Graph of Flasher

[Guest]

Please bare with me guys, I am sure this topic has been of here too many times already but this is my first time here so please bare with me. I am looking into purchasing either the Vexilar FL-8, the Vexilar FL-18 of the Eagle Fishmark 320 Portable unit graph. I will be using this for seeking out those Walleyes on Saginaw Bay in Michigan through the ice and on the Saginaw River both through the ice and slipping the current with my jon boat after ice out. The deepest water I will probably be in would be 25'.
Thanks, Greg

[fiskyknut]

No doubt get a flasher.

[Deemo]

Yep get the flasher. Spend the extra bucks and get the FL-18. You will not regret it.

[bigeyes]

Welcome Green Bay and yes the flasher is what you will want. The 8 or the 18 depending on your budget they are both excellent units and you won't be disappointed. Somebody might have to pry my 8 out of my cold dead hand before I give it up for any other unit.

[irvingdog]

Graphs don't really work well through the ice because your position remains static. Think about it. When a fish comes under your cone, you'll get a black line through your screen that will stay until the fish has moved on. If the fish moves up or down, the line will thicken. Your bait? ___________________________

Vexilars excel at what they do. And the 18 is amazing.

[Jim W]

Welcome Green Bay!!!!

MOst are right on about the flasher over the LCD.
Flashers are "Real time" where with LCD read outs there is about a 2 second delay, not the greatest for vertical jigging. However some LCD units have the flasher capabilities now.

Recently I fished the Mississippi in heavy current, using my Vexilar! The current kept sweeping my spoon past the cone range!

This made fishing almost unbearable!! In fact, I made a comment to my fishing partner that day that I felt naked with out my vexilar!!!!
I settled for sitting on my bucket and watchng the screen anyway!LOL

My point, once you have used and specifically owned one, you will NEVER ice fish with out one again!!!!

Go VEXILAR!!!!!

Jim W

[Guest]

Ok, now for the next question. Is the FL-18 worth the extra cash??? A friend of mine at work just purchased the FL-8 and was told that the 18 can be a little difficult to learn how to use and set up for the average fisherman, any comments on this guys???

Greg

[irvingdog]

That comment is insulting to "the average fisherman". It comes with a video tape for the below average fisherman.

[roadkingclasic56]

It is not as hard to learn as some would say. The first time you use it, a lot of your questions and concerns will be dealt with. Don't be afraid to experiment with the gain control and such. If you spend an afternoon with the unit, trying different things you will learn just about everything you need to know. Put the transducer down the same hole as your bait. Watch your screen as you move your bait up and down. Move it at least a couple of feet until you are sure you see it going up and down on the screen. Adjust your gain up until you can see your bait without it flickering on the screen. When you are more confident you can adjust it to your liking. You will soon learn which mark on the screen is your bait. Any new mark that appears on your screen and then moves up from the bottom to meld with the mark that is your bait is the critter you want to catch! You will absolutely enjoy fishing with a flasher.

[Northlander]

Go with a flasher w/out a doubt! I would buy the FL-18 as well. Have used them for the past year and love it. The bottom lock is great for the bottom dwellers.

[united jigsticker]

Vexilar, See what you've been missing

The FL-8, the FL-18, it doesn't matter.

Either one will drastically improve your odds and your catch ratios in all your fishing pursuits.

Fish On! Fish Off!

[Scott Steil]

Get the flasher, it will work great for you year around. I have both the Fl-18 and the LX-3. Both units are great, but I prefer the LX-3. My wife now uses the Fl-18. If you are going to be fishing suspended fish during the summer, get the LX-3 for sure.

[Scoot]

Flasher- no doubt! If you can afford it, get the 18. If all you'll ever do is ice fish and you're short cash, the 8slt is a very good unit. However, particularly if your going to use it in a boat- get the 18. The 18 has a couple of little bells and whistles that are improvements from the 8 that apply well to ice fishing too.
If you can swing it, get the 18 and don't look back. Very easy to use- just spend a little time and you'll figure it out quickly. You'll love it.
Scoot
P.S. If you're a Packers fan, then disregard everything I said above. Packer-backers should just guess how deep the water is and not be allowed to use electronics. If, however, you're a Vikes fan, see the message above

[This message has been edited by Scoot (edited 02-25-2003).]

[Guest]

Look at the LX-3 - many seem to think this is better than the FL-18 (although not yet real popular on FM). They are very close in features and performance with the LX-3 offering a better zoom (range of zoom and allow either a 5 or 10' window zoom at 20' rather than fixed. Much quieter and a much better charging system. Better separation on the LX-3 as well.

[Guest]

Please forgive my ignorance but who makes the LX-3.

[REEFRAKER]

If I had my choice I would go with a graph any day. The only reason I have a vex is because all the other vexs out there knock out my screen on my graph.

[Surface Tension]

I dont know where this real time thing came from but its HorseHockey.
Every graph Ive used is real time.

[cwmn]

I used my Eagle Mmagna View for three years on the ice before I could afford a flasher and it work fine, although it had some trouble in water under 10 feet.
I could see my jig and I could see it jig when I jigged it. Yeah it's black lines across the screen but when I couldn't afford a flasher my Magna View worked very well for ice fishing.

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Have a good one!
CWMN

[Jim W]

Hate to argue ST> but lcd graphs are not real time. By the time you see anything on your graph a couple seconds have passed.

Again, SOme have flasher capabilities built in. Maybe this is what your talking about?

Jim W

[Surface Tension]

Jim when I lift my rod I see my jig go up. When I drop the tip I see my jig go down. If theres any delay its within a split second. I can live with that.
Im not going to convince Vex users the benifits of a graph nor do I want to put the time and energy into it doing so.
Besides any discussion of the like always goes bad.

[Guest]

I was on the Vexilar web site and saw that the FL-8 and the 18 have 400 watts peak to peak power. The graphs I have been looking at have 1500 watts. I have been told that the peak to peak power is what can make or break a graph. If this is true then what makes the flashers better.

[Guest]

The LX-3 is from Marccum Technologies. The same company that makes the OVS cameras.

The flasher is what you need for ice fishing because it is real time. The graphs aren't real time display, so you won't be able to see your jig go up and down.

[Scott Steil]

I won't get into the Power vs Pixel arguement for graphs here but I will say this. The LX-3 flasher is made by MarCum Technology and has 1500 Watts of peak to peak power. It is am impressive unit. Check it out before you buy anything. Better to look now then look later.

[Guest]

I would be happy to take a look at the LX-3 but according to their web site they don't have these in stores in Michigan.
Can I get any bites on the question I posted earlier about the peak tp peak power in regards to watts. The graphs I looked at have 1500 watts and the FL-8 and 18 have 400 watts.

[Guest]

What do you need 1500 Watts for anyway?

If you count the number of experts and "recreational" fisherman who use Vexilar or Marcum, for both ice fishing and open water, the Vex will win by a mile.

If you look back at the numerous posts on which of these units is favored, you'll see that the Vexilar is the longtime favorite for all applications.

You can buy a high-speed ducer to use the Vex on your Boat and it's awesome.

I'd challenge anyone on this site to prove that 1500 watts vs 400 watts makes one unit better than the other when you're talking FLASHERS, not Graphs.

Hang-on to your hat...

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Chells