Thanksgiving is now behind us—and with it—a significant drop in daytime and nighttime temperature. Yes, there is a skim of ice on small ponds, potholes, sloughs, and backwaters getting ice anglers antsy.
If you haven’t already, it’s time to get your ice fishing flashers, sonar/GPS combos, and live imaging units juiced up for another season.
That said, it can be a bit of a head-scratcher to determine exactly the “right” battery for each specific model. We’re here to help get you exactly the right sonar battery or how you ice fish.
Flashers
Despite all the progress made in ice fishing electronics design, there is still a hardcore group of anglers loyal to mechanical flashers. They’ve worked great since the beginning—and still do. There are benefits to running flashers, like the ability to stay light and nimble on the ice.
That’s where the smallest of NORSK Lithium’s “green” battery family comes in. At a mere 1.4 lbs, the NORSK Lithium-Ion 7.5Ah battery is the perfect upgrade to any mechanical flasher.
This battery allows an angler to signicantly extend their runtime to 25-30+ hours without weighing the flasher down with a lead acid battery, which typically weighs 6+ pounds.
Sonar/GPS Combos
Another NORSK Lithium “green” ice sonar battery, the 11.1V 15Ah Lithium-Ion Battery with Charger, designed to provide provide 15-plus hours of runtime for anglers running 5- to 7-inch digital sonar, like a Humminbird Helix, who are looking for a cost-effective battery that will provide 14+ hours of runtime at full screen brightness on a 7-inch Helix, all without adding a bunch of weight. At only 2.4 lbs,, the 11.1V 15Ah Lithium-Ion Battery with Charger also offers dual USB ports and a digital battery stats meter. With all those features, it’s no surprise why this particular battery is both sold as standard equipment by Humminbird in all of their 7-inch Helix Ice Sonar bundles—and why it has been NORSK Lithium’s #1 selling battery for the last 4 years running.
So, when is the right time to step up from the line of NORSK Lithium “green” batteries to the “orange” 14.8V line of portable sonar batteries? If you answer “yes” to one or more of the following questions, the 14.8V line of batteries is right for you.
1. Are you running Forward-Facing Imaging or MEGA 360 on the ice?
2. Are you running a digital sonar with a screen 9” or larger?
3. Do you need the additional 10-20% longer runtime per amp hour that only a 14.8V battery can provide versus a standard 12V battery?
4. Do you need a battery that will help you sonar unit provide the cleanest, clearest live imaging or 360 sonar images possible?
Large-Screen Combos, Forward-Facing Sonar, & MEGA 360
NORSK also offers a family of lithium ice fishing batteries designed specifically-and tested across the Ice Belt in real-world conditions—to meet and exceed the demands of today’s large-screen sonar/GPS combos, forward-facing sonar, and MEGA 360.
These include: the 14.8v 15Ah (orange), 14.8V 20Ah (orange), 14.8V 32Ah (orange), and pre-order available 14.8V 50Ah (orange) batteries, all designed to both cut weight and exceed the requested runtimes, screen brightness, and image clarity ice anglers were asking out of the most sophisticated ice fishing electronics available today. The secret? More amperage and increased voltage, the latter absolutely critical to the best possible screen brightness and on-screen bait and fish image clarity.
“These are the perfect batteries to meet and exceed the high-power draw digital units with larger displays and accessories like Humminbird MEGA Live, Garmin LiveScope, and Lowrance ActiveTarget 1 & 2,” says Holst.
If you’ve answered “yes” to one or more of the questions above, NORSK Lithium has the perfect battery for you, with models ranging from 15Ah all the way up to the 50Ah model, slated for release Dec. 4, 2023, which we are now accepting pre-orders for! *Note: The new NORSK Lithium 50Ah is designed for and guaranteed to fit in shuttles like Arc Lab, Summit and Fin Gear.
NORSK Lithium’s “orange” batteries’ higher voltage ratings accomplish three things:
Meets/exceeds the high-power draw of today’s digital units while offering huge weight savings over other battery types
Provides today’s digital units with the very best possible screen brightness and bait/fish image clarity
Combined with various amperage run-time specs, allows all-day-plus, reliable, hassle-free performance
With all the same voltage specifications in NORSK Lithium’s “orange” family, it’s simply a matter of choosing the runtime needed for how you fish.
A Seasoned Ice Guide Shares His Experience
Ice guide PJ Vick of Great Lakes Angling Charters is a big believer in NORSK Lithium ice fishing batteries, having put them through the paces for numerous seasons, fishing day after day, dark ‘til dark.
“You know, the green 15Ah that comes standard in Humminbird Helix combo unit bundles works flawlessly. I’ve been using them for years. I’m in the business of reliability. Things can’t go wrong when I have clients on the ice. I love the fact that you get a minimum of two-days of runtime on a single charge,” notes Vick.
“However, when I’m running my MEGA Live and MEGA 360, the “orange family” NORSK Lithium batteries are the only way to go. I fish around the clock which means I need steady power and the very best lure and fish image clarity. That’s why I use the orange 14.8V 32Ah (orange) in all my big screen and live imaging units. It’s fail-proof for how I fish,” concludes Vick.
Vick has appeared on TV across the entire Ice Belt putting NORSK Lithium batteries to the test, he’s also used them day-in, day-out guiding the Great Lakes. With ice conditions spotty throughout his home Ohio region, this season Vick will be guiding primarily via airboat, introducing clients to back waters bites on Mississippi Pools 5 – 10.
RE-CAP
No matter what you’re using to fish, NORSK Lithium has designed power solutions that are optimized for whatever ice fishing electronics you’re using—from mechanical flashers to today’s most advanced forward-facing sonar.
