Flasher power

[icewoman]

(Image removed from quote.)

Good one icedawg....

[filetandrelease]

just fish

[Rebelss]

[ice dawg]

[Gonzofishes]

I have a vex fl-8se. Wanna upgrade to an lx-9 or something hi end. Don't know yet. but with no ice I dont care what kind of flasher you have they are all no hood then!!!!haha...  only went out twice last year bad season, hope this one is better

[boss j]

i use the lorance x67. i have no idea of its ower". all i know is i see the fish react to the jig/presentation i use. then they go on the ice. thats all that matters. so while all you vex and marcum nutz are fighting about whos unit is better im putting fish on the ice just the same, alot of the time even better...

[Chris338378]

I hate to add gas to a fire but I have to ask a question about all this.  I understand and know what a flasher is but my question is what about my Showdown Dual beam with 8000 watts peak to peak.  It's not a flasher so how does that fit into this conversation?

[ice dawg]

I hate to add gas to a fire but I have to ask a question about all this.  I understand and know what a flasher is but my question is what about my Showdown Dual beam with 8000 watts peak to peak.  It's not a flasher so how does that fit into this conversation?

It fits the conversation because it is a fish finder. The only real difference is the screen.

[hnd]

i know when it comes to audio, peak wattage is basically useless from a constant standpoint.  rms is the true measure and  and can be 1/2 to 1/4 of the peak wattage.

[Chris338378]

What the heck is a rms?  The reason I asked is because the Showdown is digital and not mechanical.  Now I don't know if that makes any difference or not but am curious.

[boss j]

my lorance is digital and i dont see anything shying away from it.

[ICE WANDERER]

       As I read through this thread I've come to the conclusion that no 1 knows really which is the best unit to buy, 1 w/more power or 1 w/less power. I think people buy a unit, they like it & will make any excuse that their unit is better than the other. So if you're looking to buy a flasher/fishfinder then buy the 1 you like & can afford. 

[addicted to ice fishing]

       As I read through this thread I've come to the conclusion that no 1 knows really which is the best unit to buy, 1 w/more power or 1 w/less power. I think people buy a unit, they like it & will make any excuse that their unit is better than the other. So if you're looking to buy a flasher/fishfinder then buy the 1 you like & can afford. 

Well said IW, I totally agree.

[ice dawg]

       As I read through this thread I've come to the conclusion that no 1 knows really which is the best unit to buy, 1 w/more power or 1 w/less power. I think people buy a unit, they like it & will make any excuse that their unit is better than the other. So if you're looking to buy a flasher/fishfinder then buy the 1 you like & can afford. 

[Rebelss]

       As I read through this thread I've come to the conclusion that no 1 knows really which is the best unit to buy, 1 w/more power or 1 w/less power. I think people buy a unit, they like it & will make any excuse that their unit is better than the other. So if you're looking to buy a flasher/fishfinder then buy the 1 you like & can afford. 

That man summed it all up in one paragraph. 

[meatman]

i would never turn my flasher off after i find fish.  how will i tell the reaction to my presentation or a soft up bite.

[bpiatt]

I've looked into this "too much" power issue and I've come to the conclusion its just Vexilar propaganda and should be disregarded as nonsense.

[Chris338378]

Last year when I was trying to decide what unit to get since I never had any I spent quite a few hours researching units and learning what I could about them in general.  Now I'll be the first to say I'm just an average guy and by no means an authority on this subject.  I'm just a guy who did a lot of reading and made some conclusions from what I read, I could be right or wrong but it helped me make my choice.  When I decided I was going to make the investment I only looked at Vexilar and Marcum units because they were the only names I recognized.  Then I stated looking at prices and that was simple enough, Marcum was cheaper.  Then I noticed this peak to peak power thingy, not really sure what to call it so it's a thingy.  I started reading things on the internet and a lot of them said the more power the more accurate the machine.  So in the end I bought a Showdown Dual Beam.  Now last year my ice season sucked big time, only got out at most a half a dozen times so I didn't get to use it much at all.  I will say though the first fish I marked and caught on it was a 4 inch perch, yep 4 inches, in 12 feet of water.  The machine did what it was advertised to, showed my jig, the fish rise up, I set the hook, and watched it come to the bottom of the ice.  I have to say at times I'm easily ammused and watching this was cool.  I never saw any fish take off while using my Showdown, which has 8,000 peak to peak watts of power.  I also remember last year the good majority of shows I watched where they were ice fishing the guys fishing were using Showdowns and Marcum units and those guys were catching lots of fish including some really big ones.  Again I'm no engineer, biologist, or scientist but have to think this too much power is a bunch of bull for the most part.  Think about these few things, if it was true how many fish do you think would be caught on the high power units, how fast the word would spread to not buy high power units, and how fast would Marcum or any other high power unit manufacturer dump the high power idea and go with low power? 

So in a nutshell I think Icewander has it right, buy what you like and be happy.  Further if you want to think you're unit is the best that's fine, in the end it's the best unit according to and for you because it's the one you bought, like, use, and trust. 

[Ramp 23]

I have found in shallow water , 12 ft or so, that fish, large mature females in particular "spook" from sonar echos. On the ice or boat, with out question where I fish this does happen, not always but alot. Lowrance or Vex doesn`t seem to matter. One other thought is in 20 ft of water with a 19 deg. cone your only covering 6.7 ft of bottom. So you really can`t tell if your spooking mature fish by watching your signal, thier not typically in the cone yet if their warry. My catch rate on big females of bass & eyes goes way up with sonar off.  Vexilar does cover this subject in their litature & they operate at 400 watts. I`m just stating that for a source of info thats all. 

[fishin mt]

I agree too much power is horrible.  I have a vx1 and I am willing to trade with anyone with a lx7.   I do believe you will catch many more big fish with my low powered vx1.  The offer stands just let me know

[da man cave shack]

I was thinking. I flashers really do scare the fish then were in the world do they go as we make the lakes look like swiss cheese and put those spooky devices down all those holes. Winter must be Halloween all seson for fish. Man that would suck to be them but we're not so oh well.

[ice dawg]

One thing I have noticed for years is that around where I fish Perch are attracted by noise. I'm not saying they are attracted to the noise of a fish finder, but they are by an auger or someone driving on the ice. I know a guy who starts his diesel pickup and lets it idle when Perch fishing slows down. It works for him.

[Gonzofishes]

Fishin mt has a great idea I'm willing to trade my fl-8se for an lx-9 straight up...haha..... to much power is a bad thing but I'm willing to deal with it

[Gillfisher]

One thing I have noticed for years is that around where I fish Perch are attracted by noise. I'm not saying they are attracted to the noise of a fish finder, but they are by an auger or someone driving on the ice. I know a guy who starts his diesel pickup and lets it idle when Perch fishing slows down. It works for him.

A lot of people leave their boat idle while perch fishing for the same reason.


In the boat when we fish for walleye in the weed beds and cane, ALL electronics in the boat get turned off except the bow mount and that is only running intermittently. On the ice, I know of one occasion that I can remember last year that the one guy without a flasher was out fishing us guys with them, we were fishing walleyes in 6 feet of water. Of course the guy without the flasher would not have known to fish that spot but that is another topic.

Put your hand under the transducer when its in water and see if a fish could feel anything, the higher wattage units can get uncomfortable doing this.

[delta9]

What the heck is a rms?  The reason I asked is because the Showdown is digital and not mechanical.  Now I don't know if that makes any difference or not but am curious.

RMS is just simply the average value, all electrical circuits, and electronics use the availiable voltage to creat work ( power ), during this process there is some induced volts created, although small it causes and effect on the volts. The rate of change would be hard to measure, therefore the measurements are averaged thus RMS. ROOT,MEAN,SQUARE. I think.

[fishin mt]

I know the flasher improved my catch x3.  I out fish my friends consistently with the flasher.   When they borrow it they out fish me. 

[rdhammah]

has anyone thought about who got this started? it was the GUIDES who started it. if you became proficient with the flasher, and you found the fish, you wouldn't need the GUIDE!

[kasilofchrisn]

Anybody submitted this to Mythbusters?
This is a good urban legend/myth for them to bust!

[Chris338378]

Rdhammah, that's a very good observation that no one has mentioned until now.

Kasilofchrisn, I think we should send it to mythbuters and see if they bite one it.   

[rdhammah]

just sayin' the obvious