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I've lurked on this forum and others for some time now, and I'm not sure I've found the answer I'm looking for.
I'm in the market for a fish finder to use while ice fishing. I usually ice fish Strawberry, Rockport, and Fish Lake, if it matters. I have been wavering back and forth between a nice flasher (like a Marcum VX-1P) and a sonar unit (like the Marcum Showdown 5.6). I've never used either type (other than the sonar on my boat fish finder) and I can't find anything definitive about why I should pick one type over the other. I'm looking to stay in the $300-400 range.
Most posts on the topic seem to be heavy on opinion and light on fact. Does it really just come down to preference?
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I have two sonar units in my boat I take the helm unit in the winter and have converted it to use on the ice I really like it and it only cost around 120.00 for the conversion .I never could get the hang of the flashers.[cool]
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[quote fishnotphish]
Most posts on the topic seem to be heavy on opinion and light on fact. Does it really just come down to preference?[/quote]
In short, yes, and maybe also how your brain is wired.
The bottom line for me is flashers give me a headache after looking at the screen for an hour or so. My sonar does everything my buddies flashers do and I catch plenty of fish. At the same time, my buddies like their flashers and they work great for them.
Try to fish a short time with both before purchase and go with what you like the best.
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I'm not sure if your name is bashing my favorite band or not?? Anyways, I have an elite 5 chirp from lowrance. I bought the ice machine, which I love and also put the hdi transducer on my boat. I'll try to stay with facts. I can find spots to ice fish when in my boat on soft water, mark them on the gps and go back on ice. I see fish when they are there, and just my jig when they are not. There is a ton of adjustments to increase sensivity, adjust noise reduction, pretty much be able to customize it any way you want. I can see history and if I look away for one second I can see my missed bites. Now my opinion, and I'm sure I'll get bashed a little. I think flashers are old technology and limiting. Marcus seem to be a little more cutting edge, but the amplitude scope is the exact same thing as a showdown- I'm not real familiar with models like the lx7. I would go with either hummingbird or lowrance, I prefer lowrance. You can get into a quality elite series 5 without chirp for about $400. That's what I'd do with your budget. Not sure chirp helps much anyways, jury still out.
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[quote MACMAN]I'm not sure if your name is bashing my favorite band or not?? [/quote]
My Friend, My Friend, All Things Reconsidered, I would never bash Phish, as it might cause a Rift. Saw them in 1994 I think...
No, in this case I'm referring to email phish.
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Ha ha, awesome reply! Your welcome in my boat anytime. Good luck with your ff search.
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The argument could be made of "real time" but if a fish is going to bite, a mere fraction of a second is how long it takes me to set the hook and miss anyway [laugh]. I prefer my HDS 7T. I am able to see at a glance the history, any cruisers going by at a different depth and its what I'm used to using on my boat. My brain is hard wired to sonar, not flashing lights in a circle. I tried using the electronic flasher on my unit just to try it and it took the fun out of playing video game ice fishing lol.
It's really up to the individual, that is the only fact I can offer. IMO if flashers were that great you would see them being used on boats.
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I have a Lowrance and a Marcum for ice fishing and I use both depending upon the circumstances. If fishing water deeper than about 60' I use the Lowrance. If fishing shallower water I prefer the Marcum. I prefer the simplicity of the Marcum and my Lowrance will sometimes go crazy (looks like fish are everywhere) if I do a quick hook set.
Anglers prefer one or the other purely as a matter of choice. Either one will work just fine but you may enjoy one over the other, so get out and fish with both before making your choice.
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So if you spend about $300 more you can get the Marcum LX7 which has an 8" LCD screen you can have flasher mode, graph, zoom, or a combo of all three....yes they are spendy but you get a switchable dual cone, target adjustment down to 1/2", plenty of sensitivity, amazing color, digital zoom and depth...this is the best finder I have owned...even tells you the area your cone is covering relative to water depth of course...
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This is a little off topic but since we are talking about flashers and sonar I thought I would throw in one more option.
For my fellow fishing nerds that have been following the news out of the Las Vegas Consumer Electronics Show, you may have seen that a wireless sonar/flasher unit that looks like a tennis ball sized death star took home a top award at the show.
The "Deeper" brand fish finder works with iOS and Android devices over Bluetooth. You drop the floating ball in the hole and can configure the app on your phone or tablet to display flasher or sonar info. The unit also comes with specially positioned connection points to allow you to tow it behind a float tube or kayak as well as cast and retrieve it in open water. It has dual cone functionality so you can switch between 55 and 15 degree views. Battery life is stated as 4 hours and the battery can't be charged while the unit is in use.
I was about to pull the trigger on this as I think a pocket sized finder would fit well in my grab and go fishing bag. The only thing that held me back was a distinct lack of information in the target separation department. I sent the company a request for the info and just got a reply this morning. (See attached image)
That is a deal killer for me.
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I'd advise this: go to Youtube and watch all the promo vids you can find from various brands. That's the next best way to trying them all out.
Round dial flashers and vertical bar displays show the same thing but vertical displays may be more intuitive. Color displays might seem to be better, but even on a B&W anything that appears between the bottom and you pretty much has to be a fish, right?
Check them all out and get the one that appeals to your brain, has the best features, and is in your budget. You'll be happy.
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I prefer a regular sonar because that is how my brain is wired. Having said that I did impulse buy a fish hunter fishfinder that is similar to what you are talking about. It connects via bluetooth to your phone but it did not do so well when ice fishing. Even a little speck of water on the antenna causes it to disconnect. And my phone battery got eaten up pretty quick. I would stick with hard wired ones for ice fishing.
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Just to avoid confusion, they are ALL sonars.
The three common types of fishfinders are:
Moving screen type (used on boats/soft water)
Round dial flasher for ice
Vertical column type for ice.
While some people use the boat type for ice, they are considered less than ideal. That leaves us with round or vertical displays.
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$800 dollars for a unit with no GPS. That is a deal breaker right there. As I have stated before, you can catch fish without a sonar, but if you don't know where you are or where you are going, what's the point ? GPS is the one thing that has changed fishing. Putting yourself on an exact spot, whether it's a hump, seedbed or gravel bar is incredibly important. You know how one hole always out produces the others you drilled ? Now you can mark and the next time you go right to it and start catching fish. Can the LX 7 do that ??
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I don't know about less than Ideal..
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[font "Times New Roman"][#0000ff]starvy fishing vid
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[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]I use both on mine and they both do the same thing I can switch form graph to flasher on page menu. Biggest thing to me is the transducer you use for any given unit or situation.[/size][/font]
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[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]I use the flasher mode in my boat if fishing heavy weeds shows bottom better. Graph in open water for walleyes and such with down scan and side view. The options these days are endless if you see the fish you can normally catch them.[/size][/font]
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[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]I use both on mine and they both do the same thing I can switch form graph to flasher on page menu. Biggest thing to me is the transducer you use for any given unit or situation.[/size][/font]
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[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]I use the flasher mode in my boat if fishing heavy weeds shows bottom better. Graph in open water for walleyes and such with down scan and side view. The options these days are endless if you see the fish you can normally catch them.[/size][/font]
[font "Times New Roman"][size 3]I use both on mine and they both do the same thing I can switch form graph to flasher on page menu. Biggest thing to me is the transducer you use for any given unit or situation.[/size][/font]
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[quote RockyRaab]Just to avoid confusion, they are ALL sonars.
The three common types of fishfinders are:
Moving screen type (used on boats/soft water)
Round dial flasher for ice
Vertical column type for ice.
While some people use the boat type for ice, they are considered less than ideal. That leaves us with round or vertical displays.[/quote]
Flashers weren't designed, nor invented, for ice fishing. Ice fishermen found some of the older graphs to be less than ideal for use on the ice, and therefore stuck with flashers. They all work under all circumstances. It's just a matter of which way you like your information. Marcum has finally entered the 21st century and now uses digital technology.
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[quote jacksonlaker]
$800 dollars for a unit with no GPS. That is a deal breaker right there. As I have stated before, you can catch fish without a sonar, but if you don't know where you are or where you are going, what's the point ? GPS is the one thing that has changed fishing. Putting yourself on an exact spot, whether it's a hump, seedbed or gravel bar is incredibly important. You know how one hole always out produces the others you drilled ? Now you can mark and the next time you go right to it and start catching fish. Can the LX 7 do that ??
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I use my handheld GPS and my GPS that is built into my Lowrance fish finder. They both work just fine and both will get me back to my way points. Having GPS built into the fish finder is nice and useful, but not critical, especially when ice fishing.
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I think everything has been pretty well covered. The only thing I will add is that if you are not fishing in a tent, the flasher is much easier to see.
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Flasher = real time, to the millisecond. I can watch my jig move up and see exactly when a fish is moving in on my jig. I can watch them come up and even chase it down seconds before the hit. Flasher all the way for ice fishing.
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