vexilar or marcum

[fishinjosh98]

i want to buy one but which is better?

[lovebigbluegills]

Ford

[TruthWalleyes]

Buy either one...You'll never leave home without it.

[CrappiesNCats]

don't forget to at least give Humminbird a chance

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

Both are good. Both will catch you more fish compared to not having one. Don't get caught up in the stupid back & forth internet fight.

[fishwater]

Yeah, all tools are the same. A hacksaw works just as well as a miter saw! Same thing.. blah blah blah. The truth is that the Marcum LX5 is generally regarded as being tops by those who fish a lot. Anything is better than nothing.. blah blah blah.

If's you want a fancy flat screen the other companies make those.

[jwmiller33]

The truth is that the Marcum LX5 is generally regarded as being tops by those who fish a lot.

I would disagree with this statement. (i'd be willing to bet fishwater has a marcum)

Seeing one of these threads pop up about once a week, it is pretty evident that there are just as many "guys who fish a lot" that love their Vexilar or Humminbird as there are Marcum.

Do your own research and compare the models of each brand that fit into your budget and go from there. There isn't one company between Marcum Vexilar and Humminbird that makes an inferior product. A Marcum isn't going to "catch you more fish" than a Vexilar or Humminbird, and anyone who tells you otherwise is being biased. The biggest and most important difference is what MODEL you get, not brand.

[trapperdirk]

i want to buy one but which is better?

Mine . LOL

TD

[Esox_Magnum]

The whole Marcum and Vex not getting along is a myth, we fish them both side by side all the time without an issue. I sold my Vex's and went to Marcums for many reasons, IMO after using them side by side there are differences, many disagree but to each their own. They all work some just better than others in certain situations and with one you have to buy many things as add ons with the other it all comes in the box for 1 price, generaly lower than the other brand and with many more features..

All have their pro's and cons, I have only owned the Vex's and Marcums and have a strong dislike going back 20 years with HB but would try a HB before buying another Vex if Marcum wasn't around.

[jwmiller33]

I have a strong dislike going back 20 years with HB

boy, you sure hold a grudge!

[bearbait]

I get interferance with a vex and marcum in the same house only on the vex I also get interferance with my fl8 and a fl18 in the same house if I bought something new I think I would go with a lorance it has lake maps on it gps and graph or flasher mode a buddy had one he out fished me 3 to 1 and u can also use it in the summer with the graph and u would need to buy the trans mount 2 birds in one stone and the flasher has 4 colors red,blue,green,yellow witch I thought was cool I thinck they are almost 600.00

[headcheese]

i have used my marcum lx3 with vex 18, 20, 22 and the low end bird sometimes 3 flashers in a house. and no one had issues that you cant get rid of with a little IR.

i like marcums case better, and the transducer arm rather than the float. I also like the controls better but im sure i could easily adjust to using other brands.

the flat screens on the other units are really nice and definitely easier to see.

[fishwater]

if I bought something new I think I would go with a lowrance it has lake maps on it gps and graph or flasher mode

The only thing I don't like about using graphs is the limitation on transducers. You essentially are stuck with a wide beam unit. That said, the setup options are pretty amazing and you can dial them in better than any flasher with some practice.

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

I've been able to fish virtually any combination of 3 flashers inside the same fish house. The LX5 is going to win the interference battle every time, in my experience. You should have no problems getting 3 of them to work, its the 4th one that always seems to complicate things.

I have an LX5 right now, and if I didn't fish lake trout, I would have sold it this year to get the FL22. If I just wanted to buy a flasher to have one, I'd buy the VX1 in a heartbeat, ahead of anything else. It is hands down the best value in flashers, and works great.

[Crappiechopper]

One thing I never see bought up in this argument is the variable zoom on the marcum's. Works great when fishing suspended fish when you are able to adjust the zoom to anywhere in the water column. Not familiar enough with the new vex's or HB's to know if they have it. I love the variable zoom on my LX3tc because I fish walleyes and crappies which are often suspended above the bottom 5 feet of the water column.

[Esox_Magnum]

boy, you sure hold a grudge!

LOL yes I do, I have owned 3 and none were good, fact is my current rig came with HB units and if it wasn't for driving 750 miles to buy it I may have passed for that reason alone. They are in a box in the basement now replaced with HDS units.

[jwmiller33]

LOL yes I do, I have owned 3 and none were good, fact is my current rig came with HB units and if it wasn't for driving 750 miles to buy it I may have passed for that reason alone. They are in a box in the basement now replaced with HDS units.

Send them to this guy, I'll take them off your hands. I rock nothing but Humminbirds, both on the ice and open water.

[jwmiller33]

One thing I never see bought up in this argument is the variable zoom on the marcum's. Works great when fishing suspended fish when you are able to adjust the zoom to anywhere in the water column. Not familiar enough with the new vex's or HB's to know if they have it. I love the variable zoom on my LX3tc because I fish walleyes and crappies which are often suspended above the bottom 5 feet of the water column.

Humminbird's have the adjustable zoom, just like the Marcums, to anywhere in the water column.

Vexilar's still only have the bottom lock feature, where you can choose between locking to the bottom 6 or 12 ft. If the fish are suspended higher than 12 ft off the bottom, you are SOL

[tonkapat]

One thing I have found with is that a dual or tri beam ducer can really help with interference between units. If I ever have problems switch to the 9 degree and turn the gain to zero or just above. Having just one transducer angle limits your options. Imo having a dual beam or tri beam ducer is more important than brand. good luck

[tonkapat]

Also do marcums and birds have the bottom lock feature for summer use. If you use your flasher in your boat that may make the difference.

[Esox_Magnum]

No on the Marcum,but works just fine on the bow, HB can't be used open water.

[Esox_Magnum]

Send them to this guy, I'll take them off your hands. I rock nothing but Humminbirds, both on the ice and open water.

I got 2 Matix units collecting dust, want them pm me.

[slipperybob]

I think the Marcum is a badder machine...LOL's.

[munchy71]

Vexilar's still only have the bottom lock feature, where you can choose between locking to the bottom 6 or 12 ft. If the fish are suspended higher than 12 ft off the bottom, you are SOL

Not true at all. In that case, simply switch OUT of zoom mode and view the whole water column on the whole dial. When fish are suspended there is no bottom signal to "separate" them form, so I don't need the extra detail of the zoom. I've often fished suspended crappies and had other fish come in suspended 6' or more ABOVE them. With an adjustable zoom you miss these shallower fish, which are often bigger crappies, in my experience....

-Munchy

[jwmiller33]

Munchy, you misunderstood what I meant. I know that you can switch out of the bottom lock mode and view the whole water column on the whole dial. The problem with doing that is you lose your zoom ability. My comment was in reference to the Marcums and Humminbirds have "adjustable zoom", which means you can "zoom in" on any depth in the water column and get more separation between the your jig and a fish. Yes, you can just not use the zoom and view the entire water column normally, but the whole ideal behind having a zoom is to give you a more clear/detailed picture of a certain area in the water column.

So yes, my comment of

Quote:

Vexilar's still only have the bottom lock feature, where you can choose between locking to the bottom 6 or 12 ft. If the fish are suspended higher than 12 ft off the bottom, you are SOL

is true in the context of talking about zoom.

Simply put, with Vexilars, you cannot adjust the zoom to anywhere in the water column, you are stuck at the bottom 6 or 12 ft [if you want to use zoom], and to me, that is the largest difference between vexilar/marcum or vexilar/humminbird.