Flasher Idea..

Ok, I know this probably isn’t the right thing to do but I am possibly looking at a new unit. I currently own the Marcum lx3tc and it’s fairly new. I got it at Cabelas at the end of ice fishing season for dirt cheap. I am wondering if I want to use this for a while or try to sell this one and upgrade to another unit. For upgrades I would be looking at a digital Marcum such as the 6 or 7. I think I’d spend the extra for the 7 due to screen size. For Vexilar I’d want a minimum of a FL-18 but would like to do the 28. For Humminbird…I have only barrowed a buddies Ice-35 and really wasn’t to impressed. I have always had a Marcum and really am slighy biased toward them. In this thread, I don’t want to cause any fights or battles but rather to discuss why you like your unit. It can be why you’d suggest the the Ice 45 vs. the 55 or why the FL 22 is just fine vs. the 28. I have also been looking at just upgrading to Marcums LX5. Another side note/question, has anyone had the pleasure of playing with a RT-9? They look like they would be an awesome unit. I like the idea of the GPS/Flasher/Camera all in one.

If there is anyone in the SE South Dakota area that is looking for a basically brand new flasher, I’d like to sell and that would probably move this process for me along a little faster. The Marcum was purchased last year at Cabelas and I had it out one time last year and one time this year. I’ve had the Marcum LX-3 in college w/o the tru color display update.

Any input about deciding to try a new unit in within the same companies or completely switching to another brand.

Hey. I’ll take a stab at this.

For starters, moving to an FL-18 would be at best, a lateral move. Your current LX-3, does everything that FL-18 will do and more. Last I checked, you cant’t adjust the zoom column on the 18. You can move it anywhere you’d like on the LX-3. Ever fish suspended crappies over deeper water? It’s nice to have that zoom set to where you are seeing the fish move through.

The FL-18 has 400w of power and a target seperation of 2.65″. In comparison, your current LX-3 has 2000w of power and a 1.5″ target seperation. See the pattern here? In my opinion, you would be downgrading to move to an FL-18.

So you mentioned an LX-5. Now you move up to 2500w of power and an incredible target seperation of just 3/4″. Combine that with features like SFL and a dual cone angle transducer, and I think we just found your winner. Now looking at the LX-6, 7 and 9, and the performance only goes up. I will say, that looking at the big screen display of an LX-7 or 9 never gets old. You will be the envy of your fishing crew for sure. Good luck with your purchase!

I have an LX-5 and have enjoyed it from day 1. The zoom and the SFL feature are killer! If I ever buy another flasher it will probably be a digital one but the LX-5 does everything I need.

From what I hear the RT9 is still in development, my guess is that Marcum wants to make sure it can do its 1.7 million features as flawlessly as possible before they release it.
I was in your exact shoes last year right around this time, in fact my very first post on this site was almost a mirror image of yours.
Here’s what I’ve learned since then, and what/why I chose what I did.
I currently have an LX 6 but plan to get a 7 also in the future.
The other day I was fishing with a few guys with their Vex’s. We were hole hopping around and sometimes switching units back and forth so we could all see how they worked. I had a big mark on my screen and feared the minnow head had fallen off after it failed to commit; so I called one of the guys over to drop down in my hole to see if she would take the other presentation. He dropped the transducer of his FLX 28 in the hole over 23 FOW and neither unit sputtered or flickered with interference. When we swapped units I got a chance to see in action the latest from Vexlar. The signal return flashing on the screen looks just like the previous models, but the zoom is much more smooth. It isn’t crisp and clear like the Marcums by any means, but I don’t have a negative feeling towards it.
One of my really good Buddies runs the Ice 55, his unit is what got me to write my post last year because it kicked the pants off my old FL 8, but I wanted to see what else was out there at the time. If you’re going to go HB, don’t get the 35 or 45, just get the 55 and be done. The Ice 55 has a larger screen than the Vexlars and in my opinion there are few differences between it and the FL22 and FLX28. One of the biggest differences I’ve noticed with the Ice 55 is its compatibility with other units. Although, as I’ve gotten to run next to most of the newest models now, I feel interference is just about dead with any newer flashers.
So why did I choose the Marcum? Simply put, I ice fish A LOT. I fish in dozens of different lake types with different water clarity and depths. I fish for multiple species throughout the winter with a wide range of lure sizes. So for me, the customizability of the Marcum digital units was an easy choice. You can turn your gain up to find your bait the best and then change the size of its return on your screen with the target adjust. If you’re learning how fish react in a new body of water or trying to develop a pattern on fish that aren’t biting, you can turn it to graph mode and watch the history of your jig strokes to the fish’s reaction, and still have a customizable zoom bar on the side to show your main target area in a zoom. Graph mode also works really well when fishing deep water where fish could be anywhere in the column. You might miss their flicker as they swim 10 feet above your bait on the edge of the cone, but the graph will catch it and hold it on screen for you so you know there was just something above your lure.
If I could go back to last year, the only thing I would have done differently would have been to pull the trigger on the LX7 for the larger screen, before it went out of stock.

I would stick with what you have for a while until you really know what you want to upgrade to.
I have an LX-9, which is awesome, but I think I would be nearly as happy with the LX-7. I used the camera when I first bought the unit but the more I use the LX-9 the less I find myself using the camera. The flasher unit works so well and while the camera is useful for looking at structure and species, I am not convinced it was worth the extra $500.

I agree with Peter, I also have the LX-9. It is an amazing piece of equipment. I really enjoy that fact that it is two units in one. I also have not used the camera much after the initial times I owned the graph. It is very nice when you do use it and you can overlay everything on screen and record. Saying that, if I did it again, I would just buy the LX-7. It does everything my 9 does without the camera. After using this new digital flasher, I will never go back to the old dial style flashers. I can honestly count on one hand how many times I have had the dial mode on the LX-9.

Here is a picture of the graph in action on Lake Winnipeg last year. You can see the two different fish on the bottom, lure, and bait up above. it also shows how the fish reacted to the jigging stroke you are using.

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I might be interested in that LX-3 if you are eventually selling. I have the VX-1 Pro and it works fine, but wouldn’t mind upgrading to the LX-3 and having the VX as a spare for friends/ladyfriend.

Well I’m sort of in the same shack, except flipped. I own Vex and am thinking about moving to Marcum. I have an FL20, it’s been great, no issues ever and very simple to use. I have kids that fish with me most times so they all want to use the Vexilar. I’m going to buy another unit and have been pretty set on the FLX28. I went to buy the FLX28 and there it was…the LX7, staring at me saying “don’t do it man, don’t buy that outdated electronic, look at me I’m hot and fresh and oh so beautiful.” So I start checking the LX7 over and it’s like 12AM on prom night ya know. But then out of the corner of my eye there’s the FLX28 “hey buddy I’ve always been here for you, tried and true and simple and I find fish too.” Dang it got crazy lol so I left the store with nothing and now i have become a bit hesitant. Both companies have excellent customer service from what I read, of course there’s always one or two horror stories, but I chalk those up to attitude of the person, not the companies. So the LX7…of course it looks cool, but is it a pain in the butt to get setup, is it too much eye candy, man when I’m fishing I want it simple. I just found out it has all these zoom features and auto and dynamic mode and etc etc. Anyway we all love after prom at midnight so I just keep thinking I gotta get me some of this LX7 love. Will I have to take the Vexilar sticker off my truck if I buy a Marcum?

The LX-7 is easy to use right out of the box.
The more advanced features take a bit more time to learn but are not difficult.
All flashers have a learning curve. My experience with the LX-9 (same as the 7) is that I quickly became comfortable using it and have continued to learn new ways of using it. It’s also firmware upgradeable so as they add new features to it you won’t have to buy a new unit, just download the file online and do it yourself.
I think the LX-7 has the best bang for the buck in high end flashers, period.

I have had every vex but the 28 and the 18 was my favorite…I hate their flat screen models. I went to Marcum to find what I was looking for no blobs and crisp display…Lx5 and now lx7. It is the same to set up as any fish finder. If you run a graph on your boat this is easier then that. Love how it is quiet as well! Definitely go with the 7 the screen is great and I also run mine next to my hds5 in my boat.

Thank you for the input! It really gets me excited to trying a new unit. I have had my eye on the 7 for quite some time now so I think that will be the winner! Alex, I’ll let you know when/if I make the switch this year! I’d sure like to but with a wedding coming up in Feb., I need to spend my money on other things than fun toys for me right at this moment….or do I?

I was actually all set to buy a humminbird, until I saw James using a marcum on in depth outdoors. I went to local gander mountain. Looked at both units walked out with the LX-5. Thought the bird was way to bright. Had a lot of lights between top of dial and actual bottom. I switched to the 7 last year and love it.

Buy the LX-7 and your Bride to be can use the LX-3tc. Problem solved.

LX-6 20% off at Dicks Sporting goods!!!