Getting LX-7 readouts before drilling any holes?

[rickwalley]

Before starting to drill holes, who tries to use their LX-7 not just to check depths, but also to check for fish down below? I'm guessing you can wet the ice so the transducer makes good contact to get a depth reading? Is the LX-7 good enough to show "stuff" is down below also?

[Naturboy]

I'm pretty sure you can do that with all sonars. If it's clear ice with no air pockets it should read fine. I take a large water bottle and leave the cap on and cut a hole near the cap the size of a small apple, then drill a hole and hanging onto the bottle top dip the bottle into the hole to fill it with water to pour on the ice.

[JigginIsLife]

Yup up to about 8 inches most flashers will give you a reading of under 20 ft or so. A little spit will go along way in getting a good reading, but the cone should be as flat as possible, make a decent spot with no snow or air pockets, and the ice should not have cracks or refreeze marks on the top. You should see a decent bottom.

[DTro]

There was 1/2" of water on the ice last night. I just dragged the Vex ducer around till I found fish.