Flasher (FL8) Update vs. Camera

Hey all, first time posting here. Sorry if this has been covered before, but I searched and didn’t find anything. I don’t fish a ton, but usually take 2 or 3 ice fishing trips a winter and 3 or 4 long canoe trips in the summer (3 to 4 days each). I have an FL8 that I’ve had forever and still works great, but am thinking about upgrading some of my technology. My son is 11 and has an interest in both soft and hardwater fishing so I’d like to keep things interesting for him and his 11 year old cousin, who normally fishes with us. I use the Vexilar in the canoe for finding structure as well as ice fishing and could continue to go that route, but have never considered a true sonar since we only canoe fish and only on remote lakes (BWCA type fishing). So my question (at long last) is: Should I get a Helix 5 CHIRP with both summer and winter equipment, some type of underwater camera system that I can use with my Vex, or something different entirely? I’m considering the Helix 5 because I don’t have a way to charge the battery on long canoe trips.

Any help/discussion is greatly appreciated

I would not go with the camera idea. I bought one and really don’t get my use out of it.
In the summer I usually can’t hold the boat still enough And in the winter the water is usually too stained or dark to see more than a foot or so.
I fish mostly south metro so the lakes are usually pretty green. Maybe up north would be better.
I would go with the helix especially if it has mapping/ gps

Cameras are fun, but a new flasher or any type unit, will always help you catch more fish, I use my camera sometimes but I always use my flasher ice fishing and my graph in the boat, a portable flasher is very versatile

My suggestion would be to stick with the flasher. If you’re looking for portability there’s tons of threads on BWCA/kayaking/canoeing forums but here’s what I do for my kayak and the fish finder will double for winter use:

Garmin Striker X4 (or other small flasher)
Small waterproof Plano tackle box to house batteries and harness
Rechargeable 18650 batteries (4 of them)
Battery harness for 18650 batteries

The batteries hold enough charge to run the fish finder for 3-4 days of good use. YMMV if you go with the Helix 5 (just compare power draw to the Garmin unit I use). Maybe charge up an extra set of 4 batteries before your trip if longer. They’re relatively cheap and barely larger than a AA so don’t weigh much or take up too much room.

I run a camera a lot in the winter months.

You will be fish ahead with a flasher. Although if your son is interested and have the money, get him the camera.

I almost exclusively use mine on the Mississippi River in the winter months. (it cleans up nicely once everything freezes and the barge traffic stops). Lakes? Well, if you can’t see your lure 6 inches down, the camera won’t extend that range.

But there isn’t anything like seeing a pig walleye swim across the screen except for having it in your net!

Thanks all. As a side question, if I do stick with a flasher does it make sense to upgrade from the fl8? Are they that much better?

I do like the camera for the kids, as it’s so hard to keep their attention on fishing on the ice in January…. But maybe dropping a camera and not seeing anything would just make the problem worse.

Ishmel you’ll get a lot of opinions on that but ultimately it’s up to your style of fishing and your budget. The FL8 is really only useful for ice fishing or depth checking in soft water applications due to being strictly a flasher with vertical transducer. The Helix 5 you mention offers different views for history, 2D sonar for an idea of weeds/bottom structure, and you can get side imaging.

For ice fishing only – especially if you’re an infrequent angler – I’d say there’s absolutely nothing wrong with the FL8. You’ll find much more useful (especially open water) applications out of another unit, though.

Thanks Steve, I think that’s what draws me to the Helix. I think i can make it work for the canoe trips. I wasn’t able to find power draw figures for it vs. the Garmin, but I’m going to take a harder look tonight. Can you give me any more information about how you wired up the batteries for using in the back country? I’m very interested in learning out to do that.

Garmin echomap over a helix for price, battery life, and functionality, unless you’re obsessed with lakemaster chips.

Here’s my setup for the battery pack wiring. Hopefully you can make it out alright from the pictures. Note that the batteries aren’t secured in the harness in the pic because they take some finagling to get out due to a tight fit in the harness. That’s why I secured it via double-sided velcro tape so it can be removed from the Plano box and it’s easier to extract the batteries.

Overall setup: Drill a small hole for wires in the Plano box. Affix double sided velcro tape to the inside of the Plano box and back of the wiring harness. I also put the velcro tape on the back of the box itself and the inside of my kayak so it doesn’t slide around during paddling/fishing, but can be easily removed when done. Batteries pop in and out for use/charging.

Waterproof 3400 series Plano: $5
18650 lithium ion batteries: $8.32 ea (there are cheaper ones)
Battery charger: $24
Battery harness: 5 for $1

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Brian Klawitter wrote:

But there isn’t anything like seeing a pig walleye swim across the screen except for having it in your net!

That’s some pretty good footage BK, but I suppose you were kind of disappointed since you were really hoping to see big catfish and sturgeon down there…weren’t ya?

I edited out all the cool fish.

Here’s 30 seconds of Walleye, Flatheads, and channel cats.

Thanks for the pics, I really like that idea for the back-country trips. I have a few old laptop batteries around, maybe I’ll try to recycle some of the cells from them.

It sounds like most agree that a replacement flasher is the right move instead of a camera. I’ve seen suggestions for the Garmin Echomap and Striker, although I can’t seem to find much information; and I’m still thinking maybe the Helix. Does any one else following this thread have a suggestion or preference?