Showdowns still being used? Made?

[TubeDude]

I used a Showdown for the last 3-4 years I still fished through the ice.  While I greatly admired the skill and success enjoyed by some users of the circular flasher models, I found them too "busy" for my liking.  I liked the simpliciy of the vertical display much better...and the real time display of fishy activity below without having to interpret color and width of lines, etc.  A lot of the fish I caught on most trips were directly attributable to having a Showdown and learning how to use it to full advantage. 

One of the biggies I enjoyed was being able to cover a lot of area and to shoot down through clean ice to see what was below...without having to drill holes.  I took apart the bag setup that came with the Showdown and made my own mounting arrangement with an insulated drink bag...using PVC (what else) for a mounting riser.  This setup fit in my sled and I could move across the ice...with an insulated container of warm water...dribbling a little on the ice wherever I wanted to "shoot" and getting an instant read on depth and fish below.  That saved me a lot of time and hole drilling on numerous trips.  Here are a few pics of my setup.