Ice Fishing newby question

[buckhorn250]

I'm very new to ice fishing and I'm looking to purchase a fish finder. My question is why do so many people go with the flasher type finders for ice fishing and can you use a maping scanner. Also any recommendations on which model to buy.

 

Any help would be appreciated

 

thanks

[skeeter]

since you are very new to ice fishing why dont you use this year as a test, instead of sinking a lot of money into gear?

if you have a fish finder already you can easly convert it to a portable unit.

put your money into a float suit, which should be first on anyones list.

[walleyejack]

I'm very new to ice fishing and I'm looking to purchase a fish finder. My question is why do so many people go with the flasher type finders for ice fishing and can you use a maping scanner. Also any recommendations on which model to buy.

 

Any help would be appreciated

 

thanks

 

Definatley the float/survival suit, and if you want to learn a few things,RadioWorld is having a free seminar this Sat,Dec 11 starting at 9:30,lots of good info you may be able to pick up. We can all still learn something.

[mike rousseau]

i picked up a vexilar fl-8 ultra pack and had a blast with it...

the only downside is no zoom mode... but most of my fishing is in lessthan 30 fow so its ok for me...

 

threw the ice the flashers are in ther element because you stay on top of what the flasher is reading...in a boat you are usualy passing over fish and structure so you require a sceern that holds some kind of image so you can see everything...

 

believe it or not...last year i was jigging for walleye using my vex and watched one come up to my spoon... i changed my cadence to a faster action and i watched my minnow fall of the spoon and begin to sink... dropping just as fast was the walleye chasing the minnow and after the free meal left the area...without my vex i would not have known that anything happened at all

[addy79]

Hey Buckhorn,

 

I picked up a Humminbird 343C, its awesome. portable with a protective case, TONNES of great features, including a flasher feature for ice fishing; even allows you to insert Navi Maps into it for full gPS capabilities.

 

Ran me around $500...

 

check out the link:

http://store.humminbird.com/products/307123?product_id=5798b8345403ec4af04a6212936a987d

[addy79]

Hey Buckhorn,

 

I picked up a Humminbird 343C, its awesome. portable with a protective case, TONNES of great features, including a flasher feature for ice fishing; even allows you to insert Navi Maps into it for full gPS capabilities.

 

Ran me around $500...

 

check out the link:

http://store.humminbird.com/products/307123?product_id=5798b8345403ec4af04a6212936a987d

[addy79]

my bad, its the 383C

 

http://store.humminbird.com/products/307019?product_id=dcdf75323265a8b70f105c52071c5dcd

Edited December 7, 2010 by addy79

[mike rousseau]

Sorry... My vexilar was $300 American at gander mountain

[Guest gbfisher]

Get an X67 or an FL18 minimum. The FL8 is only good for shallow water ...under 30 feet as MM said. The Humminbird Ice 35 works well. I've seen each of these units work side by side and they mark quite well.

The Marcum on the other hand...I can't stand all the ORANGE....lol

[adempsey]

I think traditionally people went with a flasher because LCD screens did not stand up to the cold as well [i am not sure how true this is, but it's a common argument for flashers]. This may still be an issue if you're fishing in extreme cold, but I am not really sure. Regardless, the LCD models are very popular now, so that should say something. One other big difference between the two sonar types is that flashers have a motor that spins a disc with the LED on it around. So, you now have an additional moving part in your equipment. Over time the brushes will start to create dust and the unit will likely need to be cleaned of dust after a couple of years or so.

 

The two sonar types aren't really that different from each other in terms of function. The LCD types simply show the history of the sonar pings over time on the LCD screen. A flasher just shows real time using LEDs. The sonar pings from the water column are also displayed in a circle in a flasher instead of a straight line. Otherwise, the flasher would be physically large [although, technically impossible since they LED spins around]. One different type of flasher, The Showdown by Marcum, is an LCD "flasher" that displays the water column linearly, but it lacks the history display you see in the typical LCD sonars, so is a very small LCD screen. If you look at any sonar on the right hand side the sonar pings are displayed in the exact same manner. You just typically look at the sonar ping history and not the very right hand side of your sonar.

 

You will also hear people mention that flashers are "real-time" with respect to the time between sonar pings and the change in the display; and that the LCD models have a slight delay between the sonar pings and what is on the screen. I am not sure if this is still true, and if it is, if it's at all significant. Maybe at really cold temperatures, I have no idea. I think if it was an issue the LCD models would not be as popular as they are.

 

The LCD models with history also have a flasher mode which simply displays the sonar pings in the traditional circle display with no history.

 

Flashers - there are three popular manufacturers of flashers, Vexilar, Marcum and Humminbird. The first two have been around for a long time, while Humminbird just introduced their ICE flashers to the market last year [or the year before, I forget]. Each company makes several models, although Vexilar has the most models. The price points are similar for all manufacturers for the various models. There are some differences between them that you need to investigate to determine which is best for you: maximum depth, target separation and zoom. The various models often use different transducers too, single vs dual vs tri beam; and display three to six different colors. Interference rejection [removes cross-talk between flashers that are used in "close" proximity to one another] can also be important depending on how you fish, but I believe all models have decent interference rejection. Which one you buy will depend on what you fish for and your budget of course [i'd say there are three price points - $300-350, $400-450 and $500-550].

 

ALL three companies are popular and have similar warranty, although if I were to guess, Vexilar is probably the most popular but Humminbird has really gained a chunk of the market. However, I would not attribute this to one being technically superior to the other, it's more about word of mouth, availability and personal preference. Besides the difference in the specs (i.e., max depth, transducer etc.), make sure to look at the small differences like battery life, battery indicator, carrying case, display type (flat vs. traditional),etc. This is where personal preference comes into play. It's the same thing as the age old "which truck do I buy" problem.

 

There is another type of flasher called the Showdown, which is manufactured by Nature Vision. Nature Vision recently purchased Marcum so it's being marketed under that name. It's essentially like a flasher but uses an LCD screen instead of LEDs and a motor to display sonar pings. It's a linear display and has no history; basically it's a standard sonar without most of the screen. It's also gray scale, unlike the typical flasher that displays three to six different colors. It seems to be very popular and is at the middle price point. Although, there are two models based on the transducer they come with (single vs. dual beam).

 

LCD sonars - Lowrance and Humminbird both make portable ICE models. Lowrance has the X67c and Humminbird has the 345c and 385ci. These are all color displays. I think the 385ci comes with a GPS. I believe the Humminbird models use the same transducer as their flashers. I think the biggest benefit of these models is that they can easily be used on open water like a traditional sonar, although you do have to purchase a different transducer. You can still do this with flashers, but I find them better to use when you're not moving around. The sonar ping history helps a lot in a boat, IMO.

 

Another important thing to consider is you don't need to have an ICE model sonar. You can use any portable sonar. You have to rig up the transducer to work for ice fishing or buy an ice fishing based transducer, but you can still do it.

 

I'd highly recommend going somewhere where you can see and use the various models. They are all popular. You need to find one that suits your specific needs. I own a Marcum LX5 flasher. I like it a lot, but if I didn't already have a portable sonar for open water use I would most likely have gone with an LCD ice sonar.

 

I also agree with the float suit. That is far more important than the flasher. After a flasher, the next toy I would get is a portable GPS unit. I love my hand held unit [with lake depth maps of course] so I at least know where to start poking holes.

Edited December 7, 2010 by FishLogic

[DRIFTER_016]

I'm partial to my Marcum LX-5 as well.

What sold me on this unit over a Vexilar was the dual beam transducer and ability to use the zoom anywhere in the water coloumn, the vex's only have bottom zoom.

 

The problem with LCD units not made for ice fishing is the display is adversely affected by the cold, it really slows down the colder it gets. The ice fishing units have a heater that warms the liquid crystal display to keep it functioning in the cold properly. I tried a conventional lcd for ice fishing and found this out first hand. At -20 it was all but useless.

 

Edited December 7, 2010 by DRIFTER_016

[Old Man]

As other have said, the great thing about a flasher is that you can see your hook and watch as fish approach it. It certainly adds to the whole ice fishing experience. I personally have a FL-8 Vexlar, which some have said here is only good up to 30 feet. I use mine to fish for lakers in water up to 80 feet with no problems. I've also have friends with other makes and models, Marcum's and Hummingbirds and they all are good. All I can say is once you get use to ice fishing with a flasher, it will be hard not to.

Edited December 7, 2010 by Old Man