Author Topic: Fish Finders (Read 10247 times)

Ann · « **on:** Nov 05, 2002, 09:49 AM »

I've been fishing a local lake (large pond) with my brother-in-law for the past 3 winters. We usually have a ball and catch a fair amount of fish. He's been using a Vexilar "flashing light" real-time fish finder with reasonable success. I'd like to get one of my own but would rather use a smaller sized unit like a Humminbird. What other brands of fish finders are ice fishermen using these days? Is there a problem using LCD display fish finders like the Humminbird Piranah in the cold weather???

-= Ann =-

Icenutter · « **Reply #1 on:** Nov 05, 2002, 10:28 AM »

You most likely will not be able to see the fish on LCD displays because of the transducers. You will be able to see structure and the bottom of the lake. You also will not be able to see how the fish respond to your bait when jigging. On the Vex you can see your bait jigging up and down and can see whether or not the fish are reacting to your bait. Save your money and buy a Vex. Just my 2 cents. Go to the General chit chat forum and you will see many other subjects on the Vex and LCD fish finders.

bido · « **Reply #2 on:** Nov 05, 2002, 11:42 AM »

i say the vex all the way i dont know what i would do without it

LoneWolf · « **Reply #3 on:** Nov 05, 2002, 12:58 PM »

As perchhunter said the flasher is the way to go.You can use your LCD fishfinders for icefishing but you have to realize a few things first.Most LCD's (with the exception of Zercom)don't use military grade liquid in the display so they can freeze.If they do you will get black blotches that will go away once you warm them up.You could place a small heater alongside it and that should work.Another thing is the response time will be much slower(except on the Zercom).On a flasher as you jig your lure you see it immediately-the LCD will be a few seconds behind.Also when fish show they will appear as a straight line across the screen as will your jig.Another thing is you will need to rig something up to hold the transducer level in the hole. If you have the extra money get the flasher if not use your LCD. Good Luck !

kenelz · « **Reply #4 on:** Nov 13, 2002, 02:32 PM »

I have the same question, I've never used a fishfinder, and was looking at the Humminbird 200dx. It has a portable model that has the batteries, case etc. It seems everyone on the ice has a Vexilar (sp), and was wondering why. Isnt it easier to see a fish and sturctures with the LCD unit? I would be using this in a shanty with a heater. I suppose there is a reason this isn't usually done.

kenelz · « **Reply #5 on:** Nov 13, 2002, 04:13 PM »

A question on the flasher... what is the advantage of the dual beam 9/19 over the single beam 19?

LoneWolf · « **Reply #6 on:** Nov 14, 2002, 03:42 AM »

With a dual beam transducer you would have the best of both worlds.The transducers cone angle (like a funnel-wider at the bottom)makes a difference in what you will see.Take a 9deg for example:at 10' you might have 1.5' viewing area and at 50' you might have an 8' area.Now with a 19deg at 10' might be 3.5' and at 50' 16.5'.Usually if you are fishing 40' or less it is recommended the higher deg transducer and for deep water the narrow deg transducer.The narrow transducer will also give better readings(in deeper water) because you are concentrating the same power into a narrower area.I opted for a mid range 12deg transducer.The dual beam has a switch box and just looked bulkier. Good luck !

kenelz · « **Reply #7 on:** Nov 14, 2002, 02:26 PM »

Thanks LoneWolf, I havnt seen the 12 degree tranduser, where did you get it? Is it a Vexilar? Also, how do you hold the transduser level? Or do you use a puck like type?

LoneWolf · « **Reply #8 on:** Nov 14, 2002, 02:40 PM »

Hi kenelz ! The 12 deg transducer is a Vexilar and comes standard with the units.The units for ice fishing are the ice-ducers: they have a foam float and it self centers.Other units like the old Zercoms and the new Marcums use an arm to support the transducer and they self center.You can still use the puck style but you will have to have an adjustable arm to attach it to and a leveling bubble to level it. LoneWolf

Hard_H2O · « **Reply #9 on:** Nov 22, 2002, 11:26 AM »

Here are some cone angles and the approximate diameter that is covered.

10' deep
9° Cone 1' 6.89"
12° Cone 2' 1.23"
19° Cone 3' 4.16"
20' deep
9° Cone 3' 1.78"
12° Cone 4' 2.45"
19° Cone 6' 8.32"
30' deep
9° Cone 4' 8.67"
12° Cone 6' 3.68"
19° Cone 10' 0.49"
40' deep
9° Cone 6' 3.55"
12° Cone 8' 4.90"
19° Cone 13' 4.65"
50' deep
9° Cone 7' 10.44"
12° Cone 10' 6.13"
19° Cone 16' 8.81"
60' deep
9° Cone 9' 5.33"
12° Cone 12' 7.35"
19° Cone 20' 0.97"
70' deep
9° Cone 11' 0.22"
12° Cone 14' 8.58"
19° Cone 23' 5.14"
80' deep
9° Cone 12' 7.11"
12° Cone 16' 9.80"
19° Cone 26' 9.30"
90' deep
9° Cone 14' 2.00"
12° Cone 18' 11.03"
19° Cone 30' 1.46"
100' deep
9° Cone 15' 8.88"
12° Cone 21' 0.25"
19° Cone 33' 5.62"

ARMSTRONG_BROS. · « **Reply #10 on:** Nov 22, 2002, 07:18 PM »

Also with a wide angle transducer you will not be able to see on the deep edge of s drop off. the transducer will pick up the shallowist stop and mark that as bottom (this is only on a drop off).
Brother #3

asphalt_kid · « **Reply #11 on:** Nov 25, 2002, 06:55 PM »

You can adjust the settings on Eagle and Lowrance depthfinders to be able to see your jig movement. It is best if you have a model with the FASTRAC feature. It acts like a flasher and the fish show up if they are receptive to your jigs by following your lure up pr down. You must turn off the fish symbols and adjust the sensitivity and also turn your scroll rate up. Works the same as a Vexilar only without the color. I have had no luck with programing the hummingbird products. If any hep is needed with some setup advice email me at-----
[email protected]

Trevor · « **Reply #12 on:** Nov 26, 2002, 04:34 AM »

I use a humminbird L.C.D. It, in my opinion, is useless for marking fish. However, it's great for depth and structure location. I live in canada and have never had a problem with freeze-up.

Exudedude · « **Reply #13 on:** Nov 26, 2002, 07:57 AM »

LCD units USUALLY dont have problems with freezing up, but they can, and I have heard of it happening. The major problem with LCD units for ice fishing is this... THey dont update as often, the unit sends a signal down to the bottom, then reads the signal and often things for a split second then lets you know on the far right hand side of your screen. You then.. If YOU HAVE A BAIT LARGE enough can see a wiggly line going across your screen.. fish will also be a line, not fish like you see on the screen some times...The screen gets real cluttered..

As for other flashers, other than the Vexlar. If you buy one of these, there will be a time you are near someone else using a flasher also.. you will then have a problem with interfierence. Vexlar units also have this but seem to be ahead of the problem. The new MARCUM LX-3 is supposedly best at this but nobody knows for sure because they really havn't been tested yet because they are new.

Best of luck!

Fishrmn · « **Reply #14 on:** Dec 03, 2002, 07:34 PM »

LCD units with enough power can track your jig and bait. I can tell you if you still have a perch eye tipped on your jig or if you've been robbed. An LCD that can zoom to any depth can use 280 lines or pixels to represent the exact area that you are fishing. The new vex can only zoom in on the bottom 6 feet. My Lowrance X-85 can zoom in on ANY 1.20 feet and use 280 pixels to represent that 1.2 feet.
And you are not using them right if you think there is Any delay in processing. The secret is to look at the EXTREME right side of the display. This is the real time information. Everything to the left of that is history. Count how long it takes for the information to move from the right side to the left side and you know how long your "window" lasts. If you look away from a flasher unit for a few seconds, you don't know what happened while you were distracted. With an LCD unit you can see if something showed up and moved out while you were sippin' yer suds.
There is that problem with the display freezing, but there are ways to make that less of an issue.
There are plusses and minuses for each, but the notion that flashers are real time, and LCDs are showing old information, or that they can't "see" your jig are based on low power, low resolution (cheap) units.
Most of the time, you get what you pay for. Buy cheap, and you get cheap. Buy the best, and you get the best.
Fishrmn

Hard_H2O · « **Reply #15 on:** Dec 04, 2002, 04:54 AM »

It is amazing turning on your Vexilar and see where the fish are. Drop your jig down to the fish and you can usually tell their mood. You can watch the crappies swim up to your lure or the walleyes and perch separate from the bottom and react to your jigging or the lake trout come in and slam your tube jig.

One of the keys is sensing their mood, based on how you interpret the electronics, and adjusting your presentation, jig speed and frequency, lure size and bait to match their mood.

Real time sonar excels when the fish are suspending. Anyone can put a bait just off the bottom and hope something comes along. But it takes a lot of time fishing the water column to find if they are suspending and at what depth. By the time you find them they may have moved on.

genz_man · « **Reply #16 on:** Jan 15, 2003, 12:56 AM »

I have an old zercom unit. But newer then some cause was able to get the self-aligning transducer. They seam to have been bought up by humminbird. I was wondering if you could get them from anywhere else? Does anyone have an idea or a contact out there somewhere? Matched it up versus the new vexilar fl-18 and like some aspects of each. But prefer my old unit just cause it's old

and paid for

LoneWolf · « **Reply #17 on:** Jan 15, 2003, 02:31 AM »

genz man I've heard you can still find them but I haven't seen any. As you said Hummingbird bought them out and you can still get some units from them-only problem is they don't have any setup for icefishing. You would have to setup something like the blue box. One thought-you can still find them used and at a better price than what Hummingbird is asking.

Barleydog · « **Reply #18 on:** Jan 15, 2003, 03:04 PM »

Ann, I am going to tell you that Hummingbird products are not top of the line. BUT!! I do own and often use my Hummingbird TCR ID-1 Portable unit. This little portable unit uses 2 lantern batteries that keeps up even in the cold weather we get in Alaska. It marks fish just fine, including small fish like 4" Grayling, Salmon, and Trout. The speed control works just fine and unlike some flashers, you get a brief history of where the fish "was". It has enough light to see in the dark and the transducer can be easily mounted for ice useage. I use the bottom lock for smaller bottom feeders, and increase the sensitivity for smaller fish You all know the basics eh! Now the disadvantage, it has a tendency to not read in deep water since it's rated for 100 ft. or less. I can usually get 80ft. out of the unit, but 90 is a reach. This of coarse doesn't make a hill of beans unless you fish Lakers or other depth dwelling fish. I have used my unit strickly on the ice since about 1989 and never had a problem with it. Now I'm not saying any other unit is second fiddle to this unit, but this unit has a screen which can be quite a lot o' fun when schooling fish are cruising the holes. Plus the portability of this unit makes it easy to handel on the ice. Vexilars are the Cadillac of flashers, but this little unit is a gem for a fishfinder. I have seen them on Ebay for next to nothing, and you shouldn't pay alot for this unit either! Good luck! -Barleydog

mnfishman · « **Reply #19 on:** Jan 17, 2003, 04:59 AM »

As far as I know you can still get the Zercom RTS unit but it doesn't have an ice ducer option. As for the Colorpoint there were some on sale in Cabela's bargin cave and also on the Sportsmans Guide website but I have not seen them there for a few weeks.

Your best bet is to get yourself a Vexilar FL8 or FL18. If you are on a tight budget get a used FL8 on EBay. A 6 year old FL8 will out perform the most expensive LCD graph on the market today through the ice. Open water is where the LCD is at home.

The main reason why I say get a Vexilar is they are made for ice fishing. They are durable and can withstand extreme temps. They are also still in business and they can actually repair any unit that they have made. Transducers are interchangeable between units and they still sell accessories for them.

I own a Zercom Colorpoint unit which is similar to the Vexilar FL8 without the IR button. It is a 3 color flasher and it does what I need it to do. It too was designed for ice fishing and that is the only thing I use it for. I do have a transom mount transducer for it but I only use if for my canoe's.

News:

Author Topic: Fish Finders (Read 10247 times)

Ann

ARMSTRONG_BROS.

asphalt_kid

Exudedude

Fishrmn