which flasher to buy?

[Crestliner 1]

Finally got a flasher, bought the hummingbird ice 35 . wow what a difference, think any flasher is a huge advantage. The 35 is bout300 and worth its weight in perch

[turbot]

Does anyone use the Garmin striker 4 ice fishing?

I have been using the Striker 4 portable for 4 months now and I am impressed with its capabilities,  especially for the price. Both open water river fishing and on the ice, it has performed quite well. The transducer works well on the ice and buying Garmin's "ice" transducer,  would be a waste. Battery life seems good, as I have yet to run it down to inoperable.  Should last 2 or 3 8 hour days, no problem. There isn't much info on the Internet for these units, but I have had great luck with Garmin, so I pulled the trigger. Glad I did. Also, this unit has been used at -6 degrees with no problems with digital screen. I have used, both , Marcums and  vexs', which are great machines, but I honestly can't say they were any better. Plus you get sonar and gps and the detail is good. I hope this helps those who can't find much feedback on the Striker 4.

[MTsmkj]

Has anyone tried the Deeper sonar? Apparently it connects with phones and ipads etc. via bluetooth. Looks interesting.

[The-Walleye-Guy]

I have the vexilar and love it, But have also fished with the marcums and have been impressed as well.  Marcums have more adjustable settings.

[gf hardwater guy]

I have a vexilar fl-22 which are now very hard to find and let me tell you this. If I happen to forget it somehow at home, I return home and pick it up. When I went to Minnesota ice fishing 2 years ago, I actually carried in my carry on bag, the head of this unit so as to ensure that it was going to get where it needed to get safely. I had to ground ship the battery, but that is an entirely different story for a different day. I know a guy in East Helena who had a gently used FL-18 for sale. He was asking $300.00 for it which if it is as gently used as it appears to be, is a deal.

[kirkj1]

I am looking at a Vexilar and Garmin 5dv. I like the screen options of the Garmin, flasher and viewer, but have not heard much about them. Any other word on the Garmin units?

[Iceisnice61]

Yo MTsmkj - I picked up the Deeper about a year and a half ago. Bought it with hard water in mind but also for soft water shore fishing and canoe fishing so I could read depth and mark fish.  I used it last winter for ice fishing and I have to say it does a good job. Flasher mode works well as does the time lapse. It definitely was better than having no electronics. The downside was having to keep the phone out while ice fishing and also having sufficient phone battery. The Deeper lasted longer than my phone.

I picked up a Marcum vx-1 this fall cause I found it on a good sale and thought it would be nice to have a dedicated ice fishing sonar and not have to worry about the small phone screen or accidentally dropping my phone down the hole.  I'd say if you have an ice hut with a decent/easy setup to read the phone it would be a great start. The technology is surprisingly good and allows for all-season use. I've shown it to a few fishing buddies and they've been impressed with what it can do.

[MTsmkj]

Thanks for the info. on the Deeper. Im looking forward to using it. Hopefully I'll be on the ice soon....

[20 Below]

Just a penny's worth - I have ice fished with a showdown unit, a Marcum VX-1, Vexilar FL-8SE and one of the early Lowrance units. Yes, I am a recovering gadget-a-holic. My wife has me in rehab but I did get a new shanty and a bigger sled this year! I love ice fishing and all of the units above worked well to ID fish but I really liked the Vexilar and Marcum the best.

I still fish today with the Vex but I am going to upgrade this year as the previous person said "when the discounts hit".  I am going for the Vex FL-28 this time. Not for any reason other than it has all of the features and that brand has worked well for me. I have fished my current Vex a lot with not one glitch - bought it somewhere around mid-2007. I do agree however there are lots of less expensive units that will do a great job! I just want one I can run for 10 more years.

[justoutdoors]

I have been using the Striker 4 portable for 4 months now and I am impressed with its capabilities,  especially for the price. Both open water river fishing and on the ice, it has performed quite well. The transducer works well on the ice and buying Garmin's "ice" transducer,  would be a waste. Battery life seems good, as I have yet to run it down to inoperable.  Should last 2 or 3 8 hour days, no problem. There isn't much info on the Internet for these units, but I have had great luck with Garmin, so I pulled the trigger. Glad I did. Also, this unit has been used at -6 degrees with no problems with digital screen. I have used, both , Marcums and  vexs', which are great machines, but I honestly can't say they were any better. Plus you get sonar and gps and the detail is good. I hope this helps those who can't find much feedback on the Striker 4.

Thanks for your input on the striker 4. Hopefully mine will get here before Saturday. been out to Cooney a few times today we caught 2 trout but look forward to having a look on the bottom of the lake

[BloodShotP]

Love my lx3!

[beerhunter]

Vexilar