is kool ,.. its just a blast.


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## Nowake71 (Jul 7, 2018)

I started out with the hook2 for $99 it did the job


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## allwayzfishin (Apr 30, 2008)

Well I started with a marcum lx3, then bought a vex sl8, sold it, bought a bird 598 with ice dulcer and maps, Kept it, then bought a vex fl18 and I catch fish on them all. As long as you can physically see fish under you and how they react to your presentation It doesn’t matter the lag. You’ll feel the bite before you see it actually bite. So my suggestion is to just use what you have and learn it. You’ll catch more fish with what you have than fishing without anything. I actually like using the graph Because it has the history on the screen to see when your not paying Attention​


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## swone (Jan 24, 2007)

Ey3FrenZy said:


> I'm a huge fan of the Vex. But, I also wanted to try out a digital ice combo so I purchased the Garmin Echomap. Yes, it's nice that it has a map, split screen and all these different features, but the first and most annoying issue I noticed was the "lag" on this digital unit compared to the Vex. If you've never fished with a Vex or Marcum then you wont even "see" the difference. Nowadays there are so many great ice fishing units out there, you just have to see what you're willing to pay.


Exactly!


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