Which depthfinder?

[bogwalker]

Looking at buying my first ice fishing flasher. I have had depth finders on boats but this is new to me. Any advice would be appreciated.

[crappiebuster]

Here we go. Let the games begin.

[BK19]

do a search man

[Northlander]

Check them all out at a big store that has them all and decide what you want to spend and go from there. Marcum, Humminbird and Vex all make good units. Lot of personel preference involved. With that said Ill be running a Ice 55 this year. Maybe a LX-5. I had really good luck with my LX-3.

[1900_LE]

Ice 55 for me too.

[PerchJerker]

They're both great, and IMO you left out the best one ---- but there's lots of opinions out there and you really can't go wrong with any of the ice flashers. Pay attention to features and price as they are the biggest differentiating factors between the various flashers.

You can check them all at Pro Fishing Supply

[Fredd]

look back to past discussions in this forum on the technical side of the units. I run Marcum personally, but they are all good units.

[bigbad401]

everyone is going to tell you what their personal preference is. The best bet is to do research yourself, find what you deem is important, and then make a decision based on that. All three will give you very good results. There has been way too many Bird vs Vexilar vs Marcum debates on here with nothing resolved. They are all good in their own way.

[silverbulletguy]

All brands get the job done. I bought my first flasher last year and I went with the bird ice 35. I like the adjustable zoom and the larger display is much easier on the eyes. The price was right too.

[bogwalker]

I appreciate the advice. I have done some basic research but I put more weight in personal advice from you folks. Last Winter we bought a good flip-up shelter. This year a flasher and next year a new auger, probably an electric rechargeable one.

[KTapper]

Hands down Vexilar, and I have owned both.

[bigbad401]

Hands down Vexilar, and I have owned both.

See what I mean. I have used Vex and Bird and I say hands down the Bird is better with the bigger screen and more power and dual-cone transducer that is used on all of their ICE products. But that is just me. It is all personal preference of the features you desire.

[KTapper]

Yeah I agree it's all about personal preference. Really you can't go wrong they will all help you catch fish.

[JSK76]

I like and run Marcum's so I can be unbiased on this topic. If it comes down to Vex and a Bird and you like them both about the same I would personally go with the Bird based on they have no interference with other flashers, other then other birds, but they also have IR for that. There is more Vex's and Marcums out there right now then Birds, so with a Bird there is less of a chance of having to block out a buddy's interference. If you always fish alone this point is moot.

Most interference can be blocked out on the newer flashers but it sometimes can be pain, and with more then 2 flasher in the same house can be done but it's frustrating, with the bird you can fish while your Vex and Marcum buddy's have to play with there IR to clear up there flashers.

[iffwalleyes]

Never used a bird but I know there is way more technology there then Vex has even thought about. My personal choice is still a Marcum LX 5 been running one since the 2005 season when they first came out. It is a toss up between the bird and the lx-5 for me.

[gritsnham]

Whatever brand you decide to go with I would say to go with a bottom zoom unit. I still fish with a good old FL8 but I have fished a good bit with bottom zoom units and it makes a big difference at times just because you can work fish so much closer to the bottom than without the zoom.

Either way you will be glad you bought a flasher and fishing without one will become something you dont want to do!

[JumpStart73]

more power doesn't mean that it is better (more power drains your battery faster)

[bigbad401]

My FL8 and ICE 35 lasts about the same with the battery, so that is not necessarily true. The Bird is much more efficient with their power consumption than the OLD electronics of the Vex.

[walleyeslammer]

I also run an LX-5 and have several friends who run earlier models of Marcums. But for the interest of not hijacking this thread, I would say the Vexilar would be my choice if I only had those two to choose from. I have fished next to people with both and have to go with the Vex, but my advice would be to try and find some manuals for all of them and compare features and then go to a store that has lots of them and play around and see what you decide. To be honest, a flasher is my most crucial piece of equipment so you will be upgrading huge from not having one regardless of what you buy.

[castmaster]

I like and run Marcum's so I can be unbiased on this topic. If it comes down to Vex and a Bird and you like them both about the same I would personally go with the Bird based on they have no interference with other flashers, other then other birds, but they also have IR for that. There is more Vex's and Marcums out there right now then Birds, so with a Bird there is less of a chance of having to block out a buddy's interference. If you always fish alone this point is moot.

Most interference can be blocked out on the newer flashers but it sometimes can be pain, and with more then 2 flasher in the same house can be done but it's frustrating, with the bird you can fish while your Vex and Marcum buddy's have to play with there IR to clear up there flashers.

I own both an FL-8 and an FL-18 Vexilar, and am thinking of selling the FL-8 and buying a Ice-55 for this very reason. Will be nice to be able to bring both my units for those times friends/family don't have one and not get interference between the Vex and Bird, 90% of the guys I fish with that do have flashers all run Vexilars so I'll be able to use the Bird more often without dealing with interference issues which can make for aggravating conditions.

[stifler51]

ppl always claim that one is better then the other, put it this way they all mark fish, doesnt matter the brand. Doesnt matter if u can seperate 1 fish from 20 if line doesnt move towards ur bait change something.

[Esox_Magnum]

Some do mark fish better than others, my unit will pick up bottom hugging fish my partners doesn't, We both run top of the line flashers but different colors.

[bogwalker]

Some do mark fish better than others, my unit will pick up bottom hugging fish my partners doesn't, We both run top of the line flashers but different colors.

What do you have?

[Esox_Magnum]

I own and use a Marcum LX-5 you can guess what my partner has and it's not a Hummingbird.

[Jim Hudson]

Esox,

Can you explain how your LX-5 marks fish that your friends Vexilar will not? I am curious.