PiranhaMAX™ Series 160PT Portable Fishfinder

[tight_lines]

Does anyone use this unit for ice fishing?  I would assume you can use it for ice? I don't have much money so a flasher is out of the question.  Any comments appreciated.

EDIT: just read on cabela's that you can use for ice fishing. 

So if you have one, how do you like it?

[TType86]

I dont think this unit comes with an ice style transducer but a transom mount transducer with the suction cup mount. It will not work very well with the thicker cord and that style transducer for ice fishing. And im not sure they even make an ice ducer for that unit. Sure, you could rig it to get bottom readings, but I dont think you will be happy with the setup and performance of that unit for ice fishing. It doesnt have a flasher mode either. And the scroll speed of the graph is kind of slow on that unit too I believe. Sorry if this is disappointing to you, but Im just tryin to help ya out. Id check on local ads like craigs for a used vexilar fl8. Very good cheap unit. Might find one even cheaper than that bird. Good luck.

[bmxrider11976]

i use one. its not bad. i got it for my jon boat in the summer, but figured i would give it a shot in the winter. i can successfully mark fish with it, and pick up my jig as well. it does take a little riggin to get the provied transducer to stay straight and read properly. they do sell an ice ducer for the unit as well, though it costs like 80 bucks i think. i'm tight on money and dont really have the luxury of being able to fish everyday so i figured this was the right unit for me. i cant warrant spending 400 dollars on something i will only use 5 times a year. for 130 dollars, its not a bad unit. yes you get what you pay for, and it doesnt have all the confangled gps/color/lakemaps/flasher/sideimaging stuff the others have. but it marks fish, and my jig. so it works fine for me. hope that helps. maybe ill get around to getting my pictures up of the setup i have for it.

[flywatersmallie]

x2 on watching Craigslist.... I was ready to pull the trigger on one of these, mainly due to the price. I just hadn't made it over to pick it up yet and came across a like new X6c Ice Machine on the list for $150. There are deals to be had to be sure

[tight_lines]

i use one. its not bad. i got it for my jon boat in the summer, but figured i would give it a shot in the winter. i can successfully mark fish with it, and pick up my jig as well. it does take a little riggin to get the provied transducer to stay straight and read properly. they do sell an ice ducer for the unit as well, though it costs like 80 bucks i think. i'm tight on money and dont really have the luxury of being able to fish everyday so i figured this was the right unit for me. i cant warrant spending 400 dollars on something i will only use 5 times a year. for 130 dollars, its not a bad unit. yes you get what you pay for, and it doesnt have all the confangled gps/color/lakemaps/flasher/sideimaging stuff the others have. but it marks fish, and my jig. so it works fine for me. hope that helps. maybe ill get around to getting my pictures up of the setup i have for it.

Thanks for the info.  What is needed to be done to get the transducer to stay straight?

Also, I've been checking craigslist and there only seems to be real old fish finders on there or flashers still $250+ and that's out of my range.

[Woodsman]

In the past I've used a Humminbird 170 for icefishing. The 170 has more power, pixels & levels of greyscale but the 160 should work fine.
Mine wasn't a portable but I rigged it up to work.


Getting the transducer to hang level is important. Here's my method.

The foam I got from a surplus store for $0.49 but a piece of pool noodle with a hole down the centre would also work. Cut to centre & slide cable in than use electrical ties to secure. Tighten up so that you can just slide the cable through the foam so that you can adjust the height but it won't slip. The green bracket on the transducer is a bracket used for attaching a chain linked fence to the pole. Adjust so that the transducers hangs level & secure with electrical ties.
Packs up better than using some form of pole/rod/stick to insert the transducer into the hole & hold it level.

[tight_lines]

In the past I've used a Humminbird 170 for icefishing. The 170 has more power, pixels & levels of greyscale but the 160 should work fine.
Mine wasn't a portable but I rigged it up to work.
(Image removed from quote.)
(Image removed from quote.)
Getting the transducer to hang level is important. Here's my method.
(Image removed from quote.)
The foam I got from a surplus store for $0.49 but a piece of pool noodle with a hole down the centre would also work. Cut to centre & slide cable in than use electrical ties to secure. Tighten up so that you can just slide the cable through the foam so that you can adjust the height but it won't slip. The green bracket on the transducer is a bracket used for attaching a chain linked fence to the pole. Adjust so that the transducers hangs level & secure with electrical ties.
Packs up better than using some form of pole/rod/stick to insert the transducer into the hole & hold it level.

Thank you very much! I couldn't have asked for a better description.  Really do appreciate it, just another reason why I love this site.

[lefty2053]

Looks good. I used my Eagle Fish Mark 320 on the ice the last 3 years and it works pretty good. I used this device I found at Sportsmans Warehouse to mount the transducer on. It works up to 30" of ice. The clamp just sits in the snow or slush.

[LDB_Bass_Hunter]

Here is my contraption with pipe insulation as the float.

[TType86]

There is a showdown on craigs list for $125. Its actually the aqua vu VPG (vertical pixel graph). Same thing as showdown. Marcum bought out this and re-named it the showdown. Check the minnesota listings. People will ship stuff if they wana sell it. Also found several fl8's for around 200 or so. Alot of ppl just want to upgrade right now and will off their equipment that is well taken care of and in perfectly fine condition to get something new before ice up. Make ppl offers. Ud be surprised what theyd take I bet. These are all great ideas to rig the transom ducers, but a showdown or mechanical flasher is still FAR better and MUCH more helpful to ice fish with. The concept of a flasher is so you can read your tiny ice jig in relation to fish in REAL time. Watch your jig fall down the water column in real time so you know when your in the right spot. Read bottom through the ice without having to drill a hole. A graph will never even come close to doing this and imo is very close to being useless for ice fishing. If your ok with that, thats fine. But if you ice fish alot, I guaruntee you will just be upgrading next year and spending more money. A flasher will last for years and years of use. My 2 cents.

[LDB_Bass_Hunter]

Totally agree with TType86...I occasionally bring my Pmax onto the ice. It's great for positioning dead bait on a tip up, locating depth, and positioning your deadstick rod. Doesn't really work too well for marking fish. Way better off with a flasher.

[Steellord2]

Does anyone use this unit for ice fishing?  I would assume you can use it for ice? I don't have much money so a flasher is out of the question.  Any comments appreciated.

EDIT: just read on cabela's that you can use for ice fishing. 

So if you have one, how do you like it?

I have one of these units and I'm going to try it on the ice this season. Humminbird does make an iceducer for it too. I found one cheaper than their retail price on Amazon. Here is the link to Humminbird's unit.  http://store.humminbird.com/products/314001/XI_9_20?alt=3

[Woodsman]

  The concept of a flasher is so you can read your tiny ice jig in relation to fish in REAL time. Watch your jig fall down the water column in real time so you know when your in the right spot. Read bottom through the ice without having to drill a hole. A graph will never even come close to doing this and imo is very close to being useless for ice fishing.

Biggest load of crap I've often seen repeated by flasher guys.
A modern fishfinder is as realtime as any flasher & has no problem to "Watch your jig fall down the water column in real time so you know when your in the right spot. Read bottom through the ice without having to drill a hole."
Quite a few users of the Ice67 use them in the graph mode instead of the flasher mode for different reasons. Some are they are easier to read & they will give you a little history if you happen to take your eyes off the unit even for a couple of seconds.
Realtime plays no factor either way. With my Humminbird 170 I have no problem seeing a half oz jig in 90 fow and it moves up & down as soon as I move it up & down.

[bmxrider11976]

here is my set up


this one shows how i set up the transducer. I took a threaded bolt and screwed it into the little spot inside the pack. Then i drilled out a piece of wood and have it on the bolt. Under the wood is a nut so i can move the wood up and down and secure it in place. i then took a rubber plug for beakers that has two holes in it and screwed that to the wood
in the other hole i have the transducer wire so it is much like the arms that comes on some ice fish finders. the length of the wire is adjustable and i jsut have a rubber band as a stopper.

[TType86]

Biggest load of crap I've often seen repeated by flasher guys.
A modern fishfinder is as realtime as any flasher & has no problem to "Watch your jig fall down the water column in real time

Not true buddy! Im sure if you researched it youd find a true answer. You may not notice this delay if your not jigging rapidly, but it is there. Notice it on my bird in flasher mode. Noticed it on my lowrance 522. I may of been exaggerating with comment about a graph being useless. That is more of a personal opinion I guess. But to me a flasher is unbeatable for ice fishing.

[Woodsman]

Not true buddy! Im sure if you researched it youd find a true answer. You may not notice this delay if your not jigging rapidly, but it is there.

If it can't be noticed than what difference does it make?
I'm not cutting down flashers but as far as realtime the difference is un-noticable.
Flasher do work good but if you turn yours eyes away for a couple of seconds you can miss a fish at the outside of your transducer cone that a graph style will still show for a few extra seconds.
A fish raising to your bait can also be seen easily like on a flasher.
Some also find the horizontal set-up of a graph far easier to understand and most graphs have far better zoom options.
Some graphs also have a GPS option (like the Humminbird 580 I now use) that no flasher has.
For me a graph style is a far better option but I don't cut down the flasher style units as you said "That is more of a personal opinion I guess".

[TType86]

Ya, didnt mean to sound prickish and dis on the graph guys. It really is I guess a matter of opinion. Though I do think the delay is very noticable myself. Maybe not on the fall but when you jig it and play around with it raising up and down its quite noticable to me. I myself dont like the sensitivity of them either. Always seems like the jig is disappearing and with sensitivity up more too much junk on screen. Sensitivity adjustments take longer etc...

[lefty2053]

I played with my Eagle Fish Mark320 one day while the grandson caught fish. I was paying attention to my jig falling and jigging on the screen. It worked really good I thought. So good that is all I was doing is watching it on the screen and missed a lot of fish.