IceShanty.com's Ice Fishing Community
IceShanty Main => General Ice Fishing Chit Chat => Topic started by: Totemir on Jul 04, 2019, 02:51 PM
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I’m thinking of getting a flasher for this winter. The thing is I have no idea what to look for in one. So any words of wisdom will be appreciated.
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the garmin striker 4 is a good place to start looking.
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the garmin striker 4 is a good place to start looking.
I agree, nice unit for the price. Love the one I got my boy.
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Easy to read and use.any vexilar.along with reliability it will put fish topside.
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Budget? Flasher vs sonar? What do you usually fish? Normal depths? Some questions that should be addressed to help pick what fits you. No matter what your answers are i'd wait till fall to see this year's new stuff and possibly save on last year's model if the new stuff doesn't trip your trigger
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Budget? Flasher vs sonar? What do you usually fish? Normal depths? Some questions that should be addressed to help pick what fits you. No matter what your answers are i'd wait till fall to see this year's new stuff and possibly save on last year's model if the new stuff doesn't trip your trigger
Or go the complete opposite route and buy a used one when it's 90 degrees out. I bought an almost new Vexilar FL20 in the middle of summer last year for $200. Waited until October and sold my old FL18 for $275 on the first day I had it on Craigslist.
No matter what you do you will be more productive with one.
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Hard to beat a FL18 as a first flasher. Has low power and zoom, unless you really want the bigger flat style screen, you won't feel like you need to upgrade any time soon. Vexilar reliability, so no reason not to buy a used one, or if you want the warranty, look into buying a reconditioned one direct from Vexilar, that's what I did. If you don't think you'll need the zoom feature, the FLX12 would be a great first flasher too.
Bottom line is they all work, Vexilar/Marcum/Hummingbird, there is no wrong answer.
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Hard to beat a FL18 as a first flasher. Has low power and zoom, unless you really want the bigger flat style screen, you won't feel like you need to upgrade any time soon. Vexilar reliability, so no reason not to buy a used one, or if you want the warranty, look into buying a reconditioned one direct from Vexilar, that's what I did. If you don't think you'll need the zoom feature, the FLX12 would be a great first flasher too.
Bottom line is they all work, Vexilar/Marcum/Hummingbird, there is no wrong answer.
If you fish beyond 80' (I do) I actually prefer the 18 over the 20. The zoom jumps from 4 to 15x on the 20 so in 90' of water you only get 1/3 of the screen.
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Hold on I’m making some popcorn. Maybe go to the electronics forum here and look at the voting poll thread.
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Yeah, you could spend the next 3 days just reading up on this site....Tons of great info....Good luck..
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I mostly fish for pickerel, walleye, trout, bass and panfish. Probably the deepest local water is 50 feet but the finger lakes are about an hour away. As far as budget probably 500-600 would be max.
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visit a big box store like BPS or Cabelas. see what they got. look at their options. pick the associates' brains to get a feel for what these units are all about. decide on what you need for your target fish. For me, I wanted to be able to tell the type of bottom, depth and if there is fish there. Basic units give you this info
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garmin striker 4, price point good all around and use it in my yak
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Here is a few reconditioned units that Vexilar has in stock now. any of these fit your budget range. in order of cheapest to most expensive.
FL 18 on a Genz Box - $349.00
https://shop.vexilar.com/en/reconditioned-products-1/reconditioned-fl18-genz-pack-w12-ice-gp1812-r
FLX 20 on a Genz Box - $429.00
https://shop.vexilar.com/en/reconditioned-products-1/reconditioned-flx20-genz-pack-w12-degree-ice-ducer-gpx2012-r
FLX 20 on a Pro Pack - $479.00
https://shop.vexilar.com/en/reconditioned-products-1/recon-pro-pack-flx20-w12-degree-ice-ducer-dd100-ppx2012d-r
FLX 28 on a Pro Pack - $569.00
https://shop.vexilar.com/en/reconditioned-products-1/reconditioned-flx28-pro-pack-wpro-view-ice-ducer-pp28pv-r
FLX 28 on a Ultra Pack - $590.00
https://shop.vexilar.com/en/reconditioned-products-1/reconditioned-flx28-ultra-pack-wpro-view-ice-ducer-up28pv-r
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Here are a few more possible choices ,
http://
https://fishfinderbrand.com/best-ice-fishing-fish-finders-flashers-the-money/
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I have had a marcum for a few seasons now, great flasher. Any flasher is great compared to not having one, a real game changer. A basic flasher is all that is needed, the rest are just bells and whistles. I bought a more expensive model and realized with experience I could have gone cheaper.
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My suggestion would be check CL or offerup for a used Vexilar (prob FL-8 for around $160-200) OR go for the new option of the Garmin Striker 4.
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I run a Marcum LX-5 since 2010. You can see crawdads at 52 ft. It's worked flawlessly.
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I run a Marcum LX-5 since 2010. You can see crawdads at 52 ft. It's worked flawlessly.
And your friends love you for it! ;D
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Is this for hard water only? if so get a flasher if you fish year round get a Lowrance .. I prefer my lowrance in winter over the flasher style.. in graph mode it gives a little longer detail of what's up and what the fish are looking for.. also has a gps for the boat and while fishing the river the paddle wheel and gps combine for accurate trolling data .. only other finder besides lowrance is humming bird and there made in usa versus ware ever lowrance is made if your planning to sink so nice coin look at garmin panoptix bundle this can be used to locate weed beds , fish schools of suspended fish.. and etc.. like structure man made or natural? I think pan optixs last I looked was abut $2,500.00 for all needed .. but that's some coin for a fish finder..
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Any flasher is better than none.
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I’m thinking of getting a flasher for this winter. The thing is I have no idea what to look for in one. So any words of wisdom will be appreciated.
PM sent check your in box
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And your friends love you for it! ;D
If you can't beat 'em, Drown 'em! (With megawatts)! ;D
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I mostly fish for pickerel, walleye, trout, bass and panfish. Probably the deepest local water is 50 feet but the finger lakes are about an hour away. As far as budget probably 500-600 would be max.
Couple of features to look for ...bottom zoom ..for bottom hugging fish ie perch ...low power setting...cuts down on clutter in shallow water...either a 12 deg transducer or a dual beam transducer is nice . Also don't forget the base/case of the unit is important square vs round ..some have add on features ..rod holders etc Round fits in a 5 gallon bucket .
I would suggest with your price point the Vexilar FL18 ..great tried and true bullet proof unit
Some great reads
http://www.vexilar.com/blog/2014/08/28/choosing-a-transducer-beam-angle
http://www.vexilar.com/blog/2014/08/28/which-flasher-do-i-buy
http://www.vexilar.com/blog/2014/08/28/so-you-want-to-buy-a-vexilar
http://www.vexilar.com/blog/2014/08/28/how-to-ice-fish-with-a-vexilar-flasher
http://www.vexilar.com/blog/2014/08/28/finding-hard-bottom
some good videos
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Just wanted to thank everyone for their input and thoughts. I decided to go with th Marcum LX 7. Again thank you all very much
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Totemir,
Excellent choice!
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Check eBay for budget deals during the summer! No matter what you get, they will all increase your catch. Look on YouTube for flasher reviews, it will help you decide!
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Check eBay for budget deals during the summer! No matter what you get, they will all increase your catch. Look on YouTube for flasher reviews, it will help you decide!
Not to be a jack wagon, but two posts up, he said he purchased an LX-7. A good choice imho, since I have two of them. ;D
My next ice unit will likely be a garmin unless the others step up their game big-time!
DN