One for the CO brain trust

[stinkyfingers]

Since I've decided to come out of ice fishing semi-retirement I'm thinking about tweaking my style. My old FL8 hasn't been off the shelf in 10 years since I went to deadsticking with DIY snappers (like Jackers but more sensitive) for trout and Northern. Thinking I want to get back to jigging for trout and maybe some kokanee if the Mile comes back.
  I never was very smart on electronics but now the market has completely got me bewildered. I typically fish in 8'-12' of water but I'd like to be able to pick out a school of kokes 35' down in 60' of water. For the electronically challenged, what's a quality unit that's not all tricked out but is functional. Also, my eyes aren't what they used to be in the glare.
Thanks

[hardwater diehard]

What transducer do you have on your FL8? You could always buy just a head unit ...FL18 should do you just fine .

https://www.amazon.com/Vexilar-FL-18-Finder-without-Transducer/dp/B004AFJ1PG/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1511022672&sr=8-1-fkmr1&keywords=vexilar+fl18+head+unit

[stinkyfingers]

That might well be the ticket. I'll have to go rummage through the collection of former great ideas and must-haves. As I recall, one of the main downsides to the old FL8 was the weight since it ran off of what was essentially a lead acid motor cycle battery and which was not something you'd care to drop on your foot. My hope was that battery technology had moved into something less primitive. Gravity is mean enough as it is.

[Unclegillhunter]

Not from Colorado and not sure if you should trust my brain but, and this is for the battery for any Vexilar unit, the battery comes in at right at 5 lbs. the transducer that you have will fit on which ever head you get and the battery should fit any base you have. I started out with a FL-8 used it for years and then upgraded to a FL-18. IMHO the 18 is a great unit the bottom zoom is a really important function I fish in water from 7 to 30 fow. Just getting the head will safe you a lot. Good luck with whatever you decide on!
Keep it safe! JDL

[hardwater diehard]

That might well be the ticket. I'll have to go rummage through the collection of former great ideas and must-haves. As I recall, one of the main downsides to the old FL8 was the weight since it ran off of what was essentially a lead acid motor cycle battery and which was not something you'd care to drop on your foot. My hope was that battery technology had moved into something less primitive. Gravity is mean enough as it is.

Sealed lead acid (SLA) batteries are what to use ...12 volt.. 7,8 or 9 amp hour will do you fine .Should be able to hunt one down locally.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Wildgame-Innovations-12VB1-E-Drenaline-Battery-12V-Rechargeable/21345816

[SLAYERFISH]

I use a Marcum LX-5.  I can see fish in the weeds of Antero whereas Tommys' FL-20 cannot. Flasher is a game changer.
1st ever time using a flasher was at 11-mile. couldn't catch crap till we moved to 30 ft of water and ALL the fish were at 15-20ft. Saw it instantly on the finder.Would not EVER EVER dream of icing without a flasher.

[fishslap]

Sealed lead acid (SLA) batteries are what to use ...12 volt.. 7,8 or 9 amp hour will do you fine .Should be able to hunt one down locally.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Wildgame-Innovations-12VB1-E-Drenaline-Battery-12V-Rechargeable/21345816

I’m not sure of vexilars but I swapped out my lead acid for a lithium on my marcum lx5.  Ran it all year last year with no issues.  It does require a different charger.  I also just received a new lx7 with lithium.  Big weight savings going to lithium.  Not sure I’d go back to lead acid.

[Bigassbassman]

Would not EVER EVER dream of icing without a flasher.

Except perch fishing in a certain place that requires a bit of a hike...   

I use a Marcum LX-3TC.  Another vote of confidence in a Marcum, if you're thinking of upgrading. I never ice without my flasher. Even carry it miles with me to the far spots. I went one day without it, and Shaun outfished me 3x on finicky fish.

I might want to upgrade from my SLA to a lithium battery this year.  Totally worth it for the hikes.

[stinkyfingers]

I use a Marcum LX-5.  I can see fish in the weeds of Antero whereas Tommys' FL-20 cannot. Flasher is a game changer.
1st ever time using a flasher was at 11-mile. couldn't catch crap till we moved to 30 ft of water and ALL the fish were at 15-20ft. Saw it instantly on the finder.Would not EVER EVER dream of icing without a flasher.

Well, you seem to put more fish on the ice than about anybody on the CO forum. I've  got one of those little LX-1 handheld jobs to shoot the depth before I start poking holes but that's all it's good for. Those LX-5's review really well but the LX-7 appears to have a an even brighter and more readable screen, important for a guy with my eyes. Also like Fishslap's idea on the lithium batteries. Who's a good source on all this stuff? Waterwhipper, you out there? I need a brother-in-law deal.
  Ice fishing sure seems to have the ability to suck up any cash that might be laying around, but if that's what it takes to get excited again then it's pretty cheap I guess.
Thank you all for the replies. Just what was needed.

[SLAYERFISH]

Except perch fishing in a certain place that requires a bit of a hike...   

Fishing for perch in 5 ft of water is pretty easy without one-

and Stinky, you don't need to spend that much any new flasher would be the Bomb!

I don't like the digital flashers or the graphs.  Gimme a flasher!  Unlike some people I can do math.

[stinkyfingers]

Like many guys I struggle with the line between what I need and what I wish I needed. The policy for me in the last decade was to simplify more and more since it was really getting out of hand. A couple of years back I even tried handlines like some danged Russian meat fisherman (they can work, actually). My hookup rate suffered as a result. So now I get to drop a little cash to tech back up. Maybe not a LX-7 though. Boy, stuff sure got spendy while I was asleep.

[hardwater diehard]

Like many guys I struggle with the line between what I need and what I wish I needed. The policy for me in the last decade was to simplify more and more since it was really getting out of hand. A couple of years back I even tried handlines like some danged Russian meat fisherman (they can work, actually). My hookup rate suffered as a result. So now I get to drop a little cash to tech back up. Maybe not a LX-7 though. Boy, stuff sure got spendy while I was asleep.

Like I posted earlier an FL18 is a great unit.. bottom 6 foot zoom ...low power mode for less then 15 fow . If your old FL8 has a 12 deg transducer ..use that and the case .. new head unit and new battery and your set ..I bought mine in 2003 ...love it ...I did upgrade the case shuttle and added a Tribeam transducer ..replaced a battery on it but the unit has everything I use and really don't want for nothing.

[stinkyfingers]

Like I posted earlier an FL18 is a great unit.. bottom 6 foot zoom ...low power mode for less then 15 fow . If your old FL8 has a 12 deg transducer ..use that and the case .. new head unit and new battery and your set ..I bought mine in 2003 ...love it ...I did upgrade the case shuttle and added a Tribeam transducer ..replaced a battery on it but the unit has everything I use and really don't want for nothing.

diehard-- I've no reason to doubt that your FL18 is everything you say it is. They're certainly a popular and well reviewed unit. I can recall, though, that even when I had the old FL8 up and running years ago, I struggled to see and interpret the flasher signals, especially in bright light. I have a shelter but generally prefer the open air, weather permitting. I also lost a certain amount of vision earlier this year through an ocular stroke so I don't think Vexilar is the ticket for me personally. The Marcum LX-5 may give the same problems if it's not bigger or brighter than the Vex. The LX-7 appears to be easier to read though I haven't seen one first hand. All in, you're staring hard at 900 bucks for an LX-7 and even that might not get me where I'd like to be. What to do if anything.
  Maybe I'll just go out and sit in the garden and eat worms.

[tbern]

Stinkyfingers, try watching on Craigslist for a lx7 have seen some around $500 for not to old of units from time to time.

[hardwater diehard]

Not certain how old your FL8 is ...but the lights have changed some with newer models


From Vexilar FAQ

Can't see the lights in the sunlight

If you have an older FL-8 or FL-8SLT the lights on those units were dim compared the newer units. That was just the technology of the time they were made. These units do get washed out in the sunlight easier than the new ones. Unfortunately there isn't any great solution to this problem other than finding a way to block the sunlight from the flasher as best you can.

http://vexilar.com/pages/lights

I fish a lot outside too...I set the unit so that my shadow cover both my ice hole and the flasher .

[stinkyfingers]

Well, pulled the trigger on a new LX-7Li off ebay at about $150 under Cabela's price. It looks like that even I can read that model. Still spendy but I figured that for that money I could get another gun which I sure don't need and would hope to never have to use or get   something that I'd plan to use a dozen times or more this winter. Totally different style of fishing than I'm used to so there's a big learning curve ahead.
  Antero used to be real good to me years ago and I understand it's opening back up. Is that right? Monitoring South Park temps and ice reports.
Thanks for holding my hand through this exercise.

[Bigassbassman]

Congrats!  You'll love it -- opens up many different opportunities and strategies for catching.

YES.  Antero is back.  And the crowds will be too.   

[stinkyfingers]

I've got half a dozen or more sweet spots at the Mile that have been productive in different years but Antero has been tougher for me to get consistency. I may have to get a guide or someone who knows that lake stone cold to lock it down. To me it just looks like a big farm pond though I suspect there's structure if you can find it. If I'm going to drive that far and endure South Park weather, I'm going to be expecting some results.

[SLAYERFISH]

If I'm going to drive that far and endure South Park weather, I'm going to be expecting some results.

How far u drive?  Jeez itsa a 3hr drive for me one-way.

[stinkyfingers]

How far u drive?  Jeez itsa a 3hr drive for me one-way.

Somehow I can talk myself into 1-1/2 hours windshield time to the Mile, 2 hours to Antero, turtlehead conditions at both. 2-1/2 hours to Blue Lake for crappie and cats plus gale force winds in the Spring. And here you boys hop in your truck for a short drive to some excellent Fall walleye water. Makes me question my beliefs.

[Crazy Tom]

I use a Marcum LX-5.  I can see fish in the weeds of Antero whereas Tommys' FL-20 cannot. Flasher is a game changer.
1st ever time using a flasher was at 11-mile. couldn't catch crap till we moved to 30 ft of water and ALL the fish were at 15-20ft. Saw it instantly on the finder.Would not EVER EVER dream of icing without a flasher.

First I have a FL-18 and it works flawlessly. Cant go wrong with any of the big name ones.  I would just get the one you can get the best deal on. Make sure it has bottom zoom