Which Flasher To Buy?

It’s that time of year to start thinking about a new ice fishing flasher and every year the same question comes up, what flasher is the best on the market? Today there are three major players that have some excellent choices for today’s ice angler. Vexilar, MarCum Technologies and Lowrance all make great units but which unit is the best? Of course we want the best and want to be happy with the product after dropping down a few hundred dollars. The best answer to this most debated question is personal preference. All three brands will mark fish and do the job but getting into details will help you decide which unit is best for you.

Vexilar was the first company to add zoom to a flasher. Vexilar has been building marine electronics for over 30 years and built the very first three color flasher. The FL-8 has been the standard in ice fishing for many years until the FL-18 was introduced. The FL-18 was the first unit with zoom which allows the angler to separate fish from bottom which is more important than zooming in on fish 10, 15 or 20 feet below the ice. There’s either fish there or there aren’t. It’s the bottom fish that can be tough to see. Sensitivity also plays a key role in proper target separation. Vexilar uses a highly sensitive moderate powered receiver to properly separate fish from bait, plankton and bottom. Not a whole lot of power is needed when sound travels 5 times faster in water and when fish move slowly or even stay stationary in very cold water moderate power can really be key. The Fl-18 also has a low power (LP) mode. This is a great feature when fishing those big blue gills in very shallow weedy water. This feature allows the angler to see bottom, your bait and fish. Which is really all you want to see. I don’t like seeing all that plankton and other debris zoomed in with high power to make seeing my targets difficult. I fish a lot of shallow water say 6 feet or less and the LP mode is a great feature.

Another great feature on the FL-18 is the bottom lock feature. Probably the most overlooked feature on a flasher because it’s mainly used for open water fishing. That’s the last thing an ice angler is thinking about in December. But this is a great feature to have. Lets face it we don’t have clam conditions every time we hit the lake in the summer. If you have ever used a flasher in the boat in windy conditions you know why this feature is great. When the boat rocks up and down, so does the display on your flasher. With bottom lock the flasher is locking in on the bottom and the display remains constant like you were fishing on calm glass water making viewing easy. The FL-18 also has the brightest display for a three color flasher making it an excellent unit for bright sunny days. The biggest mistake people make is leaving their flasher in the garage all summer. It’s an excellent stand alone summer finder or a great compliment to a LCD graph. All Vexilar flasher models are also compatible with any Minn-Kota Universal Sonar motor. One of the best features of any Vexilar product is the customer service.

I haven’t seen or used the new MarCum LX-5 and it sounds like a great unit. I have used the Lowrance flasher and found it extremely difficult to see fish and bait. The colors really confused me in dirty water. But again compare all the models and details to find the best flasher that will fit your needs. And remember, any flasher is better than no flasher……

Have fun, be safe..

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The biggest mistake people make is leaving their flasher in the garage all summer. It’s an excellent stand alone summer finder or a great compliment to a LCD graph

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Vexilar makes a “summer time conversion kit” for the FL8/FL-18’s. It includes a puck transducer, a power cable, and a mounting bracket. I also added a Ray-Jeff swivel base and mounted my FL-8 on the bow of my Lund. After using an LCD unit during open water for many years I had forgotten how nice it was to have real time information right there. When you’ve got your foot on that trolling motor control it’s a lot easier to follow that weedline or change in bottom composition with a good flasher. It takes practice to get good with a flasher so if you use it all summer you’ll be that much better in the winter!

Since I’m primarily a Bass fisherman I spend most of my time in shallow water. The FL-8 can be somewhat overpowering under those conditions. In other words I’d run the unit with the sensitivity control turned all the way down and it was still too much. I bought what Vexilar calls their “S-Cable”. This is a short piece of cable with a connector on each end and I’m guessing a resistor in line to attenuate and reduce the amount of signal. It goes in line between the transducer and the Flasher and was worth investing in. If I’m in 12 feet of water, for example, the sensitivity control is now at 10 O’clock.

Rootski

well just yesterday, i went to Scheels and bought the Lowrance x67c ice machine. very nice machine. i know alot of people say they suck, but hey you cant beat it. it has 5 different modes of viewing. you have flasher and sonar. very easy to use if you read the book and watch the movie…i caught on fast and this is the first flasher/sonar i have ever used. the great thing is that i can now put it on my boat and use it in the summer!! and i dont have to just keep it on the flasher, i can change it to sonar on the ice as well, so if you jsut dont like looking at a flasher all day, i would get this machine, the best of both worlds!!

“but hey you cant beat it”

Greeno, make sure you try it before you recommend it. I have a lot of hours on the x67c and consider myself fairly well informed when it comes to flashers and the like. Use your unit for a year, then let us know what you think.

My opinion of that unit, as well as a lot of others I have guided in the past, is not what you are representing. Again, give it a try for a year, compare it to Vexilar and MarCum. If you like it after a year, come back and tell us.
Also, see how it interacts with other units, and how the (IR) interference rejection works on it. Let us know if the flasher display is easy to read and if there is a slight processor delay in the unit. Also, let us know how the unit does in weeds, specifically if you are able to find your hook and fish inbetween the weeds. After all that, take it up North on a cold crisp morning and see how the unit does in the extreme cold.

If in the end you find “you cant beat it” let me know. I have a MarCum I will let you try.

i guess you could say im not a “great icefisherman”, and i really dont know to much about it. i dont buy things because of what a couple of people think, or buy if one person used it and didnt like it. i buy it all b/c i like the way it works and what not. im not saying that the vex and MarCum are junk…if i could, i would own one of those too….but i know 4 people who own them, the fl-18 and MarCum lx3 and they have them on thier boats, they dont even work b/c of the interference. and i was on the boats that have them and they were right, they didnt work, so if i wanted to use them in the summer, what do i do?? by getting this unit, i killed 2 birds with 1 stone. if i could use them on the ice, maybe it would change my mind, but i dont get the chance to do that, so i go with what i think is best for me…..i will come back on here after this ice season and let you know how i liked the unit….if i didnt like it, i will move on the the next unit until i find the one for me

That is all I ask. After you try it, let us know how it works for you. You may find it is the best unit for you. As for not being able to use a LX-3 on a boat because of interference, that is not true, unless you had it wired to the battery wrong. I have used them for years on my boats. I have run them in combination with Lowrance and Garmin products and have not had interfernce issues ever. They work great for open water.

Most people wire electronics wrong when they do it themselves and the interference comes from the trolling motor or their main engine, not other units. I recommend everyone use a flasher on their boat. Real time feedback is a valueable tool.

i have a quick question scott, have you used the m68 ice machine?? i was just thinking, if i am gonna own the lowrance ice machine, why not put in the extra $100 and get a gps with it?? just wondering if you have used it and if the gps is worth it?? and if you have, do you need different cards to get different lakes, b.c i go to canada and i was wondering if some of the lakes were on it?? thanks

The GPS is the big selling point behind that unit. However, you will find that putting that extra money towards a handheld with mapping capabilities would be money well spent. Basically, you have to have the unit out to use the GPS. People that run that unit never use the GPS.

If you buy a handheld with mapping, you will be able to use it hunting, while driving to your fishing spots, etc. And, it is much easier to use while operating an ATV or snowmobile. If you are planning to stick with Lowrance, they make a handheld that accepts MMC cards. That would be the way to go.

I NEVER recommend people buy and all in one unit for the ice. Well, I rarely recommend anything beside MarCum because I believe they make the best products. But, in your case I would recommend you stick with what you got and put the extra money in a handheld.

ya…thats what i heard…if it isnt a good gps, then i dont think im gonna put the extra money in it…i have a garmin etrex summit that i got last year…i use that for hunting and what not…i was just gonna get this so i could have a picture of the lake i was on and where i was on the lake….but i go to canada every spring..and i want the lakes that i fish on it as well..so idk?

Al Lindner and Dave genz both endorse vexilar. Why is that? Is it because vexilar pays the most to have those names endorse their product, or is it because Al and Dave truly “wouldn’t go fishing without their vexilars”

Liz…Not that I’m a pro…but I would never go ice fishing without my vex…until I bought an LX-3 MarCum from Scott….

Now I never go ice fishing without my MarCum. If I was at a lake 25 miles from home…I would drive back to get it!

I’ve posted this someplace before. Both Vex and MarCum have great units. Being a past user of both, I believe the LX-3 has the edge (no pun intended) at this time.

I wish someone would pay me for saying that!

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Al Lindner and Dave genz both endorse vexilar. Why is that? Is it because vexilar pays the most to have those names endorse their product, or is it because Al and Dave truly “wouldn’t go fishing without their vexilars”

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They have both used them for years, especially Genz. Plus endorsements too with Linders.
Thanks, Bill

Yes they are paid for their endorsement but they are very picky on the products they use and promote. Dave Genz was offered a huge deal from an other competitor and turned it down.

In other words, they believe vexilar is the best?

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In other words, they believe vexilar is the best?

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You are correct.

Sounds like the 67 might not be so great. Too bad since I just bought the ice conversion kit. I’ll post feedback after I use it. Works good on my pontoon for light summer duty. I always have my trusy Zercom Colorpoint. I like that unit except for interference from other flashers close by.