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Here's some general advice: There are two primary kinds of ice fishing fish finder. One is the "Flasher" style with a circular display. The disadvantage of this style is that they have a "real-time" display which only shows what is going on at that moment. It is also a bit less intuitive to interpret because of the circular display. The "Showdown" fish finders also have only a real-time display, but it's easier to interpret because the display is a vertical tower which shows the bottom of the lake at the bottom of the display, and the water surface at the top of the display.I prefer "chart" style ice fishing fish finders, which are essentially identical to the fish finders used in boats except for the transducer. Chart style fish finders show about 15 seconds of history. The returns from the current instant appear on the right side of the screen, and then march left across the screen. So if you look away from the screen for a while, you can look back and see "Hey, a fish came in and looked at my lure about 10 seconds ago." You can see a worm-like track as a fish comes up off the bottom, looks at your lure, drops down a bit, and then heads back up to chomp the lure. I recommend that you look at chart style fish finders.Options you will have with chart style fish finders are black and white versus color screen, size of the screen, and whether the fish finder has GPS and mapping features. I find color screens easier to read than black and white screens. You don't need a very big screen for an ice fishing fish finder, but be sure you can turn the screen up real bright so you can read it when you're out on the ice in the sun. Look for a carrying arrangement which is easy to carry around, protects the fish finder from abuse when it's rattling around in your sled, which will conveniently carry the transducer and its wire, and which will dry out fast at the end of the day. GPS and mapping features can be real useful, but if you may not be able to find those features in an inexpensive fish finder.Once you start using a fish finder for ice fishing, you'll wonder how you ever caught anything before you had one. They are a terrific tool.
I've been using a hummingbird ice 35 for the last few seasons, and I would highly recommend it. It's under $300, it has the zoom function, a nice large readout, and it's dual beam. It also seems to never have any interference when fishing near other flashers, but my friends with vexilars and Marcus get interference all the time. I think for the price, you can't go wrong.MT