Summer and Winter Fish Finder Built Into One

[unclewhoo]

I have done some research, but not a ton.

My question is....do you have any recommendations on a fish finder that would work for both summer and winter fishing? Another thing that I would like is for the unit to be light. I would like to fish with the unit in the boundary waters.

What I have come up with so far is the Lowrance X67C.

- Does the lcd screen freeze up in cold weather?

- I've also heard that the X67C receives interference easily, for example, when fishing next to a vexilar.

- I've read the weight of this unit is 11 pounds....that might be a bit heavy for the boundary waters. I believe this unit years ago was made to run off AA batteries which would make the unit lighter.

Looking for your opinion on which fish finder would work for both summer and winter.

[CaptainMusky]

IMO a unit that you want to use on the ice and open water you are better off going with an LCD type unit.

Depending on price you could go with anything from the x67 like you are talking about, a Elite (either 4 or 5) and HDS 5 unit on the higher end of pricing.

Humminbird would make several models too, but I dont have much use with them.

Regards to interfence with the above Lowrance units you shouldnt get any interference from a vexilar or even a Marcum because they function on a completely different frequency.

I have been using my HDS5 on the ice this year more often and to tell you the truth I prefer that over my LX3. The graph mode is MUCH more valuable than a dial flasher.

You have a history on your screen that really helps in seeing how fish are reacting to your presentation.

The elite 4 is a nice compact unit that is very light so that might be of interest to you.

[Riffle]

I use a Garmin Echo 300c fish finder on the ice and also on my kayak. It has a flasher page which works great. The only trick is to make sure you have a deployment arm that will get the transducer below the bottom of the ice, otherwise you will have issues.

Overall, it works great, I know the dedicated flashers have far advanced feauters and are designed for ice fishing but so far I have had no problem seeing fish or using the Garmin on the ice with either the flasher page or just the tradtional scrolling bottom. The zoom and bottom lock features are really cool. The sensitivity is very good and I can see pretty much any jig I send down the hole.

Of course for the Kayak, its just great too. And a good deal I think for a color finder at $200.

[Fred_Bear]

- I've also heard that the X67C receives interference easily, for example, when fishing next to a vexilar.

The X67C receives and CAUSES a lot of interference problems with vexilars.

I use an HDS 5 mounted on a Genz Box for ice fishing and use it on my boat in the summer. I really like it but it would be way to heavy for boundary water use though.

I've heard showdown ice trollers work well mounted on a canoe for boundary water use. A much lighter option and way less battery consumption.

[amateurfishing]

use my HB 597 year round & love it

[Naturboy]

I've been useing my Lowrance LMS unit for years. Before I bought a iceducer for it I attached the transducer to stick so it could be pointed down the hole. With the LCD screen cold is a factor when I hole hop but time in a warm shelter keeps it going.

[wkngmomof2]

Love my Humminbird 385ci

[Gekhang]

bought a hb798 this winter on sale and decided to have an ice setup for it too. needless to say i like this more than the conventional flasher!

[amateurfishing]

yes, once you start reading the graph under the ice it is hard to go back to "flasher" mode, dont even use the flasher screen on my 597

[kenlaker]

The X67c has been replaced by another model, I think. I have one that I bought used for my daughter to use, haven't tried it in the summer yet. I think the weight you're seeing is with the 12v battery for winter fishing, the unit itself does not weigh that much.

Also, as far as interference, my only experience is that we've fished with this one and my FL18 in a 4'x6' portable many times and had no problems with either unit.