flasher unit

[Minnowhead]

When I fished Hamlin Lake this year I saw alot of electronics in action.  The majority of folks were using Marcums followed closely by Vexilars.  I did see a few Birds but not really common.  I am very happy with my Vexilar.  There is no doubt that a Marcum is a premium flasher.  But I just can't see spending the money on one.  They are extremely expensive and truely don't do anything more than what a Vex or Bird does. I am really interested in the Marcum LX-9.  Just want to see it in action, not pay big bucks to have it in my arsenal.  I did get to use a Vex DoubleVision.  It was awesome.  Very nice unit.

[HardWater Junkie]

If you want to play with an lx-9 you are more then welcome to use mine. If we can ever get good ice we should hook up  and fish together sometime. The more the marrier.

[Minnowhead]

You got a deal HWJ.  I would really like to see the LX-9.  Just wished these conditions would stay cold enough.

[wballard77]

Take the Flasher price, divide it by how many times you ice fish in the last 2 years then decide if its worth the price! LX-9 would cost me $55 per day.

[Ntoiceman36]

Ouch!

[Minnowhead]

But wouldn't it be cool to watch the flasher and see what's not bitting? ;

[HardWater Junkie]

If your not going to catch fish you at least want to look good doing it. lol

[Ntoiceman36]

It's all about the image,if you surround yourself with cool stuff you look good and might truck people into thinking I know what IM doing

[slabslayer]

That's what I did with my Ranger bass boat!!

[snowcone]

ha ha   you guys just need to study hypnosis like i did .....

[davidhoheisel]

Lets keep this thread about how each units work, there features and how you use them to catch more fish. They are all good units.

I can't speak for Marcums because I have never used one but I know that guy's like there's.

I have used the Humminbirds for a year and it seemed like it was hard to find a small jig when fishing deep with out putting the gain up high. They might have fixed that since it has been a few years.

The Vexilar 8 is a great unit for Ohio waters and is very durable. I have the 22 and I like the flat screen and the split zoom. The zoom on it has .25 inch separation so you can pick up the fish that hang on the bottom.

Since Vexilar was first in this technology and they are known for great customer service, you will see more Vexilars on the ice than Marcums or Humminbirds but it really is each ones choice. If you ever want to try a vex please feel free and pm me and i can demo it for you.

 

[gimme ice]

By my research it seems to me that Vex, Marc, and Hum all deliver a quality product. What it comes down to is which bells and whistles are important to the buyer. I am currently looking to purchase a flasher myself. One thing that is important to me and have not seen discussed is unit noise. What I mean by this is how loud (humming) is each unit when operating on the ice? Quietness is important to me. Is one maker noticeably quieter than the other. Thanks for any opinions/recommendations.

[futurestrader]

I know the VEX is louder then the Marcum but on the Lowrance I would PM Erierider or KPI.  I think they just bought a new one and would give you a good review of it.

[fishingful]

I have an fl 8 think I have had it for 10 seasons. Went through 3 or 4 battery's one every 3-4 years. It works for what I need it for. Nice to see that eye follow the bait up off the bottom. Its loud sometimes and I have to tap on the screen every once in a while but I got my money out of it for the hours of use. May upgrade next season. Just got a new battery Saturday.

[erierider]

Here is the quietest unit I used so far. I sold my vex and purchased this for one reason. Just to have my GPS integrated into an all in one unit. Loved my fl-18 and the thing is a workhorse. Noise never bothered me on the vex  and it always worked flawless. I have not used my bird extensively yet but have seen others and am very impressed with the screens I have seen with the ice ducer. I can tell you the base map blows and you really need to purchase a card. Will be pulling the card from my summer unit to use in this. I can tell you this has zero noise. YouTube hummingbird 597 ci HD ice fishing and you will see some guys who have really dialed these in for ice use on flasher and sonar screens.
The elite 4 or 5 or bird 300 or 500 series really expands the use of your unit by becoming a year around unit and all have built in flasher screens or 2d sonar which all pick up smallest of jigs with ice ducer