what sonar to buy

[thekingfish]

just wondering everyones opinion on what sonar to buy. the wifey is letting me get one, becuase she is sick of me begging and looking everytime i am in gander so i am allowed to get one. so what one should i get

[Windknots]

I'm with you- didn't know what to buy.  I am awaiting the arrival of a Marcum VX-1 I bought on ebay.  For a long time fisherman, short time hard water, it was the price and features.  Ice fishing is pretty cool, but the equipment is serious cash.  I didn't want to spend a lot, but I knew I wanted a three color flasher.  So, that is what I chose.  Hopefully it was the right purchase. 

[troutaddict33]

I just beat this horse dead for a month.... I've been a very loyal vexilar user and was going to upgrade to the fl-20. It was a blessing in disguise my order was cancelled. I ended up going with the Marcum LX-5. Marcums have the best image quality, target seperation, adjustable zoom anywhere in the water colum, dual beam, etc etc etc. They are at the very top of the list i all aspects and cheaper than vexilars. The power distribution on the humminbirds is poor on the smaller cone so fishing deeper water has terrible reviews on them. Depending on what type of fishing you're going to do, i'de stick with a marcum. Target seperation blows on the vexilar which is why mine's getting the boot. Humminbird is still new and i have heard many complaints from the transducer to the smaller cone to battery life and issues and especially the deeper water which turned me off. As soon as you ask a humminbird user about deep water usage they go quiet. If you don't own one now, anything you can get ur hands on will increase your catch. I don't know much about the lowrances... there's a reason they're never compared to the other three brands though.

[troutaddict33]

also watch out for the older models with only 2 colors, they are much less convenient. Vexilar still has my full trust. I own a 10+ yr old unit that has NEVER had a problem. They are just slightly behind on the newest technologies

[ChautauquaDawg]

I've been wondering this myself. There is so much info and so many opinions on this site. I'm leaning towards a Humminbird Ice 35. Seems to have plenty of power for the price, but I'm wondering if the Ice 45 is better w/ the digital reading in the center.  Good Luck

[pikefreak]

not sure about other brands , i bought the ice 35 this year 260. with free shipping, has the dual transducer, zoom mode. i fish for panfish most of the time up to 30 fow have no problem seeing fish or my tiny jig, the deepest that i have used it was 45 feet , were i live that is about as deep as you need to fish for anything, the 35 worked great, as for battery life, i have used it for 16 hours before i charged it and it still had life left. the reason i bought it was the price and options compared to the others this was the best deal. and humminbird is not new to the fishfinder market they have been around for a long time, and there customer service from what i hear is very good.

[filetandrelease]

don't be hasty look them all over and the lowrance to , because what ever you buy you will own for many yrs. maybe you have friends that have some of these brands so you can look them over in action , beats the crap out of listening to some sales pitch , web sites can be very helpfull   happy hunting   

[openface]

just bought the marcum vxi pro its a sweety pie and priced right for us budget minded guys

[1CE]

just wondering everyones opinion on what sonar to buy. the wifey is letting me get one, becuase she is sick of me begging and looking everytime i am in gander so i am allowed to get one. so what one should i get

Marcum is the way to go, I have LX3, made in USA to boot.  Dramatic increase in fish caught compared to blindly sitting over a hole.

[bird21s]

i actually use a fish finder with rts and that works just perfect for me. but i have seen the vex and the marcum. going by looks alone i prefer the marcum. the colors are very sharp and clear compared to the vex it seems. that was the lx5 screen compared to fl-20 screen. either way you go, any will increase your catch in the sence that they answer the great question. is anything even down there. no longer do you have to jig an empty hole.

[ice wizard]

Marcum is the way to go, I have LX3, made in USA to boot.  Dramatic increase in fish caught compared to blindly sitting over a hole.

I've got a vex fl-8 and for what i need i love it. In the next couple of years I'm going to up grade and give the fl-8 to my son. Then i will do some research because that will be the last one i buy.

[troutaddict33]

I've got a vex fl-8 and for what i need i love it. In the next couple of years I'm going to up grade and give the fl-8 to my son. Then i will do some research because that will be the last one i buy.

same exact situation i was in... less the son part