Flashers for ice fishing

[MCTFisher9120]

I have a humminbird ice 55. Excellant unit, easy to use. Love the zoom feature on it. And the digital display is great.

 

I second that, very nice units. Lot's of people seem to buy them.

[scugpg]

you need a fishfinder

 

I will go head to head with anyone

me with a hds5 and you with you flasher

but I do need to be far enough away from you to get away from the rf splatter from your unit and when the ice goes, I will hook up my expensive piece of equipment to my boat

you will find a nice place on a shelf for yours

 

Exactly. You can tune them out if you tweak some of the settings and with HDS you can also switch to 83khz which should eliminate the noise all together but 200khz is better for right below you.

 

I've never used flasher mode on an HDS before....once you use the graph you never go back.

[kickingfrog]

I like, and use, my fishfinder more. I think the main reason is that it gives me a bit of "history" as to bottom contour on open water, and fish movement on the hard stuff.

[Terry]

I have nothing against flashers

it was the only game in home in the beginning

and I know people who have it down to a science , they love them

but todays fishfinders are real time and with the Amplitude Scope bar (is a vertical flasher) they do everything the flashers do

 

and does have flasher mode if the mood strikes you

IMO

[strik]

I have the vex 18 love it

 

With that being said this is my first flasher and the only one i have used

 

If i had to do it over again i would make the same purchase i like the idea of using this flasher in the summer with the bottom lock

 

Good Luck

[Fish Farmer]

Lawrence Green Box flasher went out with the Doe Doe Bird. Why go back-wards to moving parts. LCD came on the market and we don't look back. Flasher is time display, you look away for a minute and you miss. At least with a LCD the mark will stay on the screen for awhile. I have a cheap Cuda portable works great. For whities I use the zoom and it works for me. 80" foot of water I can see my jig on the bottom.

I wonder if anyone uses the flasher mode on a LCD I'm with Terry on this one.

Edited December 11, 2011 by Fish Farmer

[RickOnt]

Well Vin you asked for "View Points" So here's my $.02!

 

I have been using the H-Bird 55 since Dec '08 and it is a great unit and I would highly recommend it!

 

But having said that I have seen all the makes at work Vex,Marcum and H Bird and they all work and all do mark fish and all are accurate.

 

You need to learn how to set up your machine, how to read it and to trust what it is telling you.

 

The H-Bird 45 and 55,The Marcum Lx-5 and Lx-7 and the Vex Fl 18 and Fl 20 have similar functions and do pretty much the same job.

 

As for interference I have fished within 30' of my friends Lx 5 and no issues and a Bud has set up his Lowrance x67 in my portable so within 5 ft of the H Bird and no interference on either unit.

 

As for the best unit for the $$ and what will work as advertised you will be hard pressed to find a better deal right now than the Lowrance 67-Icemachine, Gagnons had them on for $249 as a door crasher but you can still get them for $279.

 

On another note!! In '08 when I bought my H-Bird 55 I did not have a fishing boat.

 

This last summer I bought a boat and am now looking at a Lowrance HDS Gen 2 Likely the 7.

 

As Terry stated this gives you more options again, GPS with mapping and set up to be portable would be a year round use!!

 

SaltyDawg Whenever we get Ice here on Simcoe/Cooks Bay and you are in the neihborhood look me up and I would be more than happy to show you the H-Bird in action

 

 

Rick

[Sinker]

I'm another graph guy. No need for a flasher. My graph marks the same fish as any flasher does, and I get to use it all season long.

 

S.

[BillM]

So would you be willing to show me how to fish using a flasher?

When I buy one I will not be familar with the basic aplications.

 

Cooks bay ?perch would be a good start.?

Ill bring the food and bait.

 

Buy a normal fish finder instead, a lot easier to read

[ckrb2007]

I'd also take a graph type finder over a flasher any day. You can tell a lot from just a little bit of history on the screen.

[esoxcrazy]

Flasher over LCD in cold weather anyday. I would have to say my Ice-55 has been my best asset fishing for all seasons. The realtime reading of the flasher will be that split second you need some days on your display. With the power of the unit I use it all year and just have the puck in a bit of water in the bottom of my grumman canoe and can mark my 1/32oz jig in 20ft of water. I have had mine since '08 and have had to replace the motor in it last year (warranty) and they gave me another full year warranty on the unit. I think the 55 and the marcum lx-5 are the best of the best and each have there own pros. I fished with the showdown a fair bit last year and still found the display slow compared to the top end flasher. I know there are a thousand people using the lowrance X-67, and basic fishfinders will work, but I like my unit to react the same in all fishing conditions. I have seen the slowness at cold temps with LCD. I cannot say enough about the hummingbird line and I am not gonna knock the vex as I don't have much experience with them and we have no local retailer so it was off my radar when choosing. The seperation will blow you away with the 55, especially in deep water.

My only complaint with the hummingbird is the ability to reduce/increase the gain, from 1-50 you will need at least a setting of 40 even in 20 ft or less. either no power or full power.

[Terry]

can you tell me one modern lcd fishfinder that isn't real time

 

I think that is a marketing ploy for flashers and they are right they are real time but so are all my fishfinders

 

and my unit reacts just fine in -30 but my x67c and my hds5

 

again 100% real time on the Amplitude Scope bar everything to the left is wonderful history

 

but the OP wants a flasher and they are a fine piece of equipment and will serve you well and I can't argue that

Edited December 11, 2011 by Terry

[Photoz]

I had an FL8 SE for 4 years, not used a lot . . . I sold it to Big Cliff about 3 years ago, not because there was anything wrong with it . . . . I just needed a new toy! Not long after I sold the FL8 and bought an FL20 I found it wasn't $250.00 better than the FL8. Yeah, for the DEEP water (100+') for whities & lakers, if definitely gives you an edge . . . . but I did fine with the FL8 too. If ya like fancy playthings and got a few extra bucks you don't mind parting with the FL22 is where it's at. My only minor complaint is the read-out is kinda small . . . gotta use the readin' glasses to see the numbers! The battery is good for at least 2 - 8 hour fishing expeditions, and keeps it's charge for a lo o o o n g time, nearly a year unattended (I forgot about it)and the battery was still at about 80%!

[vinnimon]

Vinny if you compare those in a similar price range. They are all pretty much the same. I have a lowly Vex FL8 and have no intentions of upgrading. It does what I need it to do.

 

I am pretty much a perch fisherman through the ice. Does the unit catch me more fish? I really don't think so...but I have fished perch for years and have go to lures and go to locations. But I have to say I do love watching things unfold on the screen. Bringing fish up off the bottom or targeting specific suspended fish and watching them home in on your bait is very entertaining. I do these things randomly anyway as from years of perching I know to mix up my presentations to attract fish...so like I said I usually get those fish anyway. It's just so much more fun being able to watch it happen Electronics IMHO make it way more fun.

 

 

ive out fished good gents while using my aqua view and them using a vex , only reason being i can actually see what the fish were doing with my bait. Now I can go done to 100 fow water but i usually get tangled up with the cord, fish on or not. Dont get me wrong i love the view by all means, i just need someting easier to deal with.

[limeyangler]

Flasher over LCD in cold weather anyday. I would have to say my Ice-55 has been my best asset fishing for all seasons. The realtime reading of the flasher will be that split second you need some days on your display. With the power of the unit I use it all year and just have the puck in a bit of water in the bottom of my grumman canoe and can mark my 1/32oz jig in 20ft of water. I have had mine since '08 and have had to replace the motor in it last year (warranty) and they gave me another full year warranty on the unit. I think the 55 and the marcum lx-5 are the best of the best and each have there own pros. I fished with the showdown a fair bit last year and still found the display slow compared to the top end flasher. I know there are a thousand people using the lowrance X-67, and basic fishfinders will work, but I like my unit to react the same in all fishing conditions. I have seen the slowness at cold temps with LCD. I cannot say enough about the hummingbird line and I am not gonna knock the vex as I don't have much experience with them and we have no local retailer so it was off my radar when choosing. The seperation will blow you away with the 55, especially in deep water.

My only complaint with the hummingbird is the ability to reduce/increase the gain, from 1-50 you will need at least a setting of 40 even in 20 ft or less. either no power or full power.

 

 

 

Erm...dude...the ice-55 is also an LCD display.

[Garnet]

The high end Hummingbird and Lowrance are combination LCD and Flasher. Watch your rightside screen the first 2 vertical lines.

 

Humingbird call it RST Mode = fancy words for flasher mode.

Lowrance call it Active line = fancy words for flasher mode.

 

By the time anything gets on your LCD screen it's history.

[Terry]

never heard of these words you are using..but everything on the lcd screen is lcd

on Lowrance the bar on the right Amplitude Scope bar is lcd and is real time and clearly everything to the left is history and still lcd

 

as already stated in this thread

 

 

 

can you tell me one modern lcd fishfinder that isn't real time

 

I think that is a marketing ploy for flashers and they are right they are real time but so are all my fishfinders

 

and my unit reacts just fine in -30 but my x67c and my hds5

 

again 100% real time on the Amplitude Scope bar everything to the left is wonderful history

 

but the OP wants a flasher and they are a fine piece of equipment and will serve you well and I can't argue that

[BillM]

Flasher over LCD in cold weather anyday. I would have to say my Ice-55 has been my best asset fishing for all seasons. The realtime reading of the flasher will be that split second you need some days on your display.

 

I've never seen a LCD with a delay of any kind while on the ice. Even the lower end units.

[scugpg]

I've never seen a delay on an LCD either.

 

You see the fish in real time and you can see the slightest movement on your lure right on the graph and there is no delay on the screen!

[Fisherman]

Some just have to justify spending piles of money on their rotating rainbow of colours. One thing for sure that neither can do is predict whether or not the fish will bite.

[Garnet]

Terry you are right everything on right is LCD Flasher and there is noticeable delay until your LCD screen gets enough history.

 

Get your manual out and read it.

[Terry]

Terry you are right everything on right is LCD Flasher and there is noticeable delay until your LCD screen gets enough history.

 

Get your manual out and read it.

 

not true

I watch my jig on the fishfinder and my jig on my underwater camera and my rod tip and I can assure you it is 100% realtime the exact moment or so close that humans can't detect the difference along with the Amplitude Scope barwhich is the right side of the lcd which my manual just stated as being real time display HDS 5

sorry but you are talking about old technology

 

 

<a href="http://s25.photobucket.com/albums/c52/Mrbeee1954/?action=view&current=fishfind.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c52/Mrbeee1954/fishfind.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

Edited December 11, 2011 by Terry

[DRIFTER_016]

I've never seen a LCD with a delay of any kind while on the ice. Even the lower end units.

 

I have. I tried 2 of my lcd units on the ice and both were rough wehn it was cold. I'm talking -25 and colder cold (which is most of the winter). They were noticibly lagging due to the cold.

The only lcd units that I would even think of using up here are those designed for ice fishing as the screens are heated.

[BillM]

I've had my Humminbird 747c out on some pretty cold days.. Only thing I've noticed is the battery draining a bit faster then normal.. It's seen -20 on more then a few occasions.

[Terry]

me too

 

my x67c is made for the ice so maybe it has a heater

and the hds5 has a computer in it and gets warm on it's own, so maybe older or cheaper ones do freeze up a bit

but not mine