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Recommendation for ice flasher


Bluegill

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Can't really go wrong with Vex, HB or Marcum.

I have a Marcum and it's a great tool.

Tried a regular FF but it's just too cold for them up here.

The screen just slows down way too much.

Not an issue with a proper ice fishing flasher or LCD sonar with a heated screen like Marcum's LX-7. ;)

The Vex's have a fixed zoom (bottom) while the HB's and Marcum's zoom can be placed anywhere in the water column.

This can be important if you fish suspended fish like crappies.

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Yeah, don't buy a flasher, get a regular fisfinder and iceducer.

 

X 2

 

I sold my vex to help pay for my humminbird 597 ci hd di and portable pack..

 

No regrets...

 

More options and built in GPS... And all my waypoints from soft water because I use this unit in my boat....

 

Vex has a good product... But it's a single purpose tool...

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I was going to buy a black Vex But a friend told me to try my Lawerence 522c it worked great. Like Mike said you have your GPS marks from summer And sonar as the right sidebar which is the live screen of what is under you. It's also nice to see what past underneath you if you have been looking away talking or checking tip ups. The only downfall is if you're fishing with guys using the vex and they have the sensitivity all the way up it will interfere you will have to adjust your screen.

 

All the years I was icefishing before using sonar I never realized the Pickrell would swim 6 foot off the bottom the year I startd to use my fishfinder I spotted them and started to catch them it helped the number on the ice go way up.

 

But you need to have a good sonar not a cheaper one.

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I have an Fl-18, and i love it. In my opinion the vex and Marcum's are far superior to the humminbirds. The only feature my fl-18 doesnt have is zoom, which can be handy for certain situations but is mostly an overrated feature imo. The tri beam transducer is the most important feature for me.

 

A good quality graph works great, but the battery life isnt nearly what you get from a vex from what ive seen. I can usually get 6-7 full trips on a single charge no matter the weather, and are typically a little tougher than a big lcd graph, especially if youre taking it out 5 months a year like me. Just my 0.02

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I use a 'Lowrance X-4 Pro' fishfinder in my kayak and I'm not happy with it.
Don't know how the screen will work at minus 15??

 

 

 

Yeah, i have one of those too (X-4), not the best on the market but you get what you pay for, i only bought it for the transducer as my other one was kaput and when it was on sale was cheaper than ordering a new seperate transducer.

 

All the arguments for and against flasher/fishfinders are going to come up here probably....does every year without fail.

 

The flasher crew have relaxed a bit since the LX-7 came out and broke their own taboo about using graphs on the ice and all the old myths about freeze up/ lags/power etc..etc...etc...and are actually even a bit smug and delusional on some websites acting as if they invented the concept and now we all need to know about it.

 

To be honest i would say that both are excellent tools....preference plays a role here too. I hate looking at the whirly circle display and value the 'screen memory' you get using a graph, it gives me a much better feel for how the fish is moving/reacting than when i use a flasher....yes i have used both, my graph fishfinder has a digital flasher and i have used an fl-18 (vexilar).

 

 

Drifter made the point about the screen slowing down/freezing and that some flashers have heated screens. This will happen i guess at the temperatures he regularly 'boasts' about (crazy sod) but i have had my graph out all day at -20C and below with none of the issues he mentions(you will want a colour TFT LCD)....even the battery will last for 2 or 3 trips at those temps. So, i dont need a heated screen, so as a feature it is redundant to my needs, cuz any colder than -25C will see in my portable shack for most of the day anyway, no need for a heated screen.

 

I think Mike hits the nail on the head.....Flashers are a single use tool....although obviously they can and are used on a boats. If you choose the flasher over a graph Marcum and Hummingbird appear to be the most innovative when it comes to flashers, Vexilar appear to be the Yamaha Bravo of the bunch...it will never let you down. Split zoom is your friend.

Edited by limeyangler
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Guest ThisPlaceSucks

i use a humminbird... great flasher... just make sure you buy a 45 or 55, or one of the more powerful vexilars if you plan on fishing the depths for lakers...

 

people will debate the merits of each, and they both have their pros and cons...

 

i however enjoy using a vexilar... i find it easier to see on sunny days or inside the darkness of my portable hut.

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I've used a Marcum LX-5 for the past few years and love it. My buddy really likes his Lowrance Ice X67 [forget the actual unit, but it's the ice model]. I think the Lowrance is a great unit as well.

 

So, I think a better question is what technology do you prefer - a flasher or a graph? They both work just fine for ice fishing.

 

As it stands now, I don't really think the flashers have any advantage over the portable graph models these days. I believe features like sensitivity, power consumption, response time, weight and environmental resilience are very similar. However, the graph models are easier to use initially [since that's what you likely use already] and the history is nice. Also, if you plan on using this unit during the summer as well it's probably ideal to have a graph model.

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Had a Marcum lx-7 for a bit. Sold it and just used my HDS-7 off the boat. Prefered the fish finder over the flasher. Plus saved myself some cash. But i sold my HDS-7 just after winter. Going to have to think of a setup with my HDS-8 now lol

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While on the topic, anybody know if i can set up my HB 898Hd si/di to work with an ice ducer? Its a new unit for me and im not very familiar with the new technology compatibilities. I wouldnt mind having a second unit to try as i've never used a graph to ice fish.

 

Nope...dont think so.

 

Hummingbird does one model of iceducer for their flasher units and one for the graph units. From the looks of it the iceducer for HB graph units does not support your 898 model.

 

 

http://ca.humminbird.com/products/314001/XI_9_20

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