Just curious... Vex vs. Bird vs. Marcum

[Crappyfisherman]

All this bashing,why? Lets go fishing and forget all this mine is better than yours stuff.They all help catch fish.I have been using them for ice fishing since before we had them. Humminbird Super Sixty with a home made transducer arm and a motor cycle battery. Funny thing is I don't catch anymore fish with the new LXFLHB6792255HD than I did with that old thing.

Everyone have a very Merry Christmas,see you on the ice.

[brian6715]

i own a marcum and wont own any other brand might get a bird tho

Confusion.... or spiked koolaid?

[Kodiak]

i have owned all 4 of them and keep going back to marcum

fl-8 works good, but gets blown out of the water if any marcums are near you...no zoom, no options.

lowrance ice machine- trash..........

marcum lx3tc- best flasher out there for the money, great zoom, fine display, awesome power.

bird 55 - zoom sucks but the unit is sensitive and works great. i feel that the resolution when zoom is kind of sub par

marcum lx7- yet to find out, just got it thursday but what i have seen of them fishing with guys that have em should be ok.

[EBass]

I've only had my FL-18 for maybe 10 years now and have no reason to replace. I love it.

[leech~~]

Hey it mite just be time for a "Flasher-Shoot-out"

I'll go if someone else wants to try and hold the dam thing! I tried last year!

[Twins 57 Fan]

Hey it mite just be time for a "Flasher-Shoot-out"

I'll go if someone else wants to try and hold the dam thing! I tried last year!

I remember. I was up there that weekend but it was a no go. Since I was up there, it looks like my fl22 was the top flasher at the shoot out. Everyone buy the fl22 because it was the hands down winner.

[Crappyfisherman]

Count me in I have split shots. No one can beat my LXFLHB6792255HD.

[leech~~]

I would have a Vex FL18, Marcum LX3, Lowrance 67Xc to throw into the test.

[Chris Barlage]

in all my years of ice fishing i've never heard 1 bird or marcum owner ever say, "i can't see through the weeds, i wish i had a vexilar"

i'm a vex and marcum owner.

I will say X2 on this one. I have both a bird and a marcum and have never had this issue.

To answer the original poster there is no best unit. there are flashers like the lx7 that have a ton of new tech. and loaded with features that rise above the rest but they are not needed by everyone out there. You really have to break them into segments to find the best of each segment. even then its hard to break them into segments because some are basic and some have zoom and some have zoom and multiangle transducers and some have 3 colors and others have 6. you have to find the models that have the features that you want and then look at those.

[bobbymalone]

which one fits down a 10 inch hole best?

[Fishalittle]

Do Marcum and Bird play well together as far as interference and such? I have the marcum vx-1 and was looking at adding an ice-45. Both would be used in close proximity. How is interference or other issues? The rebates on the birds make them pretty attractive right now. Would love a new marcum lx-6 or 7 but I don't think double the price is justifiable for me.

Thanks

[Werewolf]

I have the fl 20 fl 22 lx5 and I like my Lowrance HDS 5 I can zoom in all i want and I have a gps to keep me on the fish. after ice is gone plug it in on the boat and keep fishin,the GPS cant be beat for crappie fishing , mark the spots and keep trolling over them and load the boat up.It works the same for deep water trolling. I would take the GPS over the fish finder screen if I had to choose one to use, staying on the fish is harder than catching them some times...

[silverbulletguy]

Love my bird-35. Played well in a house with 2 vex's and 1 marcum while they battled each other any time either adjusted gain or zoom. I think it's the best value hands down. Bigger screen and adjustable zoom. I'd like to get a 55 and keep my 35 for a back-up or for when my son gets old enough to use it.

[EMAGDNIM]

Can't get enough of my bird ICE-45! bought it last year and loved everything about it. Target zoom and being able to change the angle of the cone by the push of a button are my favorite features. I would recommend it to any ice angler! Yea i was going to go to the Flasher Shoot-out. Would be cool if we got it going.

[arctic_scrap1]

Is the target identification difference noticeable between a Vex and a Humminbird?

[Crappyfisherman]

I have a question. how do 2 Humminbirds play together. Since they run the same frequecy is there any interference between the two? I have a FL18,FL22,HB55,HDS5 and my son has a LX3. I got the 55 so my wife can fish with me in the same shack.Had the 18 for ever, had the HDS on the the boat and hooked it up for ice to use the gps. Just got the 22 cause I got such a good deal ($300.00 with a Pro View). They all work great,try as many differant ones and pick the one that works best for you.

My name is Dan and I'm a ice fishing junkie.

[fish_eat_sleep]

i like the marcum transducer arm rather than the float used by vexilar and humminbird. i always get my jig stuck in the foam when the sunnies start spinning around the cord. and the humminbirds have 2 cords! great.. they all work, its up to the fish if they want to eat or not anyways. some are noisier than others, some don't have a snow shield or a case. some have floats, some have 2 cords to tangle your crappies in and some that sit on a plastic mount slide all over the wet ice by the hole. ... should probably get a marcum. just saying.

[Esox_Magnum]

Is the target identification difference noticeable between a Vex and a Humminbird?

Target ID is similar on all the units, target seperation varies quite a bit from 1/2" to 2.68"

[arctic_scrap1]

Target ID is similar on all the units, target seperation varies quite a bit from 1/2" to 2.68"

Yeah I meant target separation. Is the difference a big deal?

[Esox_Magnum]

Depends on what you fish for and what you want out of your unit, Vex and HB are 2.68" and 2.5" respectivly, Marcums VX-1 is 2.5", LX-3 not sure on, LX-5 and 6 are 3/4" LX-7 and Showdown are 1/2"

[arctic_scrap1]

I use a Gander Mountain GS-X, I believe it's the same as a VX-1. It's decent and all, with having the zoom. A couple of my friends have FL20s and I am kind of jealous. There is a pretty big difference when you're in 20+ft of water. The other day I was fishing crappies in 35ft of water while they were suspended and I was having a hard time compared to the FL20.

[Esox_Magnum]

Honestly todays newer version of the VX-1 is the same as the FL-18-20 minus the flat screen of the 20... The rest of the LX lineup gives you a movable zoom so you could zoom in on that section of water you were finding the crappies, I fish with 18's-20's and 22's and have never been jealous of them, but them most times are of mine...

[ClownColor]

Honestly todays newer version of the VX-1 is the same as the FL-18-20 minus the flat screen of the 20... The rest of the LX lineup gives you a movable zoom so you could zoom in on that section of water you were finding the crappies, I fish with 18's-20's and 22's and have never been jealous of them, but them most times are of mine...

What? NO! Where do you come up with theis stuff?

[cribbageboy]

I own a Marcum LX-2. Can't say anything bad about it. It has a zoom feature, but it's more or less a 3 stage bottom lock: 5ft, 10ft, and off. It can't be more than 5 or 6 years old, but I have yet to hear anyone mention an LX-2 on this site. Was it just an old name for what is now called a LX-3???

[fisherman-andy]

I use a Gander Mountain GS-X, I believe it's the same as a VX-1. It's decent and all, with having the zoom. A couple of my friends have FL20s and I am kind of jealous. There is a pretty big difference when you're in 20+ft of water. The other day I was fishing crappies in 35ft of water while they were suspended and I was having a hard time compared to the FL20.

Shaking my head...

If your having a hard time seeing fish in 35 fow then I think your unit is either defective, low or bad battery, or your not properly hanging your cone angle and adjusting the gain. Ice build on the ducer will also prevent it from reading properly.

Like Essox_Magnum said. The sonar features are near similar. The FL18, FL20 here is not superior to the GSX/VX1/VXR Marcum units.