So microspikes appear to be essentially what I had, just a different brand. I linked them below. I wear an 11 boot so I bought the XL. That was in February last year and they broke. A couple weeks ago.

Anyone make it out anywhere today?

Didn’t end up getting out last weekend, so wondering if I missed my shot. Anyone know of anything viable north of the twin cities?

Fishing last weekend was a bust but the ice was fine (12 inches) around St cloud. Anyone got updates on viable ice?

Thanks much all. Going to do an afternoon run. Appreciate it

Easy choice. My striker predator suit was hands down the best buy for the season. Following that was probably the VMC fly and bull fly jigs. Slayed pannies with them.

Are you sure? The minnkota site shows 3 options per this.

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I’m new to late ice, so take my assessments with a grain of salt. I was going to try to fish the metro area a little after work today. I tried a small (100 acre) lake within 2 miles from the house and the ice was pulling away from shore around most of the perimeter so a plank couldn’t even reach.

I figured bigger might be better so I checked out Nokomis and they had a lot of the shore barricaded off with signs and such saying danger unsafe ice and whatnot.

I checked out one more small lake nearby and similar to the first.

None of the 3 lakes had people on them. All 3 were pretty cloudy looking on the surface and did not seem to have any snow base sans some frozen looking mounds on Nokomis. So with all that said, and decent lakes in the area? If not, how far out are people thinking they’d have to go Sunday to find solid ice for walking?

Any input? Is this the wrong board maybe?

I really like my helix 7 and have used some other vex units. It does have a little learning curve, so if you’re not big on figuring out settings and stuff that might be a deterrent. If you are using it for open water make sure you do research into what you want. I made the mistake and bought a unit without mega side imaging (only regret). Upgrading to a lithium battery is a must imo.

If the version on the helix says the newer one, it installed successfully.

Looks like they might be out of stock. I was in store at reeds last weekend and their striker stuff was all 50% off too, in case that helps.

Yup I’ve used mine both ice (2 seasons) and open (1 season) with the corresponding modes. It is good to know thats what the “n” means. I feel like I figured that out during my original research but misplaced in the memory banks.

I wish I knew when I snagged the unit that all newer units have ice mode available. I missed out on mega side and mega down as a result.

It looks like the only reason a model has ICE in it is that it is bundled with the ice transducer and cradle.

It is the ice all season model I posted above (ICE H7 CHIRP GPS G2N AS). So maybe the web info is incomplete or the ICE g2n is really just the sonar g2n head? Kind of like the g3n comment ejdelvo28 made above. Or they gave me bad info. Hopping not that.

Got in touch with hummingbird coa chat. They confirmed my unit will work to link to the minnkota motors. Thanks all.

My helix is model tag is ICE H7 CHIRP GPS G2N AS so definately able to be non g3 ice.

So additional question on this. Does anyone know if the Helix 7 g2n ice unit supports ipilot link? I’ve been considering a new trolling motor and thought it did but now I’m not sure.

Living in the twin cities metro, I fish mostly panfish on lakes within an hour of me, so night fishing post dinner could be a possibility.

The main concern is night fishing alone. It doesn’t bother me, per se, but I know it is less safe. I’ve done it a few times, but in situations where I set up and scouted during the day. I actually try to avoid fishing the same lake twice a season so there would be added risk trying a new lake after dark.

I always let someone know where I am (usually with location sharing on), picks, spud bar, float suit, crampons, etc.

Dang that sucks. Thanks

Not sure what type of interference you were getting but I can share an odd one I was getting this weekend.

In about 30ft of water, hard bottom, I would get a perfect 45* angle line on the graph. The first time it happened I thought it was a fish streaking up from the bottom to hit but realized what happened on the second pass.

The IR chirp toggling and gain reduction helped. It was still there to some degree but not as impactful.

Well rehashed options with the wifey and we’re going to wait until next season (or end of) to do something new. Thanks all for the inputs and appreciate all the thoughts.

With the kdrill there are a few settings to dial in.

The gear. Your drill should have a slide of some sort, likely with two gears (low/high). Usually 1 is low and 2 is high. You want it on the lower setting.

The type of drilling (drill, screw, or hammer). You want it on the drill setting.

The clutch setting (likely dial with 1-some number e.g. 22). When on the drill setting, my understanding is that it doesn’t matter what you set it to (1 or 22). That only comes into play with the screw setting because it limits the amount of torque the drill will put on a screw before disengaging (prevents burying the screw e.g. in drywall, or snapping/stripping the head).

While another helix on the boat would be nice, the h7 g2 appears to retail for 600ish while the vexilar fl-80 appears to be about 400. That gap might be a little hard to justify.

Oh also forgot to mention. Make sure the drill is in low gear and on drill mode (not screw or hammer). Also, obvious I know, but check the chuck is still tightly secured. They can come loose if not tightened well.

All good info about late ice and judging it. I never trust any ice really but good to keep in mind about not trusting ice you’ve already checked too.

I really try to be safe. I always have a set of picks around my neck (two spare sets for wife/guests) and watched several videos (of course staged but useful) of how to use them and subsequently move away while staying prone. I use an ice chisel every time I go out (free workout), even with trucks on the lake. I’ve got a throw rope clipped to my bag to aid others or have them aid me. I have striker float bibs (jacket next season) that I wear every outing.

The anti-interference is probably worth it alone. 50% of the time fishing open air we are pretty close and do a few house trips a year.

Gotcha. Mostly panfish in this area.

This is not just for finders but any tech you buy (computers, routers, modems, electronic thermostats, phones, etc.); make updating firmware/OS the first thing you do. These products get built and flashed with the firmware available at the time and rarely have the most current version installed by the time they get to you. Tech moves fast and until it becomes an automated process, we have to take it on ourselves to keep up. I only say this because I was overzealous to get my helix.7 gn2 out on the ice when I got it last year and didn’t heed my own advice. Night and day the next trip:-)

Few things that I’ve run into, beyond just drill power (I consider this one a given as the manufacturer has specs for them)

#1 is make sure the auger isn’t iced up. I’ve had that happen with my kdrill and it stops it dead. Doing a few revolutions in the just drilled hole (so in the water) while drawing the auger out and then giving a few more midair flicks the water off. Don’t set the setup on snow/ice if you can help it. I always set mine in my sled. Spray PAM cooking spray on the auger before heading out. Since doing the above I haven’t had any ice ups in my last 3 times (2 prior I did)

Also thoughts on these convertibles? Good reviews but I always worry they are based more on looks than function.

ViGrace Winter Knitted Convertible Fingerless Gloves Unisex Warm Wool Mitten Glove for Women and Men https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07RPLMLQ3/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_lcshEb2DP16WH