fish finder

[cticedog]

Looking to purchase a fish finder any suggestions.

[jss111678]

If you are asking about a flasher for the ice, I have a hummingbird ice-35 and I think it works great, I also have a velxer that is older think it's the FL-8 and that does a good job too. I would suggest both!

[Curley]

I have a humminbird 597 I use on ice and the kayak. Duel purpose. I also have an older FL8 that gets the job done.

[hawk01]

Vex...Humingbird  Humingbird...Vex. Its a Ford vs Chevy type of debate. I love my Vex FL18, bottom line is either one will put more fish on the ice for you, try them both, it boils down to what clicks for you.

Hawk

[eiderz]

Personally, I'm a Marcum guy. I bet that's helpful, now you have at least three different recommendations. LOL

In addition to any suggestions you receive here I suggest searching the Equipment Board, there's a bunch of identical discussions.

http://www.iceshanty.com/ice_fishing/index.php?board=32.0

[eiderz]

Forgot to mention, try one before buying if possible. Hopefully we get ice statewide soon. Some guys like a traditional flasher, others graphs. Find what makes sense to you.

[halfhooked]

I dont think it much matters unless you are going to fish more than a hundred feet deep or real close to to other sonar units  then you may need all features of a real pricey unit  but other than that flasher  graph with a fast refresh rate  or a showdown  you get used to whatever unit you buy it just a short time  they will all do the job I have used all three styles and if I had to pick only one it would be a genz pack FL-8 its affordable I used it in the kayak  as well as ice very durable  in fact tougher than nails and I have fished it 3 straight days on a single charge

[Papa Sly]

Love my Showdown duel beam...fish often in 50' of water and IMO for the price it's the best and easiest to read.

[NorthEastFisherman]

Truly, it's what flasher/finder suits YOU best. For me, I like to move a lot and prefer to see more on the screen rather than just some colors on a circle. So given that and the fact that I wanted a fish finder for my kayak I bought a Lowrance Elite 4X. Although I haven't experienced using any other flasher besides once I tried a hummingbird 45 I think it was, I don't think I'd ever return mine for a different one. The price was great for it ($250), you can use it both open and hard water you just need to switch transducer, battery life is great I use mine for a weekend and it still has about a 1/3 left but I would charge it after every use that way the transducer reads strong. It's small and you can buy the "ice machine" which is basically a carry case to use on the ice but I also use it in the kayak since it's simpler than drilling holes in my kayak. And I think my favorite features is that there are so many settings on the finder that you can use. Check out their website they still might have a demo mode for it that you can download on your computer to see what it's like. I would say come with me sometime and I'll show you how it runs buttttttt..... no ice........ At first I was going to buy the ice troller by marcum because it was the cheapest and me being 17 I don't have a lot of money but then after seeing how tiny the screen was I saved up and got the Lowrance even though it's not that huge of a screen but it's perfect size for me. In the end, they all do the same job and I don't know how I grew up fishing without one because they're so helpful but no matter which you buy it's worth the money!

[fish on ron]

Marcum vx-1 pro, $299. With same features as the "others" $500. Units. I was all in for a Vexilar. Do the research, after I did there was no  comparison for the $$.