Author Topic: I am looking to buy an underwater camera/ Sonar&GPS/ Flasher?  (Read 1434 times)

Offline IceKingggg

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I have fished in a shallow lake these few past seasons and I have mainly fished by sight if it is a clear day.... I am looking to up my game and move to deeper waters and would like to get some sort of electronic. I Will be completely honest and I do not knowo what a flasher is compared to a sonar to the down facts. I know what each are but what is smarter for ice fishing?? Thanks!

Offline hardwater diehard

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http://www.iceshanty.com/ice_fishing/index.php?board=74.0

tons of info to sift through ....also go to the manufactures web sites and YouTube sites ...Vexilar has some good information regarding flasher basics . Next I would set a price ....some units have bells and whistles that you may never use or be interested in ....good luck
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Offline Spider1

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They are all sonar. Sonar is just a device that bounces a sound down to the bottom through a water column and then back to the transducer to see what's in that water column at that time. Flashers are more of an instant read sonar. It shows what is going on under your transducer at that second with no past information to clutter the screen. The regular fish finder type sonar will give you the same information but as it scrolls, the old information is kept on the screen as it scrolls. This is good info also but can clutter a screen. I've used both and they both work fine. Basically, you get used to what you are using. I've noticed that on most instances the ff needs a little more adjustments when you move from spot to spot, depth to depth and even depending on lure size, jig to jig. I've found that some small jigs don't show up as well on a ff as they do on a flasher... but that could just be my choice of ff at the time. All things considered, they both will work. The camera is for seeing what's happening below the ice. They can be difficult to position just right but once you do you can have a great view of what's going on depending on available light and water clarity. If you are in stained or murky water, the camera will be useless.

the up side of using a ff is that you can go from ice fishing to boat fishing with the same unit. I have a decent ff with dsi and a flasher mode, but I haven't used it on ice yet. I have a flasher for ice and I'm used to it so why switch, but I would really like to try the ff some time just to see how the dsi, chirp and flasher modes work on ice. Just never had the chance last year to get around to it.

Offline hardwater diehard

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Good videos on flashers ....to get you started










as for cameras ...I have a AV Micro 5 and a AV Micro II Plus...both w DVR ...great for scouting...especially the smaller one ....cable management is EZPZ ....as far a picture ....depends on the light penetration  ...snow pack ...ice thickness...and water clarity.  The Larger screen units with thicker cable ...tend to be heavier...bulky...and cable management more difficult ...with similar picture quality based on the conditions of light penetration  as mentioned above ... both Aqua Vu and Marcum make some Micro models ...I believe some Marcum users stated that the video format for their units were using an antiquated format QuickTime I believe .Aqua Vu is rumored to be adding some wireless units/add on . Vexilar makes an add on DVR for $100 or less but only works for their units but they do not offer a Micro units.
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Offline Chris338378

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I would start out with a flasher because it's the most versatile machine for your money to start out.  What I mean by this is it will tell you if there's fish below you and don't have the limitations of the camera as previously said.  A GPS is nice but all that's going to tell you is where you are not if there's any fish below you.   Now depending on your budget you can get a flasher and camera combo or even a machine that has the flasher, camera, and GPS in it but as you start combining these items the price starts to go up.  Another thing to consider is do you want a traditional flasher, which you are looking at a circle that has different colored lights that indicate there's an object below you, or would you rather a machine that has a vertical display.  When I bought my machine about five years ago I spent weeks reading about different machines and comparing them.  I ended up going with a Showdown Dual Beam, which is a digital machine and has a vertical display because it seemed a lot simpler to me, the top of the screen is the top of the water column and the bottom is the bottom of the water column and anything in between is either my jig or a fish.  The most common things I hear from guy why they don't like it is it's display is black and white and you can't split the screen to watch the bottom six feet of the water column and the entire water column at the same time.  I really don't have a problem with it being a black and white display because I've gotten use to it and know the bigger the line the bigger the object below.  I also don't mind not having the split screen feature because I can zoom anywhere in the water column.  For an example my friend's Vexilar can show you the bottom six feet of the water column on the left side of the circular display and the entire water column on the right side where I can zoom into where ever I want in the water column.   For an example let's say we're fishing in twenty feet of water and school of fish come through at twelve feet of water.  Both machines will show you these fish (providing I don't have my machine zoomed into a certain part of the water column) but I can switch on my zoom and move it to twelve feet so I can see what's going on there better where my friend's Vexilar can't.  Yeah this is a bit of a double edged sword because if I was zoomed into another area I would't have seen the fish but when I'm looking for fish I watch the entire water column then switch the zoom on once I find them.  Really it comes down to getting to know how your machine works and getting use to it.  A good way to help narrow down the list of machines to check out is to figure out your budget and check out the manufacturer's websites to see what's in your budget.  I'd limit my list to those machines and the machines that are the next step up because when the sales hit you'll probably be able to get the next step up machine for around the top end of your budget or a little more. 

Offline 3300

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you'd use a sonar far more than a camera. the digital sonar is the way to go with no moving parts and no flashing lights (flasher/mechanical sonar vs digital sonar) or noise and software updateable and you can pick displays on marcum lx6/7/9 and rt9. these retail at 600$/700$/1200$ and 1600$

another good option in the digital sonar would be the marcum showdown dual beam if you can find one or wait to see if they make the dual beam soon again. the single beam is available. the single beam will be 350$ and the dual will be 400$, last i knew.

all of the above sonars will have you use the least amount of the transducer in the water. this avoids fish cutting cables and loosing fish from tangles lines. it also helps with landing fish being it is much harder to get line caught on the cable. most times you don't have to remove the transducer from the water.
this also helps interference from other sonars by not being below the ice plate and subject to other sonars ping return signals. the deeper the ice the better this works. many other sonars use a swim noodle to hold the transducer and this allows the it to hang too low and get in the way trying to land fish.
marcum uses an adjustable reach arm to hold the transducer in the water. it only needs to be "just wet" to function. they also can work on top of the ice if you remove the air from under the transducer with some water if the ice is clear. they make flashlight sonars to do this very thing to help find bottom depths.

then you can try the type that is meant for open water and they offer an ice package such as garmin or lowrance.
from my extremely bad experience you should stay clear of humminbird with their VERY expensive and shoty repairs.
there are not many brands to choose from. if you decide to go with a mechanical flasher, you will have more models and one more brand to choose from. i didn't care for mine and was glad to buy a digital version and i won't ever buy a mechanical version again.

it's best to catch any electronics on sale. so try to buy off season of black friday deals.
cameras are fun, but are more of a hassle that they are worth if your trying to catch fish quickly. if you want a camera on board with your sonar there are two worth mentioning. they are the marcum lx9 and the marcum rt9. retail they start at 1200$. so it depends on your budget if you have one.

Offline hardwater diehard

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