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My wife told me yesterday that she will buy me a flasher for my birthday even though she is ethically opposed to them because they are cheating [  ]. I have done my research and made a short list. The ones I'm considering are basic, entry-level units costing around $300 or less. I would like to hear advice about which one to get based on actual experience, especially if you can compare them to each other. I'd like to hear pros and cons for each. I don't want this to turn into a Ford/Chevy/Dodge thing. Keep in mind that my brother, who I fish with most of the time, has a Humminbird and a MarCum and I'm concerned about interference.
My options:
Vexilar FL-8SE Genz Pack
MarCum M1
Humminbird ICE 35
Garmin Striker 4 with Portable Pack
Any help you can give will be much appreciated.
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I have a similar question. I recently fished with a group of friends, one had a Hummingbird 45 or 55, another had the Marcum Showdown (I think). seemed to be a low end model.
looking at both, the Marcum was smaller and and LCD screen. It just seemed cheap. The bird was larger, and had color. The bird was much easier to read and see at a moments notice. Seeing the position of the "bait" and an incoming object was a breeze, and made the catching a little unfair since there was always a flash before any bite, or coaxing a bite.
The fellow with the bird said he would go with the 35, if doing it now, but he got a good deal on his current flasher several years ago so that is what he went with at the time.
Aside from what you have already asked, I would be interested in knowing about buying used vs new. The price drop on the used doesn't seem to be worth taking the risk of a used one from what I have experienced when perusing the innerwebs.
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Garmin striker 4 portable kit gets my vote.
Pros: multiple screens, multi-season, easy to set up, easy on battery, light etc.
Cons: you don’t have it yet!
Good luck in your search.
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What about the size? I'm afraid it will be too small to be easily read. What's your experience?
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I have the Striker 4 and love it, another pro is that you may decide that you prefer the traditional scrolling fish finder screen to the flasher view, I prefer that view and believe it helps me to see fish moving into and out and up and Down in my transducer cone better. But if a flasher is what you prefer that function works well. Price is another pro, you can get one for between $100 and $200 depending on whether you buy the ice kit or put it together yourself. I bought the basic one and got a soft sided small cooler from the DI for a case and ordered a 12v battery and charger from amazon and use the transducer it came with which comes with a trolling motor bracket that you can leave on your boat to use the fish finder in soft water season as a second fish finder on your front casting deck. Initially I floated my transducer under a piece of pool noodle but this year I made a PVC mount that I can more easily point in the direction of my ice fishing holes to get the best returns and I just recently got a humming bird ice fishing case from The Riverdale Sportsmans for $4.99 on a managers special.
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Thanks. Do you find you can read it easily or is it a little small? If you wouldn't mind maybe I could join you out fishing one day and see how it works. Besides, I still need to get my salmon [  ].
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Catch... if you only want it for ice fishing, without question, a flasher. They are made for ice fishing. If you are concerned about interference, go with the Vex, they use 1/2 the wattage output than other manufacturers. If you want durability, speaking from personal experience, I have a FL8 that is over 20 years old and still going strong. If you want features, look at and compare other models. Vexilar has been around the longest, so their technology is rock solid. If I were looking, with all the new manufacturers out there, it would be tough to make a decision without "test driving". I tend to think any will work. My Vex's will pick up anything 1/2 inch or larger. I was at Strawberry last night and was using a small sinker on my line about 4 inches up from the hook. Using my FLX28 on 1/2 power in 14 feet of water (about 200 watt output), I was able to adjust the gain down and pickup both the hook and sinker as separate objects on the line. Pretty impressive sensitivity.
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I have the FL-18 Vexilar in the Genz Pack. I know it is a bit more pricey but it is very powerful. I really like the split screen zoom feature that focuses on the bottom six or so feet of water. I can see a split shot in 50' of water just off the bottom. No need for a separate 12 volt battery. I have never run out a charge during a full day of fishing. Just plug it in when I get home. I love mine.
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What are you doing next Saturday, I’m thinking about Lost Creek or back to Hyrum or anywhere else within about a 100 mile radius of my house. May be we could get a few people with different flasher to show up and you could compare them side by side.
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As far as the screen size I can see mine really well it does not seem small. It is very sensitive, for example on my last trip I could see both the 1/16 oz. cast master and the very small 1/64 oz. dropper jig 8” below it. as two distinctive lines in 30 ft. Of waster.
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Hey Craig. As you know I sold my Vex but still need sonar unit until I make the move to Texas. Decided to take my Hummingbird Helix 5 off my boat. Bought an iceducer and a power cord. Teamed it with a Genz box and battery that I already had. Now I will have the option of running it in Flasher mode or Sonar mode. I have always had Vexilars before and they are great units. With the Helix 5 I also have GPS which may come in handy. Tight lines.
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Not on your list but I run a Showdown and absolutely can’t imagine using anything else.
1/2” target separation, extremely portable, and a zoom feature to watch the bottom 25% of the water column (extremely useful for bottom hugging fish).
I can drop a single waxie in the water and watch it sink to the bottom or a fish follow it down and eat it.
I’m sure other sonars do this also but I love the vertical screen.
Good luck in your decision.
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I love my striker 4. Have used it the last 3yrs. I have no problems seeing it. Very responsive and has a GPS for waypoints. Make sure kit comes with ice transducer.
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I'll see what I can do. I want to catch some bigger panfish and a bass or two for the Ice Challenge and all the best places seem to be up north. I'd love to give Hyrum a try especially if I had someone to show me the ropes. I'm trying to stay out of the trap of attempting to catch the most species and concentrate on bigger fish instead. Let me check with my partners and I'll let you know.
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I do not have the Ice transducer for my Striker 4 and have a hard time justifying spending an additional $100 for it, what is the advantage of having one? The transducer for the boat works well, but I do have to make sure it is facing the right direction to see my gear, but that is easily accomplished.
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I have had 2 vexiliar fl18 the bottom 6 foot zoom is killer for perch. And I have a vexiliar fish scout camera now that's a great combo . I also have a striker 4 that I just took out of my boat that I'm goi g to let my son use tomorrow I ll give you my opinion of that tomorrow night . But as a finder in my boat I have liked it very well.
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I also have the showdown and love it. For what ever reason any of the flasher style finders make me want to stroke out after watching them for a while!!!
If cost is any consideration I did see that Sportsman's had the Ice 35 on sale when i walked by them today. I want to say they were around $250.00.
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The advantage of an ice ducer is a true round cone instead of a fan. You mentioned the issue, if your ducer isn't facing the right way, you can't see your jig, same thing for fish as well.. a boat ducer is set up to cover width in a fan shape area so as the boat moves you see what is under you and to the sides a little bit, but not infront or behind you... Ice ducer shows everything in the cone... Not sure it's worth the money to you yet, but one day you will appreciate it. I went a lot of years using a boat finder and it worked, I just didn't know what I was missing until I got a finder that does a better job... Now I'm afraid someone will show me the panoptics and I'll realize I'm limited again, but I know I can't afford that system...So I'm hoping to have friends that can afford it that will take me and show me where the fish are... Anyway I'd say do what you can with what you can afford at the time and you'll be happy for now... learn how to work with your system strengths and weaknesses and you'll still catch fish and have fun... Good luck... Jeff
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I use the Showdown and after using for many years would never consider any other sonar. The vertical screen is IMHO unquestionably the most user friendly. Love the Zoom feature and the detail of fish moving to the lure. You wouldn’t be unhappy with this unit.
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I have the Striker 4 and used it on my Kayak all summer. It was great. I have used it on the ice and the flasher is just ok. Compared to the Vexilar my friend used it was not even comparable. I have the ice transducer on order but won’t have a chance to use it for a couple of weeks. I will be doing a side by side comparison with the boat and ice ducer.
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