Marcum showdown 5.6 in open water question

[gsp]

Not sure if any one will have any info on my specific question but here goes.  I just got my showdown recently and want to try it out in the open water just to make sure its good to go for the winter time.  I spend most of my summer fly fishing and i do a lot of fly fishing while  the boat is anchored.  I fish some fairly small flies such as chironomids straight below the boat with a sinking line while anchored.  Would the showdown be able to pick up my small fly, and a split shot a foot above it, or would this be asking to much.  I just want to test it out as i do a lot of fishing this way and can see this being productive.  I know the showdown was not intended for open water use but while anchored i could see that it should be able to mark as many fish and it would in the winter just not sure if it would pick up my fly.

I did have it out once already but could not quite dial the sensitivity in.  It seemed as if i went over 4 on the sensitivity i got a lot of clutter, not sure if this is normal.

Thanks for any input

[chukkrok]

Yes , It should absolutely show you your hook, it will pick up your shot also.. I have a showdown, and I have used it with my kayak in the lake..and I don't have any issues with noise . If you have the sensitivity high,  you'll get a lot of stuff being pickd up, but I really like mine, had it for a few yrs now,, and still on original battery...like that vertical screen moreso than the dial type flashers...especially when you can watch something come from bottom, and get your stuff.......

[TType86]

It should still be able to read the fly and split shot. Problem with what your trying is in open water, a light weight jig or especially fly in your case, will tend to drift out of the cone angle and cause it to be hard to read. Youd be surprised how much of a difference a little bit makes. Im not sure what the cone angle is on the showdowns. Its probably 20 deg if i were to guess. If you want to try it, Id suggest tieing on a larger ice jig instead and try to make the jig hang slightly horizontal. That will help pick up the jig better. If its still drifting around causing it to flicker out on your screen, add a split shot on the rig and it should help. Should be able to read both the split shot and the jig. Through the ice will be much easier because your not dealing with wind and current drift etc, moving your jig outside of the cone angle of the finder. But to answer your question, yes absolutely you will be able to read your jig. Key is to keep it in the cone angle. Thats the challenge in open water while vertical jigging but its doable. I do it for crappie all the time.

[gsp]

Yes , It should absolutely show you your hook, it will pick up your shot also.. I have a showdown, and I have used it with my kayak in the lake..and I don't have any issues with noise . If you have the sensitivity high,  you'll get a lot of stuff being pickd up, but I really like mine, had it for a few yrs now,, and still on original battery...like that vertical screen moreso than the dial type flashers...especially when you can watch something come from bottom, and get your stuff.......

Thanks for the input, regarding the sensitivity setting, whats a high setting?  I had mine at only 3 or 4 and anymore than that it seemed to clutter.  Was not sure if that has to do with the algae bloom that was in the lake or not. 

This is my first ever ice fishing unit so its all new to me.

[gsp]

Thanks for the input, regarding the sensitivity setting, whats a high setting?  I had mine at only 3 or 4 and anymore than that it seemed to clutter.  Was not sure if that has to do with the algae bloom that was in the lake or not. 

This is my first ever ice fishing unit so its all new to me.

I will keep that in mind about trying to keep it in the cone angle.  I have a pretty fast sinking line that does not tend to drift away while anchored but it can get windy lots here in BC which can push the line out of the cone angle i would imagine.

[gsp]

Just curious if anyone else has used the showdown in open water recently, im going to try it again wanted to see if anyone has had any luck with it.


thanks