Ice fishing electronics

[saltyg]

Does anyone out there have experience with ice fishing flashers like the Vexilar or the new Hummingbirds? thanks

[fishcrib]

I highly recommend a Vexilar. Never used any other flasher, but I am sure any flasher is better than none. Once you try one you will wish you had done it sooner.
Good luck.

[08m8]

Bought ice 35 made a lot of noise did not like it traded up vexler 18 .

[snowfish]

The new liquid crystals may be worth checking into.

I've been using a ShowDown for a couple years now. Love it!

http://www.productsthatsave.com/aqshdififimo.html

Nice and quiet, extremely easy to use, and shows the water column vertically. Noise rejection is great, even with 3 other locators (Vex, Marcum, & Clearwater) running in the same house.

Uses batteries slightly faster. I think it's due to the heated LCD. The heater is for fishing out side of a shack. Inside you could turn the heater off. Might save a little, but didn't seem to make much difference on our last trip. I get a day and a half, out of it, of pretty much continuous use. Packs really well too when go ulta-portable. (cruising around with the packshak)

[SLED_DOCTOR]

I started using a Vexilar FL-8 a couple of years ago. Flashers in general are an amazing tool for ice fishing. You know immediately if you are on fish or not. How aggressive they are and what depth. I would never be able to ice fish without one now...it would be fishing blind.

[rsvectordude]

A Lowrance x-67 ice machine is top notch also.

[wisangler]

I've fished with them all. Vex's, Marcum's, Humminbird's, X67's....

X67 still gets my vote as long as it is set up correctly.

Run a split screen zoom. One side is the full water column and the other is the depth you are targeting.

Don't let anyone that is advocating a flasher give you the "real-time feedback" big steaming pile of BS. If your screen is scrolling from right to left, the right side of the screen is instant. If it takes 6 seconds to scroll across the screen, you get 6 seconds of history to watch your jigging pattern and pick out the preference of the fish for the day.

The one thing the Vex has on the X67 is the low power mode. If you are fishing in extremely thick vegetation or a crib, the X67 has too much screen clutter to see fish and/or your jig. Another thing the Vex's will have is dependability. They really can take a lot of bouncing and banging around that would destroy other locators.

If it's worth anything, I used to be paid to sell Vex's and tell customers why they were the best. Then I would go home and fish with a X67.

[amuzme2]

Marcum LX-5

Check it out before you make your final choice. I won't leave home and hit the ice without mine.

http://www.marcumtech.com/

[maddogg]

Has anyone tried the new Cabela's viewing system that has the panning ability. Looked like a neat little toy for the price.

Thanks.

[snodogg]

I've had a vexilar FL-8 for almost 15 years. It still works great. The flashers get noisy but if you replace the brushes that cures it. I can also say their customer service is top notch. I had a problem with the first one I bought, it was about two years old, I stoped in at their location in Bloomington, MN and they handed me a brand new unit!

As far as the underwater cameras they can work great or be very dissapointing. In dark water, either at night, deep, or lots on ice/snow cover you can't see more than a foot or two at best. If your fishing a lake with lots of plankton (like LOTW) all you will see is little bugs in the water. During good light in clear water you will see a long ways, and you can set the camera looking right at your bait and you will see every bite and catch every single fish! It's amazing how fast the fish can suck in and spit the bait without giving you a single indication of a bite!

[misty_pines]

I've been using a Vexilar FL-12 which has the features of the FL-8 but it doesn't have the sun-shield around the viewing area because the lights are significantly brighter and you can view it from much greater angles than the FL-8 or FL-18. This is now my third season with it and absolutely love it. Wouldn't want to fish without it. They cost a bit over $300 but if you like to ice fish, a flasher/fish finder is a must.

[saltyg]

I ended up with the ICE 45 and so far so good. Although I have not been over that many fish I did connect with a walleye last week and got to see it happen live on the flasher.