EUFAULA, Ala. (July, 2008) – Humminbird^®’s new ICE-55 Flasher captured Best of Show honors in the Electronics Category at the 51^st annual International Convention of Allied Sportfishing Trades (ICAST) show held in Las Vegas, July 16-18.  The New Products Showcase competition drew 695 tackle and accessories entries.  Entries were judged by buyers and media representatives based on innovation, execution, workmanship and practicality.

“As we prepared to enter the ice fishing market, it was critical in our mind to offer real innovation in the category,” Humminbird Senior Brand Manager Jeff Davison commented.  “We spent 2 years working with some of the best anglers on the ice to understand how they use flashers, and what features they would want if they could build their own. This is not smoke and mirrors, the new features on the ICE-55 Flasher give anglers a competitive advantage and are exclusive to Humminbird.”

Among the never-before-seen features in a flasher on the ICE-55 are a 6-color fiber optic display and a groundbreaking, exclusive LCD display.

Prior to the ICE-55, LCD displays were non-existent in extremely cold conditions.  However, Humminbird’s LCD screen is engineered for peak performance in temperatures as cold at 20-degrees below zero Fahrenheit.

The LCD display also allows the ICE-55 to automatically adjust the depth scale, eliminating the guess work and estimation of depth scale overlays.  Based on depth scales ranging from twenty to two hundred feet, the LCD display instantly shows an exact depth reading as a large, easily visible number, rather than a tic mark.

The 6-color fiber optic display on the ICE-55 Flasher gives ice anglers a greater distinction between targets in the water column.  This gives ice fishermen the ability to distinguish between a weed shelf, school of baitfish or a trophy fish.  However, if a more traditional 3-color display is preferred, the flasher also has two, 3-color palette options.  ICE-55 users will also notice the model’s unique purple target line.  Ice fishermen can set the target line at a specific depth so they know exactly what depth they should lower their jig.

A dual beam transducer (selectable 9 or 19 degrees) that allows the flashers to double the view of a specific depth range in the water column is yet another innovative ICE-55 feature.  Other flashers only allow users to zoom in on the very bottom section of the water column.  When ice fishermen press the zoom key, two tic marks bracket the area to be zoomed by 2x on the flasher display.

“This is the second time in three years that Humminbird has captured the ICAST Best of Show award in electronics,” Davison said.  “This demonstrates our continued commitment to innovation and our desire to lead the way in providing anglers with state-of-the-art products.”

In addition to the ICE-55 Flasher, Humminbird is also introducing two other models (ICE-35 and ICE-45) to fill out the product line.

For more information contact Humminbird, 678 Humminbird Lane, Eufaula, AL 36027, or call the Consumer Resource Center at (800) 633-1468.  ICE Series models will be available at www.humminbird.com after September 1, 2008.

The Marine Electronics Group of Johnson Outdoors Inc. consists of the Humminbird, Minn Kota and Cannon brands.  Humminbird^® is a leading innovator and manufacturer of fishfinders, fishfinder/GPS combo units, chartplotters, marine radios and digital depth gauges.  Products in the Humminbird line include 1100 Series^™, 900 Series ^™, 700 Series^™, Matrix^® Series, 500 Series^™, 300 Series^™, Fishin’ Buddy ^™, PiranhaMax ^™, SmartCast ^™ and ICE Series^™.  Minn Kota^® is the world’s leading manufacturer of electric trolling motors, as well as offers a complete line of battery chargers, Trim Tabs and marine accessories.  Trolling motors include Terrova^™, PowerDrive^™ V2, Fortrex^™, Maxxum^®, Edge, Vantage^®, Vector^™ 3X, Traxxis^™, Endura^™, Riptide^®, Riptide SF, Riptide ST, Riptide SP, Engine Mount, E-Drive and Trim-N-Troll^™ models.  Cannon^® is the leader in controlled-depth fishing and includes a full line of downrigger products and accessories.  Downriggers include Digi-Troll^™, Magnum, Uni-Troll^™, Easi-Troll^™, Lake-Troll and Mini-Troll^™.