flasher info

[dock holliday]

Im looking to buy a new flasher for this ice season. I have never owned one before so any info would be a big help.

[King Slammin]

Marcum lx3tc prob best value. I've been using mine for 4 or 5 years now. Adj zoom is key for fishing suspended fish. If u have the coin Marcum Lx7 or 9 have all the bells and whistles but IMO not necessary. Better to get the Lx3 and spend the extra $$ on some quality rods and reels

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[sszoldra]

I use a Hummingbird Ice 55. If you fish shallow water this is the flasher to go with. The drawback is while it fits in a bucket, it's a little heavy with the battery, like all top of the line flashers. I bought it in Cabela's bargain bin at $150 cheaper than they had the same one on the floor, so I'm not complaining.

[Sk8man]

Or if you want a virtually bullet proof unit that will do it all including zooming (very important function)and stand up over time get a Vexilar FLX28 or FL22, or FL-20 with the Ultra Pack. I am still on my original battery after  7 years of rugged use and it has never gone anywhere near the "Low Battery" signal while I'm using it.  Whichever one you decide on spend the time to learn to use it properly and become very familiar with it.....it makes all the difference in the world....nuances really count in ice fishing.

Edited November 19, 2015 by Sk8man

[MeatHunter737]

Lowrance x67c over a vex anyday!!

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[Sk8man]

Lowrance x67c over a vex anyday!!

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  First of all LCD units and flashers are two very different "animals" and each has its strengths and weaknesses. Although the LCD units give good visual information regarding what is going on down there they are not in "real time" because it takes time for the screen writes and rewrites moving from right to left. They are however nice for deep water jigging for lakers for example because you can see position of the jig, the fish coming for it and also gain good info about groups of fish and the depths they are located at etc. but there are delays in that information reaching you and sometimes that is all it takes between success and failure. Flashers are immediate in that as soon as something breaks the beam coming into the cone you can with experience tell much from the changing signal (color changes going from green to yellow/orange then red as the fish comes closer to the bait or jig). You can even with experience estimate whether the fish is big or small  directly under you or to the side a bit etc. Once someone becomes competent using their flasher  although there may be more along the lines of interpreting what is happening it is really close to viewing it in real time especially with the critical zoom function operating. I have both types of units and I have been using flashers since the first "boxes" came out as well as some of the first graphs (e.g.Heath Kit and Vexilar) and their successors (since the early 70's anyway) and it takes awhile to really learn to use the flashers properly but each type unit is still dependent on the skill level of the user and intimate knowledge of the target species habits and behaviors (much of which can be learned by looking down the hole visually while jigging) LCD units can be quite slow in extreme cold too but i have never had a problem with a flasher regardless of temp. Flashers excel especially in shallow water applications a (much of ice fishing happens there) and The LCD is great for the lakers out deep. The fairly recent addition of the dimension of color on each of them (now affordable) has radically improved the quality of their use. The older LCD's and their predecessors were black and white  or grey scale and the flashers had single color bulbs (not LEDS) usually red and you could only "guesstimate size of target and location by brightness and width of light alone. There is a place for each in the arsenal.

Edited November 15, 2015 by Sk8man

[MeatHunter737]

Not splitting hairs, but the x67c has the flasher mode with yellow, orange, and red to show closeness to the beam. Twitch my jig and the flasher shows it in real time. Never had an issue with accuracy and I fish outside a shanty in sometimes single digits. One of the biggest bonus for the x67c though is its absolutely quiet.... a buddy of mine has a vex and I would get annoyed at the constant hum, it's not very quiet..... I've seen these threads on iceshanty, and everyone has their own personal favorite whether it's marcum, vex, or lowrance.

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[Sk8man]

You aren't splitting hairs... you make valid points. I didn't realize that that particular unit has a flasher mode as I have never used that one. You are also right about personal preference being a significant factor. The slight humming noise of the non-LCD flashers  is something that after so many years of using them that I don't even notice or pay attention to anymore. Idid however forget to mention that the LCD screens are more fragile especially in the cold (if they are hit or dropped accidentally) than those of the regular flashers. Hopefully docK holliday has a few things to think over from the discussion though

Edited November 15, 2015 by Sk8man

[FishnChef]

I swear by my lx5 but with that being said last season I damaged my transducer so while I was waiting for a new one I rigged up my Lowrance elite 4 for ice fishing and used that for a couple of weeks. for the first day I used it on the regular graph mode and definitely noticed the lag between what's going on under me and what I'm seeing but after doing a little more playing around I realized that I can split the screen to show both graph mode and flasher mode simultaneously and while I still prefer my LX 5 flasher, using the Lowrance in the split screen mode was quite nice.if you are gonna go that route I would definitely recommend at least a5 inch screen though

[choo-choo]

Love my lowrance x67-c except my model does not have the gps map chip. So for years I used a handheld gps to get to and from my fishing spots. Last year I bought a Lowrance elite 4 & ice kit with gps and Navionics chip...awesome unit. I mount the elite 4 on my snowmobile for navigation ,(the navionics chip is very accurate for Oneida where I do a lot of fishing) then use the x67 for my shanty fishing and hole hopping.

Batteries are compatible, so I always have a backup battery and unit while out on the ice.

These portable units work great for open water fishing too. Just by switching from the ice transducer to a skimmer transducer with suction cup mount or standard transom mount, they can be used on any watercraft from a canoe to a big boat. They can even be used off a bulkhead or dock....A great purchase that can be used all year for fishing fun.

Edited November 16, 2015 by choo-choo

[Chas0218]

I have the Humminbird 35 and for what I use it for it is great. I fish a lot of small lakes (closer to the size of a pond) and less than 30' usually. I have had it for going on 3 seasons and works like the day I bought it. I really like the features for the cost compared to other big names. Mine isn't a LCD display but is fiberoptic without the digital readout. I guess if you really wanted the digital readout you could go up to the 45 but I didn't see a need for it.

Edited November 16, 2015 by Chas0218

[ElectronICE]

Im looking to buy a new flasher for this ice season. I have never owned one before so any info would be a big help.

 

A lot of people love their flashers, others their LCDs. I guess it depends a lot on personal taste and which kind of technology you are comfortable with. LCDs are more menu driven, while flashers use more the conventional button/knob type of control. There is a lot of info on this learning center page.