MarCum LX-5 Owners

[CNY Tim]

Ok some of you guys have had your LX-5's for the better part of an ice season and I was just asking has it been worth every penny spent?

The LX-5 for me has been simply incredible from zoom to target identification and separation it's versatility is unmatched. The colors are fascinating and the thin line technology and crispness have delivered time and time again. The dual beam 8/20 deg. transducer was something that I never thought I would need or use yet have relied on it constantly fishing deep water. MarCum keep up the great work and leading edge technology. You have blown the competition out of the water with the LX-5!

[huntingislife]

Well, I have had mine for about 3 weeks now. I just got my new transducer in the mail since my first one was reading incorrectly. I can test the new one out tomorrow and hopefully the problem will be solved. When talking to customer service the tech said they have had very few problems so far with them. I must have got a bug Otherwise it seems to be real nice.

[metrojoe]

Other than mixing up the plugs for my VS500 and LX-5 DOH! , everything has worked great. I too never really thought I'd use the dual beam, but it has been invaluable when fishing steep breaks.

[Mykal]

CNY Tim I see you have the Red Black color theme going as well. Suit, Auger, and LX-5. Not the reason I bought mine though. I am really impressed with the detail and separation with the separate LED's. Love it!

[Hotspotter]

I'm very impressed with my LX-5. The target separation and new colors were great improvements!

One thing I keep noting among the LX-5 owners is how they initially purchased the unit thinking the switchable 8/20 degree ducer would be just a frill. I was one of them. After fishing close to several others this year, and using the unit in a hardside house where others were using flashers in nearby holes, I found switching to the 8 degree ducer cut my interference to almost nothing. This also helped me avoid having lines in other hole cluttering up my screen.

This feature has been a very welcome surprise, and has solidified my stance on Marcum products in general.

Joel

[Matt Johnson]

The LX-5 has set a new mark for flashers in my opinion.

The LX-5 incorporares all the extraordinary features of the LX-3, but it throws in the dual-beam and Super Fine Line features.

The dual-beam feature is what puts the icing on the cake in my opinion. Having the ability to change to the narrow beam over a weed bed is very nice. It reduces the amount of weeds I see, and it allows me to focus on my jig and the fish that is about to eat it The dual beam is also great for deep water situations, where it not only allows me to zone in on the desired area, but it all helps with the interference as well.

No matter what way you look at it, both the LX-5 and LX-3 systems are incredible. Whether I'm using the LX-5 or LX-3, I'm a happy man!

[ScottND]

I'm totally in love with mine other than one small problem and that's the dead spots between 0-2.5' and 17.5-20'. I will contact Marcum about this when the ice is gone because there's no way I'll give it up for even a day until.

[Borch]

So far so good. At first I was concerned with battery life. But after a few charges the battery last a lot longer. The features are great. Even more than many will every need.

[ChuckN]

Oh yeah, I think my LX-5 is worth every penny. I owned the LX-3 prior to the LX-5, and sold it prior to buying the LX-5.

The LX-5 is everything I wanted in a flasher. Super crisp display, bright colors and incredible definition.

I too used the 8 degree option with interference and it was nice in certain times with lots of flashers nearby!

The SFL has been impressive, and the dual 5' and 10' zoom options show incredible detail.

I took a pic early this season showing my small jig in 32' of water. This unit will be around for a long time...I can't imagine it to get any better.

[fisherdog19]

I agree with what everyone has said about their LX5, what a great unit. Everything I expected and more, great job Marcum.

Fisherdog

[iffwalleyes]

The best flasher unit I have ever ran. The crisp colors are so awesome. It is going on the boat for open water.

[BigJohnnyIce]

The LX-5 is the best unit out there, hands down.

I agree with Matt....the 8-degree option pays off sometimes in the weeds. This past week, for example, I was fishing in 10 FOW over a dense weed flat. Some weeds were still standing in the area. The water was slightly stained, so sight fishing was out of the question.

I turned on the narrow beam and I could clearly distinguish my jig in those weeds. With the wide angle, the feedback area was way too big to comfortably finesse the jig in front of the gills. Made the difference for the day for me!!

[computermann]

Any of you MarCum owners previous Vexilar owners? Looking to get a new unit. I have always had a Vexy but need a flasher that reads deeper than 60' for lake trout. I do like how I can drop the transducer into a string of holes and the float stops the transducer for a quick read. Also like that my Vexy fits into a 5 gallon bucket for added protection. Any feed back?

[Duffman]

I'm willing to guess that most LX-5 users were Vex users at one time. I love my LX-5, the lack of a float on the transducer cable didn't bug me much at all. I don't even notice it anymore, you could always add a float. Since the stopper keeps the ducer from going down the hole, it's no problem just picking up the whole unit and checking depths from hole to hole. The colors are crisp and bright, my older Vex was a pain to use in bright sunshine. I fished lakers out to 50' this winter, and there was no problem picking out the bait even at low gain settings.

The only problem I've had is that the gain knob loosened up and popped off on me Sunday, looks like an easy fix with a micro allen wrench.

The soft cover and charging system are great. I didn't use the zoom too much this year but it is a nice feature, and the switchable degree transducer is great for fishing lakers on steep breaks and pannies in the weeds. So far so good, I give this unit two thumbs up. For what thats worth.

[Gus]

The LX-5 has a 20-40-80-160 foot depth scales. So unless you are fishing lakers in more than 160 feet you should be fine. I for one have always hated the foam ducer float with the Vex's. Years ago my buddy told me to try using my old fl-8 with that small plastic arm and not the float because I was always getting fish tangled in my line. Wallah! I expereinced less tangles. No, it didn't cure the problem but I think it's much better than when using the float. I love the target separation on the lx5 and the softpack is more my style than the hard plastic thing that my vex had. Two years ago you couldn't have pried my vex out of my hands but I've since moved on and am very happy.

[JSTARK]

I have had this unit since December. This has been the best item in my ice fishing arsenal! If anyone is even remotely thinking of getting this unit I would spend the money and get it! I was going to buy a vexlair at the time, but I decided to get this unit. This unit is the best out there and I think that it will be for a long time! It is definitely worth the price, I cannot wait to use this opener!

[DRH1175]

Where do you get transducers for the boat. Does it also work with the Minnkota transducer or do you have to use a special Marcum one?

[ChuckN]

You look at the MarCum transducers directly from their HSOforum Click here, and on their HSOforum is a list of stores that carry the products.

Unfortunately, the MinnKota universal transducer will not work with the MarCum.

I installed the LX-5 on the bow of my boat with the trolling motor puck transducer, and I can't say enough good things about it. Can't wait to finesse some walleyes this weekend with it's help!

When I've been out on the water so far this year I am still amazed by the crisp and bright display. Well worth it in the boat!!

[DRH1175]

Those are 20 degree. What do you do for the dual mode how do you get that to work?

[Deitz Dittrich]

Unfortunatly your NBT function will not work with the summer tranceducer.

[Gus]

I will repost question in Equipement expert forum. Sorry admin.

[Note from admin: Please take this question to the equipment expert information forum. Thanks much.]

[ChuckN]

Geez, Gus, I have absolutely no problems like that. Yes, the puck is mounted right on my trolling motor. My wires are tied into the starting battery (not trolling motor batteries, that might create issues).

I run a 350A Lowrance next to the LX-5, but the 350 ducer is in the hull and about 4' away...there is very minor clutter when I run both until I hit the LX-5 IR button, then it's gone.

In fact, there is no interference running all three sonars at once in my boat.

I have never seen that happen over the years with the FL-8, LX-3 or the LX-5 hooked up to 2 different Minn Kota trolling motors/boats I've owned... strange!

If you've tried re-wiring to an independent battery, my only guess is the trolling motor is making a lot of noise for some reason. Might want to ask this question in the Equipment information forum to see what others have to say.

Maybe disconnect the ducer from the motor and when you are on the water put the ducer in the water and see what happens when it's far away from the trolling motor and close to it? Just offering some trial and error...