Best flasher to buy

[Hardwater307]

I am curious to see what brand of flasher people like ? I am looking to purchase one but don't really know much about them.

[massNtrash]

You can't really go wrong with either a vexilar or a marcum. I would say humminbird is in 3rd place but they seem to get more interference than the other two.

[hardwater diehard]

SEARCH upper left ...just type in the make/model of the flasher your interested in ...tons of info

http://www.iceshanty.com/ice_fishing/index.php?topic=38003.0  good run down of flashers ..lil dated but much of the specs are the same

[Hardwater307]

Ok thanks for the info

[Gills-only]

That's like asking which car should I buy !  Search is your friend !!

[Jason Stafford]

I really like my Vexilar FL-20.  The zoom feature comes in handy for bottom hugging perch and walleyes.

[Dorado]

I really like my Vexilar FL-20.  The zoom feature comes in handy for bottom hugging perch and walleyes.

I have a Marcum LX-5, love it.  It allows you to zoom in on any portion of the water column, plus it also lets you see the whole water column at the same time in case fish move through outside of what you are zoomed in on (split screen mode).  And has better target separation than the Vex. 

But they are all pretty good now.  Really seems like a Ford vs. Chevy kind of argument. My main concern is be sure you get a unit with really good interference rejection from other sounders.  I can use mine when others fishing around me cannot block out the interference.....

[Wyoming_Ice]

 X2 on what Dorado said.
Interference sucks !!! Buy a Marcum and you have no worries...     

 P.S. I like Fords too !!! 

  Wyo Ice

[avidoutdoor24]

I really like my Vexilar FLX-28 but you make an enticing argument about the marcum with be able to zoom in on any part of the water column but still see the entire water column. Would be a handy feature for sure.

[Dorado]

I really like my Vexilar FLX-28 but you make an enticing argument about the marcum with be able to zoom in on any part of the water column but still see the entire water column. Would be a handy feature for sure.

I fish mostly for lake trout, and have found that the fish suspended (not visible when zoomed in on the bottom) that pop up on the screen are almost always much more aggressive.  If I only saw what was in the zoomed section, I would miss those fish....

On a side note, I have also noticed that if you do not see fish on the finder, reeling up and re-dropping the jig frequently brings in fish.  Not that they will always bite

[CheyWyo]

I bought a humminbird because I couldn't pass up the price. It has had a few issues and needed serviced once in warranty, but overall I am happy with it. It has a selective zoom, where you can zoom on a section of the water column but still see above and below. It may just be a display zoom as get fatter lines, but helps focus on a targeted section of water and can still see rest of the water.

I haven't had interference issues, but I tend to be spread out from others most of the time. There is a noise selector which has 9 settings so may be able to adjust if needed.

If I ice fished more or had bigger budget, I would probably have went with higher end MarCum.

[sickchopperaltitude]

I have a marcum lx6, I like it because it is digital, you can choose between a flasher dial, graph mode, vertical column, bottom zoom.....basically pick your poison.  Automatic depth ranging, on and on.  You can split screen between two different modes of your choosing.  My 2 cents but much more money than a traditional flasher.

[Fryinpan]

Really like the Vex!!  Using an 18 right now.  Does a great job!!  Had it several years banging around in the sled and and hole hopping ...no issues.

[AndrewB]

I've been trying to decide between a Humminbird or Marcum, I've been leaning towards Humminbird, seems eaiser to operate.

[appleye]

I've owned or played with just about everything. I ran a 5.6 Showdown for years and carry a troller as a backup today. This year I switched to a Lowrance elite 5 so I could run GPS all the time.  I'm running it in an ice bag. As a system I real like it. I  put all my way points on the unit and its working very well. In shallow water I run it in flasher mode with a screen on the side. In deeper water (over 50') I run a split screen on zoom.

If you purchase something learn everything you can about it. Read the manual! Watch all the Youtube on the unit, you will get a lot more out of your purchase and learn to love it, no matter the manufacture.

[brownb56]

Never owned a flasher, got to use a buddies helix 5 the other day. Worked flawless down to 100fow and had a flasher mode. Curious what advantages a dedicated flasher would have.

[307fish]

We started with a Humminbird 45 - it was a great intro to a flasher, although we found it didn't read well in deeper water.  Now my son and I both have Marcum's and love them.  We can fish right next to each other in deep water (50 + feet) and dial out the interference.  My son has the LX5 and often uses the zoom feature as well as the different cone angles.  Last year my battery died early and I almost had to go home early...couldn't imagine fishing without a flasher now ! 

[gemcityslayer]

Only had a marcum Lx-5 so can't speak for anything else.  It is a solid unit, has everything you need.  Mine crapped out on me after like 5-6 years of using it and they have a repair policy I think it was 70$ no matter what is wrong w/ the unit they'll fix or replace it.

[reelrusty]

Hey all! Gotta chime in on this. I'm in my third year with Vex 18. Found out early on that I had a hard time with deep (60 fow +) targets. Tried an iceducer on my Humminbird 565 and again deep targets are rather indistinct. This year set up my Humminbird 798 and somewhat better but Fremont derby will tell as I haven't tried at depths much over 40 ft. yet. I do get a lot of interference from my Vex on the Humminbird that I can't dial out. The more I play with my Vex though the more confident I am with it in deeper water. I think, as appleye noted, more time in the saddle is what is needed.