Garmin Small Ice Pack Rod Holder

[RStock521]

I wanted to add a rod holder to my Garmin UHD 73SV small ice kit that was non-permament and that I could still use with the bag. I went up to the hardware store and picked up a 1" PVC "T" connector and cut a notch into it that is about the width of the side handle. I cut one notch a little deeper than the other so the rod holder was slightly angled outwards so the rod angles away from me when carrying it.  I drilled a hole through the "T" wide enough to thread a 12" Nite Ize gear tie through it to secure it to the side handle.  It works great and the side pocket closes without issue while it's attached.  It attaches in a few seconds and nothing is permanent.

[Dave R]

I don't own a Garmin but that's a great idea! Nicely done!

[RStock521]

Thanks Dave!  I'm hoping someone has an even better idea or improvement on this 

[burtmcgurt]

Looks great - simple and effective!

Would you mind letting me know how you like the echomap and how the battery life is?

[RStock521]

Looks great - simple and effective!

Would you mind letting me know how you like the echomap and how the battery life is?

  It's going to be a little while before I can give an honest review.  It doesn't look like we're going to have ice for at least a month by the way the forecast is looking.  Coming from a Lowrance Elite 5, I am definitely loving Garmin's user interface and touch screen a lot more.

[burtmcgurt]

Thanks!  We are looking at getting a garmin because it can split duty between winter and summer.

I doubt we would even add the transducer to the boat, just using the lakevu maps and gps for general guidance.

I’ve never had a flasher/fish finder, very new to all of it.

[badger132]

I have the 73SV with the ice kit, and the battery lasts dawn to dusk without a problem. I always charge it up at night, so I can't say how many days, but I use high brightness, and it is still plenty.
The maps that came with my version are only so-so for my lake, I have heard it varies lake to lake.
The sensitivity and usability are good, sometimes the touch screen is unresponsive when it is very cold, or maybe when my fingers are very cold.
In all I have been very satisfied, but I miss the light weight of my Marcum Showdown. I still take it when I am walking. It goes several days on 6 AA batteries.

I got sonar settings from a Garmin Facebook page. They work well for me:

Garmin sonar settings

I have two different Garmin sonars ... EchoMAP CHIRP 53dv and EchoMAP Plus 95sv ... and also both ice transducers above. Targeting perch and walleye typically in 20-30 FOW always using 'Traditional Sonar' with 'Split Zoom'; zoom window on the left and full water column on the right. Following are some of my preferred sonar settings for the 95sv; almost all settings stay the same between uses (i.e. cycling the power) until you change them again.

'Menu - Zoom - Split Zoom - [On].

'Menu - Range' set to [Auto] and 'Zoom' set to [Manual] with a 5ft zoom window.

'Menu - Sonar Setup - Scroll Speed' set to [Ultra].

'Menu - Sonar Setup - Advanced - Interference' set to [Off] and 'Surface Noise' set to [Hide].

'Menu - Sonar Setup - On-screen Control' set to [Gain].

'Menu - Sonar Setup - Appearance - Color Scheme' set to [Classic Blue].

'Menu - Frequency' usually set to [CHIRP] but I sometimes check out different 'Beam Width' settings ... interesting to see the return signal change while cycling through the different settings. The GT10HN-IF ice 'ducer provides 7-16 degree beam width and the 8HW-IF 16-24 degrees.

I want the lure return signal to always be visible but as fine as possible so, depending on depth etc, will usually have the 'Gain' somewhere between 40% - 60% accordingly.

I typically have the Backlight set at 30-50% evenings or inside a shanty, and 50-70% outdoors in daylight.

By the way, the EchoMAP Plus 95sv touch screen with keyed-assist features are absolutely AWESOME! (Also applies to EchoMAP Plus 7x models.) Simple two-finger motion to resize the zoom window or single finger swipe to move the zoom window anywhere within the water column. Four 'memory' keys to instantly jump to your most frequently used screens in any combination of sonar and/or navigation. Choice of On-screen Control ... Off, Gain or Range.

[Drift Dodger]

I thought the detail above looked awful familiar. Actually it's not originally from Facebook but rather my reply in a posting last February ... https://www.iceshanty.com/ice_fishing/index.php?topic=376225.msg4062466#msg4062466.

[badger132]

I thought the detail above looked awful familiar. Actually it's not originally from Facebook but rather my reply in a posting last February ... https://www.iceshanty.com/ice_fishing/index.php?topic=376225.msg4062466#msg4062466.

Right you are Drift Dodger! Thanks again for the excellent instructions! I should have known all the best tips are from Ice Shanty!

 

[burtmcgurt]

Thanks for all the feedback!