blake
Life Member
<span style='font-size: 14pt'>Fish finders key for ice fishing enthusiasts</span>
Dustin Anderson won't leave for his home on the ice without one.
The 27-year-old Council Bluffs ice fisherman says a day at the lake goes 100 percent better since he's added a sonar flasher to his arsenal.
The $300 to $600 fish finder is like having a camera under the ice, says Vickie Modlin, the owner of Woods Sporting Goods near Lake Manawa in Council Bluffs. She says that probably four out of five fishermen have one.
"You can watch your bait go down on the screen, and you can watch the fish bite it," Modlin said. "It's very cool. Most of those guys have to have those toys."
Anderson, who was perusing the fishing equipment at Woods last week while he waited for the freezing weather and wind to pass on, said he owns a cheap rod and reel. But he's splashed out on his hut, heater and fish locator. He owns the $500 Vexilar variety.
It's not like an actual camera, he said, where you can tell what kind of fish you're chasing. Instead, the fish show up as a tiny red mark on the round screen.
"It's very detailed," he said. "You can tell the difference between weeds and brush and fish. If you don't see fish on your screen, then move."
His Vexilar can mark the fish through the ice, so he doesn't have to drill a hole until he finds what he's looking for.
"I wouldn't fish without one now," he said.
Anderson fishes with a group of 10 that includes his father Denny and brother Clint. He's out on the ice every week unless it gets too windy. "I actually wouldn't be caught dead out there today," he said Wednesday. "Not enough layers."
Manawa is a popular destination, but Anderson says he shares the love with Pony Creek, Mile Hill and Arrowhead State Park in western Iowa.
Although he practices catch and release, he wants to make sure that there's plenty of fish for Manawa's Winterfest Derby on Jan. 31. Last year, a record 1,100 people participated, and they're hoping to top that number this month.
Modlin says there is 12 to 14 inches of ice at Manawa for the second year in a row. She was expecting big crowds for the three-day weekend as the weather warms up.
"You'll have little villages on the lake this weekend," she said.
PM
Ron Wyllie
Southwest Iowa IBA Area Representative
[email protected]
