Zoomin’ in on the Zone

It’s hard to imagine ice fishing without some form of electronics anymore. I’ve tried a couple times and I just feel blind, naked, and afraid. It wouldn’t be so bad if fish were just jumping on the ice but oftentimes it isn’t that easy. Knowing if they are around and how they are reacting to your presentation is everything.  But there is a lot more than just simply pushing the on button if you want to get the most out of them. I’m going to focus on zoom here but if there are any burning questions you have drop me a note.

My primary unit is a Humminbird Helix 7 and unless I’m in really shallow water I’m typically running on a split screen zoom. Meaning I have 2 different screens up at once, one focuses on the entire water column and the other zooms in on a selected section of water. It’s pretty simple when I’m perch fishing out deep I just keep the zoom locked onto the bottom.

But what if the fish are suspended? Humminbird makes this really easy, the up and down keys simply move the zoomed in section around the water column. This was extremely helpful when I was fishing some suspended bluegills in 40-50 feet last weekend. Adjusting the zoom area to where the fish were was incredibly quick and easy.

But why zoom? It’s going to amplify the part of the water column where all the action is going down. The fish, my jig, and all the action is going to be much easier to see. Target separation is going to be more obvious and coaxing fish into biting is going to be easier. It’s worth the couple seconds it takes to swap screens and dial it in. Flasher mode on the Helix units and the Humminbird flashers are also capable of zoom. Take the time to zoom in it will be worth it!