Fishfinder vs Flasher

[teamtrout]

I know they're not for ice fishing, but has anyone ever tried using a fish finder instead of a flasher? One like this is way cheaper than a flasher. WHat are the disadvantages? I'd assume that they are far less accurate...

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Boating/Marine-Electronics/Sonars-SonarGPS-Combos%7C/pc/104794380/c/104707080/sc/104588280/Humminbirdreg-PiranhaMax-165-Sonar/1545175.uts?destination=%2Fcatalog%2Fbrowse%2Fsonars-sonar-gps-combos%2F_%2FN-1100517%2FNs-MIN_SALE_PRICE%3FWT.mc_id%3DGOOGLE%257Cboa_Boating%2BElectronics_general%257CUSA%26WT.srch%3D1%26WT.tsrc%3DPPC%26WT.z_mc_id1%3D43700005040010114%26WTz_stype%3DGNU%26gclid%3DCIHOhPjqjMICFYLJ4AodVT4Aig%26gclsrc%3Dds%26rid%3D20&WTz_l=PPC%3Bcat104588280

[Cousteau]

Ive used Lowrance HDS 5 fishfinder  Works great and has flasher mode.

[OpryIcin]

Lowrance x67c IceMachine.

Available on eBay for $175 and up, has flasher mode.  I like the graph mode personally but will be using the flasher mode some this winter.

[BIGCREW]

The only thing with a fish finder with an lcd screen is they can freeze up or slow down, there are a few that are designed for icefishing and I believe they have the screen heated if your in a shack you shouldn't  have any problems with any model aside from the trasducer and the degree of the transducer for the depth your fishing

[hamms]

I have lx7 marcum and lowrance hds5 I rigged that today to try it tomorrow. When you spend that much why not use it year round!

[SLAYERFISH]

I have friends that use fishfinders on the ice.   They seem to work. I prefer my flasher.

[capt.crappie]

I have been using a humminbird fishin buddy several years. I never had the screen freeze up. It marks fish & I fish for them. Yet I would really like to have a show down. I think a flasher or a show down could improve my catch in deeper water.

[matzilla]

teamtrout, I use a HB 175 and it works great. Same as the 165 but has a dual beam ducer - I only use the 200hz anyway lol! Turn the fish ID off, sensitivity near max, chart speed at max, and fish away. If you get the 165 keep in mind that adjusting the depth range effectively adjusts the gain - deeper range, more power at the ducer. Don't use the auto range/auto zoom feature - manually adjust the zoom

Turn the backlight all the way up and it will keep the screen working well all the way down to 0. If it does slow down just put a cover over it (vexilar cover fits perfect btw) with a hand warmer inside. The color screen units work better in cold temps but its not bad to deal with.



This one is a better all around deal http://www.cabelas.com/product/Boating/Marine-Electronics/Sonars-SonarGPS-Combos%7C/pc/104794380/c/104707080/sc/104588280/Lowrancereg-Elite-3X-Sonar/1888876.uts?destination=%2Fcatalog%2Fbrowse%2Fsonars-sonar-gps-combos%2F_%2FN-1100517%2B10000050%2FNe-10000050%3FWTz_l%3DSBC%253BBRprd1545175%26WTz_st%3DGuidedNav%26WTz_stype%3DGNU&WTz_l=SBC%3BBRprd1545175%3Bcat104588280

[Dan J]

The newer graphs aren't liquid crystal so they won't freeze up. They are also real time just like a flasher. Just turn the scroll speed up and they will read just as fast as a flasher. The down side is battery drain and not as fast to adjust your settings ( menus instead of knobs ).

[800stealth]

I take the Humminbird 598 HD/SI off my bassboat and put it in the Bayrunner. Sometimes I use graphing, sometimes I use ice flasher mode, works great either way. I also have Navionics on it with all my way points from previous trips... huge time saver.

[Elkhnter]

I have a Humminbird 570 Portable Fishfinder and it works perfectly- Never freezes up, has RTS which is real time sonar down the Side so when you jig your jig you see it right now and when a fish come up to your jig you see both your jig and the fish right now and the only addition I bought for it is the Ice ducer but a guy can use the regular one that comes with it just have to built a stand out of PVC to keep the transducer verticle in the water- Thats where most guys have problem is if they use a regular transducer and dont keep it verticle the sonar doesnt read right..

So yeah I spend $150.00 dollars on it plus $100.00 dollars on the Ice Ducer=$250.00 which is a heck of a lot cheaper than a flasher and you can actually see fish instead of Green,Yellow and Whatever colored bars flashing around all day.. I'm more of a visible person so I like to see fish on the screen instead of colored bars and have to interpret what is really going on down in my hole..

You can get a Humminbird 570 portable off e-bay for pretty cheap!!!

[teamtrout]

Thanks for all the responses guys!

just wondering, are there distinct differences between the humminbird pihranamax 155, 160, 170, and so on? They all seem really cheap, and I'd  have no problem spending 100 on one if it was better than the others- but if they are pretty similar, I'd rather go with the 60 dollar one.

[Elkhnter]

Team Trout- the difference in the pihranamax's are the Verticle image- 240 V   versus 320 V  the more verticle pixels you have the better image you will get down the hole meaning the better the sonar will show images on the Screen..

If you type in Humminbird 570 portable you can get one for 195.00 on epay and 220.00 from factory outlet.. And that unit has 640 verticle.

If you buy that unit all you would need to do is buy some PVC pipe and build a holder for the transducer to get it under the ice and to set straight so you get a clear image.. Message me if you want some more intel on Fishfinders or if you get it on how I build my transducer bracket..

Happy shopping...

[FG Steve]

Late entry here -- Been using a Humminbird FF for years and really like it.  If you shop used, check the cone angle--some of the old units only had a 20-degree cone (less area covered).

[JiggernautI87]

I have been using a humminbird fishin buddy several years. I never had the screen freeze up. It marks fish & I fish for them. Yet I would really like to have a show down. I think a flasher or a show down could improve my catch in deeper water.

Me too I love my Vexilar FL-8 SE a fine fishin machine

[filetandrelease]

 I have both flashers and graphs ,Vex, Lowrance , and HB i prefer the finders over flashers and i use graph mode for a couple reasons , but i will never get rid of my fl18 deep it preforms nicely , and i fish from 5'- 100' with no trouble , 

[Tmaida17]

I have been using a humminbird fishin buddy several years. I never had the screen freeze up. It marks fish & I fish for them. Yet I would really like to have a show down. I think a flasher or a show down could improve my catch in deeper water.

Funny you say that bc I have the hummingbird fishin buddy for my kayak and wasn't sure how good it was during the winter so I bought the showdown 5.6 recently for winter time. Couldn't resist after reading the reviews lol. I will try both and let you know but my guess is the showdown will work easier bc it shows the lure on the screen so it'll be easier to snag them fishies. Lol

[BaitBucket]

Pick up the lowarance Elite 4 for $149 on black friday at bps. Then buy the ice transducer for 60$. For about 200$ u get a full color ice unit with GPS to mark those productive holes,  that u can also use in open water .

[OpryIcin]

^^wow...^^

[matzilla]

Gander MT has the elite 4 with map card and screen cover for just under 200 for black Friday. Skip the ice ducer and rig the skimmer up as shown in other threads on here


hb 160/165 is 20* 200hz beam only and has less power than a 170/175....the 150 series has lower resolution iirc

[BaitBucket]

Gander MT has the elite 4 with map card and screen cover for just under 200 for black Friday. Skip the ice ducer and rig the skimmer up as shown in other threads on here


hb 160/165 is 20* 200hz beam only and has less power than a 170/175....the 150 series has lower resolution iirc

Buying the ice ducer allows you to leave the regular ducer on the boat. So you only have to swap the head unit.

[hamms]

I rigged my hds5 with the skimmer transducer and when I got home I ordered the ice ducer for 70 bucks. I enjoy using the hds in open water and I need an extra unit for the ice cause my wife steals the lx7. Just want to use it year round!

[TylerRyan]

I have the hummingbird 110 portable fish finder I use ice fishing.  Works pretty good for me

[Osage]

Curious read,Pehaps I read it on this forum,or I dreampt it,but I thought it possible to lower a ducer down an ice hole and hold it vertically instead of horizontally,it will read across the lake,rather than down.Am I just wishfully thinking or is it true?

[chummyhole]

I've fished with a flasher a couple times and not really crazy about . um  heres my fish finder set up.







two batteries in the bottom on a piece of blue SM foam.  sits nice and high off the ice closer to my eyes.  some times you have to put a couple hand warmers around the head when its really cold but i love it.  i picked up a ice ducer this summer so I'll hang the other one in the permanent hut as a back up.  wold like up grade to a newer head with gps touch screen.  some day.  oh and wood floats i tryed two peices of a hockey stick to hold the ducer down but it kept floating .  the pvc pipe doesn't float.  works awesome.  hope this gives you some ideas/options.

don't mind my dirty floor.  between me and my kids it never ends

[sonic344]

Flashers usually display information back in real time, while open water fish finders might have a delay. A lot of the newer units actually can be used in either mode, whether it is a fish finder or a digital flasher. For example I fish with a Marcum Lx-6 and it has an open water mode and it has a screen that can be set to a graphing mode but it is recommended to use a different transducer.

[Elkhnter]

Sonic- That is really not the truth about fish finders having a delay. Most of the newer humminbird fish finders have what they an RTS window which is "Real Time Sonar" so when you move your jig you see it at the same time on your screek and when a fish comes in you see it right now..

I have the Humminbird 570 portable and loved it so much I bought two so I would have a spare. And the other thing about fish finders versus Flashers is the fish finders are usually 1/2 the price if a flasher and on a fish finder you can actually see a fish as a fish versus on a flasher all you see if a bunch of blue,green or yellow lines bouncing around all day..

So each there own but i'm more of a visual person and I like to see a fish as a fish instead a colored line on a round screen.

[BaitBucket]

I purchased a new Lowrance Elite 4 GPS/Chartplotter/Fishfinder this spring for my kayak. I learned that they also made an ice transducer for 60$. So the standard transducer stays in the yak, and I got the ice ducer for the hardwater. Now I can mark those hot holes on my GPS for future trips.

Picked up a waterproof box to mount the holder to and store the battery. Whole thing fits in my old 6pack softside cooler.

[jbhandjr]

How is the battery life on the lowrance unit?

[BaitBucket]

How is the battery life on the lowrance unit?

Will depend on the battery, but my 12v 7ah battery is good for about 15-20 continuous hours if i had to guess. Ive never killed it lol