Is it worth the money??

[WigglinMyWorm]

I've never used a flasher before and would love to get a vexilar but money won't permit me to do so at this time...a guy I work with has a Zercom LCF40 flasher he'd sell me pretty cheap...Is this going to help me at all or am I just wasting my money....any advice would help

[Jim Hudson]

Not to familar with this unit, but if will work for an ice fishing set-up, I would say go for it. It will help get you bit more times then none!!

[PierBridge]

Yes....how much?

[Law Firm]

Yes, however it depends on what your definition of cheap is? It should provide you more information than bobber watching.

[WigglinMyWorm]

he told me he'd give it to me for $75.00. He has been using it for ice fishing but bought a new marcum.

[smmurphy]

In 30 years of fishing I never used a flasher until last year when I borrowed my Son-in-law's FL-8, Now I'm hooked, I just have to convince managent that the flasher should be funded.

[FISHER ED]

Hey there WMW, I use to sell Zercom units and am fairly familar with the LCF40. For the guys not familar, it's a liquid crystal display flasher like the Clearwater Classic. It has a lighted display for night fishing. All in all, it is a decent year round unit and worked well in it's time on the ice.

If you are on a budget, yes, this unit will help you find fish. Just don't try to compare it with modern day flashers. It will not have the target seperation of the Vex's or Marcums. You may also notice some interference from other nearby flashers if you are around a group of people. As for the $75.00 price, I would say this is good if it is the complete set-up (flasher, ice transducer and Zercom plastic carry case) and is in good condition. To give you an idea, I sold my salesman sample last year for $100 which included a never used LCF40, carry case and ice transducer.

Hope this helps in making your decision. This locator will show you the bottom, your jig and fish.

[IndyEFI500]

WMM:

Not sure abou the unit you are looking at. I usually check thE Bay before I decide on something. I grew up without electronics as well and only finally got somthing early this year. It was an older FL6, predecessor to todays Vex's. I have now upgraded to Marcum and don't regret it. We all must start somewhere first so if you find decent pricing to prove the buy, go for it. It is amazing how differently you will fish after. Not better but differently. At least in my case.

[Bones62]

Buy the unit. I used one for several years and it worked great. I upgraded to the FL-18 a couple years ago, but my youngest son still uses it.

[Random guy]

$75, if it works good. I don't think it would be a poor purchase, it will work fine and it will get you into the flasher world. Then you can decide later if you want to spend more on a Vex or Marcum later. I used to have that same unit and used it without any trouble. HMMM I wonder if it's in the garage somewhere?

[Guest]

I bought a Zercom Clearwater Pro this winter(used obviously) with the ice ducer and summer high speed ducer with speed/temp for $75.. I got a great deal. It doesnt have all the pretty colors of the modern flashers, but it reads my jig, and picks fish up just as well as every other flasher that has been near me this winter including Vex and Marcum. I didnt have any problems fishing near the vex units(in fact my signal caused more problems for them) and the interferance was minimal. I get a little more interferance from Marcum if I am excessively close, but the unit still shows everything below, and doesnt get killed by the signals. We had my Clearwater, a FL-8, and a Marcum on the ice in a close area about a week ago and my signal and the Marcum were great... but the Vex was killed to say the least with both of our running.

Another bonus of the grayscale flashers is the battery life is excellent. I can fun my flasher all week on a charge, while the color units will have to charge after a long day on the water.

I am not knocking modern day flashers.. they are great units. The Zercom units working properly will show you everything any other flasher will show you.. but you wont have zoom options, etc... then again your not spending $400 either.

[metrojoe]

My dad has one of these units and he still uses it for ice fishing, when he's not in Florida anyways. If it's in good shape and been taken care of it shoud be worth $75. Couldn't hurt to make an offer though

[walleyeiceguy]

Anything is better than nothing, I say go for it. Besides it sounds like the price is right. Once you start using a flasher you will never go back, they are very nice to have. If you want a Vexilar this will be a good start to see if you like using flasher units without spending alot of money.

Good luck and enjoy it, you wont regret it.

[Steve Foss]

All in all, it sounds like a good deal. I'd say go for it. But Mrs. Catfish has schooled me on dealing, and the main lesson is — never say yes to what they ask! Offer $55 and see what he says. Worst he can say is no at that price.

As to the previous comment that the "modern" three-color flashers need recharging after one long day's use, I get two long days' use out of my FL8-SLT battery. That being said, I don't doubt what was said about the longevity of the charge of the unit you're looking at.

Good luck. Once you go with electronics on the ice you'll be ruined without them!

[CNY Tim]

Any flasher will help you in checking holes if they are productive or not and the MarCum does it best when it comes to 3 color flashers. But having one regardless of make or model will help you especially if you fish deep water.