first flasher/gps/chartplotter?

[deffect]

Hey guys, lookin for some advice/opinions on flasher or flasher gps combos. I have been looking to buy my first flasher and been doing a bit of research. I was first looking at the vexilar fl 12 or 18 but am now questioning a combo such as the humminbird ice385 ci or ice 597 ci. Does anyone have any first hand experience with these machines? Any opinions or advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks

 

 

 

Bring on the ice!!!

[mike rousseau]

I have the 597ci hd with a portable pack and ice-ducer and love it on the ice....

 

The only thing is for some reason it reads a second bottom.... So I manually set the max depth...(anybody know how to fix this?)

 

But the 3 and 5 color flasher modes are great...

 

Sonar is good too...

 

And having GPS is so helpful...

[Live2fish85]

How good is the 597civic in deep water mike, have you used it in anything over a 100'?

 

Sorry OPEN don't mean to hijack the thread.

Edited December 15, 2012 by Live2fish85

[mike rousseau]

How good is the 597civic in deep water mike, have you used it in anything over a 100'?

 

Sorry OPEN don't mean to hijack the thread.

 

Only in the boat.... Works great... Mark my jig in 80+ feet

 

I don't really fish deep very often tho

Edited December 15, 2012 by Mike Rousseau

[RJackson]

If you owned a smartphone I'd suggest the Navionics App for a whopping $15. There's your GPS and mapping covered off. Best deal there is!

 

I'd go flasher if you planned to use it for ice fishing only. FL18 or FL20 will do the trick for all depths.

 

RJ

[wormdunker]

I own Bird ice 55, Love it!! Can watch my bait go down to say 40 feet, see fish suspended at 22', reel up to them, wham! fish on! Even watch whitefish come up from the bottom to smack my lure at 20'! What a rush! Never used it in deep water so, sorry can't help u with that question. Get the ice 55 well worth the $$$.

[Woodsman]

I have a Humminbird Ice 345c and it works great. No problem seeing my jig in 120'.

Same sonar as the 385 minus the GPS.

Use the sonar screen and not the flasher screen.

The Humminbird GPS Uni-Map is very basic and you will want to add a map chip to it. Until 31 Dec. Humminbird is offering a free Lakemaster chip with the purchase of a finder/gps unit.