Standard vs ice tranducer

[DawntoDusk]

Just looking for opinions from others experience. Is there much of a performance difference in a standard tranducer vs an ice tranducer? Is it worth the extra cost to purchase an ice tranducer?

[Walks on Water]

I'd built a little t-bar out of old pop-up shack poles to hold the boat transducer down the hole, and it worked fine.

I picked up an ice 'ducer for my Striker 4 last winter and am happy I did. It's just easier to get it pointing straight down.
It's heavier duty and rubberized, too. Just a feeling, but it seems like the cone is more true with the ice 'ducer as well.
It's better, IMO, but isn't essential.

[MumbleSEED]

When I first purchased by Striker 4 I used the boat ducer with a modified PVC style float rig that helped keep the boat ducer straight down.

Last season I as well purchased the ice ducer for the Striker 4 and noticed a difference in the consistent direction of the cone which would provide not only better bottom detail but also give you a more accurate depiction of what is directly at or under my bait/line.   

Agreed it is not essential, but I am happy with that purchase and upgrade. 

[slamber]

When I first purchased by Striker 4 I used the boat ducer with a modified PVC style float rig that helped keep the boat ducer straight down.

Last season I as well purchased the ice ducer for the Striker 4 and noticed a difference in the consistent direction of the cone which would provide not only better bottom detail but also give you a more accurate depiction of what is directly at or under my bait/line.   

Agreed it is not essential, but I am happy with that purchase and upgrade. 

Same here. Used a boat ducer for several seasons to save money and it worked fine as long as you figured out how to get it to point straight down. Ice ducer is easier to use as it naturally points down and has less cord to deal with. But you can catch fish with a rigged boat ducer.

[RapShack]

Just looking for opinions from others experience. Is there much of a performance difference in a standard tranducer vs an ice tranducer? Is it worth the extra cost to purchase an ice tranducer?

They are all easier to use but as for performance difference it somewhat depends on the brand and what options they have available.  The ice transducers from Garmin are available in narrower cone angles than the standard skimmer.  Last I looked at Lowrance and Humminbird they were all 20/60 or something like that. 

[CL_Outdoors]

Well shooot, looks like we all ditched the boat ducer for the ice ducer last season!! 

I did the same thing and concur with all responses thus far. The garmin ice ducer feels way more heavy duty and has more precise cone angles to give you a better view of your A-scope.

When I had the boat ducer while ice fishing, i would tie fishing line between the mounting holes and put the cord **under** the line in order to make it hang straight, but as the season goes on that knot loosens and its a constant checking process, regardless of how you set it up. Ice ducer its just drop and go. Def worth the extra money IMO.

[straightShot]

With the Humminbird ice transducer, adding the transducer and choosing ice mode in the setup menu gives you flasher and 2D sonar views.