Author Topic: the best fish finder? (Read 13047 times)

tip ups · « **on:** Nov 13, 2011, 12:47 AM »

just looking for some input on a fish finder. vexual? showdown? Lowrance? if any one could commit on yours and the good and bads thank you

C P · « **Reply #1 on:** Nov 13, 2011, 08:35 AM »

A Mar67ilar is the only way to go...

I have a vex and love it. Others have marcum and love it. Others have the lowrance X67 and love it. Some use the humminbirds and love them. It all depends on the features you want and the price you want to spend. Go to the main page and go to the ice fishing electronics section and youll find hundreds of threads debating all the different options

jurrensb · « **Reply #2 on:** Nov 13, 2011, 08:36 AM »

Quote from: C P on Nov 13, 2011, 08:35 AM

A Mar67ilar is the only way to go...

I have a vex and love it. Others have marcum and love it. Others have the lowrance X67 and love it. Some use the humminbirds and love them. It all depends on the features you want and the price you want to spend. Go to the main page and go to the ice fishing electronics section and youll find hundreds of threads debating all the different options

I think what you ment was a Mar67ilar 55.

jurrensb · « **Reply #3 on:** Nov 13, 2011, 08:39 AM »

And to answer the question. If you are a new ice fisher and don't want all the bells and whistles, go find the one that you can get the best deal on. In reality they all do the same thing and your only going to get more and more confused trying to find the "best" one. Do a search or go to the electronics forum and you can find a plethora of information about each flasher along with a lot of conversations on which is the best. For me, the best is the one that finds fish and they all have been proven to do that.

Tight Lines

nova · « **Reply #4 on:** Nov 13, 2011, 08:40 AM »

Whatever you can get your hands on and afford will help. I have just heard some bad things about hummingbirds, but any company can have some duds I guess

bjeff42 · « **Reply #5 on:** Nov 13, 2011, 08:43 AM »

I agree with CP Depends on what features you are looking for. Me personally I have a Lowrance x67 c and I love it. They are all great units and will help your fish catch ratio go up.

amcmullen · « **Reply #6 on:** Nov 13, 2011, 09:29 AM »

Wars have been started on this subject. I think the better question is what is the one you will like best. If you have the opportunity fish with someone who has a flasher or other finder and chances are thats the one you will love and buy. I was introduced to the X67 by a friend, guess what I had the next year? And I LOVE it. I haven't really ever heard of anyone hating the finder that they bought.

I absolutely love that I can split the screen with my 67. I zoom the bottom on the left side and also show the entire column on the right. I also prefer the chart screen instead of the flasher wheel.

brittlab · « **Reply #7 on:** Nov 13, 2011, 09:35 AM »

all will put more fish on the ice. i started out with an x67 and now have a lx-5 because they had a great price on them a few years ago. fished with vex's as well. all good units... I'd go with the one that has the most features for the style of fishing you do and fits within your budget

lightningz · « **Reply #8 on:** Nov 13, 2011, 01:16 PM »

The best fish finder is the one that puts you on the fish. Any unit you get is going to be an improvement to not having one. The more expensive the unit, the easier it is to interpret the signals. This is done with color changes and accuracy of the signal. Even the earliest units made that were one color can be worked to perfection if it is interpreted correctly. If you keep an eye on line you could find an older unit for under $100 and be into more fish. If you learn to find fish with an older one color unit it will be even easier to figure it out on a newer unit when you can afford it. I can only speak from my past experience with learning from an older Humminbird.

Hope this helps

filetandrelease · « **Reply #9 on:** Nov 13, 2011, 04:54 PM »

like the guys above any unit is better than none i to have a vex and a 67 but my buds take up the rest of the units and they all like what they have ,lets know what you decide on

UP jigstick · « **Reply #10 on:** Nov 13, 2011, 05:19 PM »

Quote from: lightningz on Nov 13, 2011, 01:16 PM

The best fish finder is the one that puts you on the fish. Any unit you get is going to be an improvement to not having one. The more expensive the unit, the easier it is to interpret the signals. This is done with color changes and accuracy of the signal. Even the earliest units made that were one color can be worked to perfection if it is interpreted correctly. If you keep an eye on line you could find an older unit for under $100 and be into more fish. If you learn to find fish with an older one color unit it will be even easier to figure it out on a newer unit when you can afford it. I can only speak from my past experience with learning from an older Humminbird.

Hope this helps

WOW! Where can I get a flasher like yours!! Mine only tells me if the fish are under the hole I drilled or not. Is "one that puts you on the fish" really expensive when compared to the normal units?

lightningz · « **Reply #11 on:** Nov 13, 2011, 07:24 PM »

The fact that you realized that those blips on your screen were fish below your hole is the first step in interpretation of the signal. Any flasher old or new can tell you the most basic information such as fish. It's when you can use it to distinguish bottom content and weed growth is when it will help you find those fish. I thought I gave a basic explanation of that in my prior post, but maybe it was misunderstood. My point is that any unit is better than no unit and how much you use and learn the signals and controls on your unit will only improve your catch. I guess that if all you want is to see is if there are fish under the hole you drilled than you could just look down the hole like they used to do. Believe it or not the result will be the same, but you won't get a wet nose using the flasher.

iwantone2.4 · « **Reply #12 on:** Nov 13, 2011, 07:27 PM »

Ill be goin the humminbird route this season

wyo700 · « **Reply #13 on:** Nov 13, 2011, 09:27 PM »

IMO, X67C is by far the best.

s10xr · « **Reply #14 on:** Nov 14, 2011, 06:56 AM »

Quote from: wyo700 on Nov 13, 2011, 09:27 PM

IMO, X67C is by far the best.

especially for the price right now. I just got one for 237.50 on reeds web site delivered to the door with the new pack with the ice tray and the raise up for the finder. lets get some ice I want to go play

wmu1989 · « **Reply #15 on:** Nov 14, 2011, 08:27 AM »

Vexialr all the way-but to each their own. Vex has been around and is proven to be reliable.

UP jigstick · « **Reply #16 on:** Nov 14, 2011, 08:54 AM »

lightningz No offense was intended in my first post. It was just my warped sense of humor shining through. I've used a flasher on the ice since I pulled the Eagle Silent Thirty out of the boat in the early nineties. Before that, ya, i looked down the hole to see what structure was there. No piece of equipment will put you on fish, they simply make easier to find the fish. Well, then again, maybe a gps with a waypoint from yesterdays successful trip would do that for ya. Peace

Gillfisher · « **Reply #17 on:** Nov 15, 2011, 08:48 AM »

The one you buy will be the best one. Do a search on each that are available and read the posts (may take days to read them) within the posts you will find the likes and dislikes of each of them. After a bit of reading you'll learn to ignore the brand loyalty and you will be able to decide from the actual meat and potatoes which one will be best for you.

ice dawg · « **Reply #18 on:** Nov 15, 2011, 09:47 AM »

The best fish finder is you. You decide where to drill the holes and a sonar will tell you what is below you. Any of them will give you information you need and you decide how many features you want for providing that information to you. You are still the one who has to learn to interpret the information on the display no matter which type you prefer. I think "you" popped up here quite a few times for a reason. I used sonar on the ice for the first time at least thirty years ago and it was an old Ray Jefferson with barely enough power to show the bottom in forty feet of water. It showed the bottom and fish when they showed up, but I still had to decide where to drill the holes.

filetandrelease · « **Reply #19 on:** Nov 16, 2011, 05:05 PM »

Quote from: lightningz on Nov 13, 2011, 07:24 PM

The fact that you realized that those blips on your screen were fish below your hole is the first step in interpretation of the signal. Any flasher old or new can tell you the most basic information such as fish. It's when you can use it to distinguish bottom content and weed growth is when it will help you find those fish. I thought I gave a basic explanation of that in my prior post, but maybe it was misunderstood. My point is that any unit is better than no unit and how much you use and learn the signals and controls on your unit will only improve your catch. I guess that if all you want is to see is if there are fish under the hole you drilled than you could just look down the hole like they used to do. Believe it or not the result will be the same, but you won't get a wet nose using the flasher.

they all read basically the same not rocket science ,they are there or not[fish] it's that simple ,knowing the habits of the fish you are after is a 1 up thing , will put that graph or hippno wheel to work much faster ,just an ol buzzards .02

ah_long · « **Reply #20 on:** Nov 16, 2011, 08:02 PM »

haven't used this, but this is probably the best on the market
Fish Scout Double Vision with FL20 Tribeam built into the same bracket

Vexilar FSDV20DT

jigginPig · « **Reply #21 on:** Nov 16, 2011, 08:16 PM »

Best units:
Vexilar: 22 unless you fish deep then 20
Marcum: lx5...because the lx7 may be urban legend
Hummingbird:ice55
Lowrance: elite 5 ice machine(unless you build a hds ice machine)

now just choose which brand you like

filetandrelease · « **Reply #22 on:** Nov 17, 2011, 05:54 PM »

so your saying that the hds are on top of the list ?

jigginPig · « **Reply #23 on:** Nov 17, 2011, 06:58 PM »

Best unit lowrance makes imo. The list was in no order. I was just listing the best of each manufacturer,again,imo. I have a fl22 and am happy with it. I have a hds I may convert to an ice machine as a backup...or to change things up...or if I fish a deeper lake...or...you get the point

pig

H.T. · « **Reply #24 on:** Nov 17, 2011, 07:04 PM »

Quote from: ah_long on Nov 16, 2011, 08:02 PM

haven't used this, but this is probably the best on the market
Fish Scout Double Vision with FL20 Tribeam built into the same bracket

Vexilar FSDV20DT

(Image removed from quote.)

that unit looks great but it is also in the $1100.00 range

icontact · « **Reply #25 on:** Nov 20, 2011, 09:53 PM »

The x67 is the cheapest and if you are new to electronics they are popular as there is very little interpretation required. The LCD x67 has a flasher screen but the technology is different than an actual wheel flasher. I like an actual flasher myself but that is just my preference.

ddl · « **Reply #26 on:** Nov 21, 2011, 01:51 PM »

imho
marcum and hummi are the best.why?
just because you will get the same feature of a vex for lot less $$$

wallydiven · « **Reply #27 on:** Nov 21, 2011, 02:00 PM »

Quote from: ddl on Nov 21, 2011, 01:51 PM

imho
marcum and hummi are the best.why?
just because you will get the same feature of a vex for lot less $$$

You really don't believe that $50.00 is the same as $100.00 do you?? I am a Vex man and believe Marcum is the top of the line, but in no way is a Marcum less $$$ than a Vex. H-bird maybe.

stevek · « **Reply #28 on:** Nov 21, 2011, 02:14 PM »

If you want to save some money in the long run set one up that does everything. I have a base for my HB787 chart/plotter/flasher in the boat all hard wired, just snap it in and go. Also have a travel pack for fishing trips and ice fishing with an iceducer and travel xducer. That way you always have your saved way points and topo maps

. When you want to upgrade, all you need is a new head unit. I got mine used for half the cost new.

Spring walleye trip

on the ice

ddl · « **Reply #29 on:** Nov 23, 2011, 10:42 AM »

Quote from: wallydiven on Nov 21, 2011, 02:00 PM

You really don't believe that $50.00 is the same as $100.00 do you?? I am a Vex man and believe Marcum is the top of the line, but in no way is a Marcum less $$$ than a Vex. H-bird maybe.

have a look at a vx1p comapred to to a fl8 enough said...........

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Author Topic: the best fish finder? (Read 13047 times)