This review of the Humminbird ICE 55 Flasher will help show you that it is a top model flasher that competes with the best flashers out on the market. Humminbird is a well-known brand in the fishing world, particularly with their open water fish finders like the 1198c. The ICE model flashers come into the ice fishing world ready to take on the competition. The great, user-friendly features will help all levels of fisherman catch more fish. Scroll down to learn about many of the features of the Humminbird ICE 55.
Humminbird ICE 55 Features
- 6 color fiber-optic flasher display
- 2,400 watts peak-to-peak power
- Battery indicator on LCD
- Seven automatically adjustable depth scales
- Soft-sided carrying case
- Dual beam transducer
Display
The Humminbird ICE-55 was the first ice fishing flasher with a backlit LCD display within the flasher dial. Since then, other flashers have come into the market with LCD screens, but with Humminbird being the first, you can be sure they are an innovative company giving fisherman quality products. The 6 color dispay can satisfy any fisherman as you can change the colors around if you are color blind, or sensitive to certain colors. The LCD also has a battery monitor on it, letting you know how much fishing time you have left on your battery charge.
One extra feature that the Humminbird ICE 55 has is a target line. This is just one of those little things that you barely notice right away, but don’t want to live without. All it is, is setting a little line in your flasher dial to a certain depth and it will stay there. This is particularly helpful for marking a particular depth of suspended fish, so you can keep your lure at or above the same depth of the fish. You will know every time, how far you need to lower your lure into the water.
Zoom (Adjustable)
Having a flasher unit with zoom capabilities is absolutely crucial when fishing for fish that are always in a particular part of the water column. The ICE 55 has an adjustable zoom, so you can set it where you want in the water column. This means that on the right half of the screen, you can display the zoomed in area, and on the left side, you can display the full depth of the water column.
Besides the adjustable zoom, you can set a manual zoom to several depth settings. Oh yeah, there is also an Auto Zoom feature that you can use. It automatically zooms to the bottom setting your flasher dial to be optimum for showing the complete depth. This means you won’t have to turn the dial to find a depth setting that works best, but loses part of your flasher dial. How awesome is that?
The overall zoom capabilities and ease of use make this flasher a must for multi-species anglers.
ICE 55 Additional Features
Transducer
The ICE-55 has two different transducer cone angles-9 and 19 degrees. The different cone angles help suit a variety of fishing situations that can help out any ice fisherman.
If there is a common downfall to the Humminbird ICE flashers, it is the way the cords and float are set up with the transducer. Many fisherman experience the transducer not reading their lures, and this is because the transducer is hanging at a slight angle due to the cords. Due to patent restrictions, they had to build it this way, but you can make sure it hangs straight by ensuring the support cable holds the weight of the transducer, not the signal cable. Some fisherman make easy adjustments to make sure it hangs straight every time. With a little online research, you will see what I am talking about.
Interference Rejection (IR)
The interference rejection on the ICE-55 is in a frequency of it’s own, literally. If you have ever used a flasher next to other fishermen with flashers, you know that it can drive you nuts to get interference and have your screen going haywire. The ICE-55 (and other Humminbird ICE flashers) run on a different frequency than their competitors, thus giving the Humminbird optimal screen viewing against potential interference. The ICE-55 will block out almost any interference from other brands of flashers, with 10 different levels of IR and running on a different frequency.
If you read online forums, you will notice that most Humminbird ICE flasher users rave about their flashers and say the IR can’t be beaten. You should always be able to get your flasher to play nice with other brands.
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Summary and Additional Information
I don’t care what fish you like to fish for under the ice, you will love the Humminbird ICE 55. If you like to fish multiple species, from crappies to lake trout, this will excel. The different frequency, auto depth digital display, target line, and many other features will help save you time and help you catch more fish, which is the bottom line.
After a long day of fishing, the digital battery power display will let you know how much battery you have left, keeping you from any bad surprises of a dead battery.
Overall, this review shows this fish finder is a top of the line performer at a reasonable price, and will give you everything you are asking from it. Click below to find an awesome deal on an ICE-55 for your next fishing trip.