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Camera vs Flasher

JayDeHay

By JayDeHay
in Ice Fishing

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JayDeHay Enthusiast

JayDeHay

Posted
Posted

Alright guys, this is the most serious question I'll have asked to date, because it will mean the difference in where my hard earned cash is going soon. My ol' FishMark 480 gave out on me today. Went from reading correctly at 24ft, to reading almost 150ft, then nothing at all. Best I can figure is the transducer is dead. I'm not putting any more money into the old girl, so I'm in the market.

Until this happened, I'd been shopping around for cameras to use with the 480. Now I'm wondering if I should go get a new flasher, or if I should still get a camera? I do most of my fishing on foot, which is why I love ice fishing, because I can get to those hard to reach spots that I can't cast to from the bank in summer 😛. I just picked up a little boat this fall that will be in need of some electronics, so I'd like whatever I get to be summer/winter. I've used Vexilars from pontoons before, and obviously a graph on the ice until now, but I've never actually used a camera.

I've been looking at the SonarPhone and FishPhone to use with the Navionics on my iPhone, but I'm curious how well the SonarPhone actually works on the ice. Some reviews say it's "OK if...", others say "It's not made for that, so why bother?"

Which would better serve me, a camera or a flasher? Thanks a bunch!

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CaptainMusky Grand Master

CaptainMusky

Posted
Posted

Definitely buy a lowrance or hummingbird graph with an ice ducer. Works well for both summer and ice. Cameras are nice but nothing like a graph or flasher
+100.

There are many nice units and some start under $200. Depending on price range look at a lowrance elite 4. Very compact and inexpensive unit. GPS and graph. You won't regret it.

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V-12 Merlin Enthusiast

V-12 Merlin

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I have both. I'm not going to blindly tell you to go with a flasher, like most people would. Instead, I'll share my experience and let you decide.

I've been ice fishing for about 10 years, and never more than a few times per winter. So, I still consider myself a noob. I started out ice fishing with nothing, and that was a terrible, boring, cold experience. I went through the same question - should I buy a flasher or a camera?

My concern was that the flasher didn't tell you what was down there or what the fish were interested in. I've seen guys mark fish, but were unable to catch them, and couldn't explain why. I wanted to know why the fish weren't biting.

Therefore, I bought a camera. Using the camera by itself while fishing alone, my luck was very similar to having nothing - I didn't see any fish, and didn't catch any fish. HOWEVER, when fishing with a buddy who had a flasher, we could mark the fish AND actually SEE them. Using this strategy, I can out fish anyone with a flasher, because I hook the fish.

I've learned a lot about fish behavior while using my camera, and can be very productive when I'm out with other people. Unfortunately, if I'm out by myself, and only have the camera, it does me no good - may as well leave it home.

A couple of years ago, I bought a FL-18. Now, I mark my own fish AND see them. I can fish with others or by myself, and am equally productive.

If I were to do it all over, I'd reverse my purchases. But, I'm not giving up my camera. The camera doesn't work well in direct sunlight, it's another battery for me to maintain, it's more weight in the sled, and it's tricky to set up (trying to find my jig is always tough).

But, it's worth it to me, because I can see what kind of fish are down there and hook the fish I want to catch (or pull the jig away from tiny perch when I want to). I bought an electric panner last year to help me pan around to find my jig.

As far as the camera spooking fish, I have a Marcum camera. The camera body itself doesn't look like fish - it looks like a camera. I've had fish swim by and bump it, and I've had fish look right at it nose-to-nose. They're not spooked, trust me. Perch, sunnies, crappies, northern, bass - None of them are ever spooked.

Oh, and I have the trolling motor ducer for my FL-18 and it totally rocks! I can put a boat-load of anglers on fish all summer long, and drill holes over the fish all winter long, too. Again, the camera is of limited value in the summer, because it doesn't do well in direct sunlight. The newer (color) cameras are probably much better in that regard, but I generally don't use my camera in the summer, other than to help identify submerged structure.

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Pat K Experienced

Pat K

Posted
Posted

With Lowrance users upgrading to the new HDS GEN 3 units there should be some good deals available on GEN 1 units. There are ice ducers available for them, graph or flasher modes along with GPS. Check the list that starts with c and the classifieds here and other fishing sites. Being legacy units the HDS 5 and HDS 7 GEN 1 should be in the $200 to $250 range IMHO.

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JayDeHay Enthusiast

JayDeHay

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Posted

Flasher it is! I forgot to mention that my budget was $300, so high-end units were out of the question. I had some birthday cash leftover and a gift card for Fleet Farm, so I picked up an FL-8se Genz Pack. Now I just need to figure out how to explain to my wife that the FishPhone I get for her birthday really is her birthday present lol

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ZachD Proficient

ZachD

Posted
Posted

Flasher.....

Camera you are going to be limited

cons

1. murky water

1. at night

2. direction it is pointing

3.good luck seeing those crappies suspended in 30 fow at 20 feet when your camera is at lets say 25 feet

4. hole hopping is going to suck (you cant just put the ducer in quick and see fish.)

5. You think getting a fish tangled in the ducer is bad try a camera.

6. You may see the fish at first but if you have to jig up and they chase It now you are in the dark and don't know how it is reacting.

Bottom line a flasher is going to put more fish on the ice.

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Scott O. Collaborator

Scott O.

Posted
Posted

Yeah, I'd definitely go with the flasher. I've left my UW camera before and don't go back for it. Forgot the Bird 45 a couple of times and I darn well turned around and went back to get it. For ice fishing, you really can't beat a flasher. I'd have to agree with 99.9% of the others in this column.

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