flasher question

I don’t want to start a heated debate; I know icefishermen have a real emotional fondness for their particular flasher – just looking for an objective comparison between what I consider the three players in the flasher market: Lowrance x67/68 Ice Machine, Marcum LX5, and the Vexilar FL-18 (and new FL-20). I just started ice fishing last winter – picked up an old Zercom Clearwater Classic – and I’m now a fully-hooked iceman! While the ol’ Zercom served me well last winter (caught my fair share of perch, bluegills, pike, walleye and even a few bass using this oldie-moldie), I’m now ready to move into the 21st century. I picked up an AquaView already and am looking to get a new flasher. I’ve read a number of posts/reviews/etc about these three and the best I can come up with is that all three have their pluses and minuses… As of now, I’m leaning toward either the lowrance or the vexilar; mostly because I can hook them up to my MinnKota on the bow of my boat.

If it helps, I usually ice fish on smaller bodies of water that are not too crowded; mostly fish water on the shallow side (20′ or less); mostly fish for perch/bluegill/walley and go after the occasional pike. I pull my sled by hand, hand-drill my fishing holes, wear blaze-orange, always bring a cigar or two, some Leinie’s and maybe a bottle of Jager along in case I get cold .

You mentioned you normally fish shallow water. The Vexilar FL-18 and the new FL-20 are excellent shallow water units. Some of the other brands carry such high power that they can sometimes show too much. Meaning they amplify targets that you dont need to see. This will sometimes interfere with the targets that you do want to see. The Fl-18 and Fl-20 have Low Power modes that cut the power down so your not picking up all that junk.
Flashers are an excellent open water tool. You will be very happy with a Vexilar..

I have been running an FL8 for atleast 6 years now. One unit for both hard and soft water. You will be hard pressed to get me away from having a flasher on my boat or in my fish house.

I cannot attest to the new units because I don’t own one. But I can say that my FL8 has been bullet proof and have NEVER had an issue. (I am on the ice 1 day a week and in my boat 2 to 3 days a week all summer.) This thing has a ton of hours on it. I will run another Vex when the time comes to retire the current unit.

Just my .10.

I went and got the Cabels VXR or what ever it is because I was on a budget but still wanted a 5 ft read. IT is made by marcum and I have been satisfied.

I have also brought it on canoe trips it works pretty good through the bottom of the canoe.

I thought you were refering to the guy Gocatfish and Hookem69 saw the other night.

You can read about him here.

Quote:

---

I pull my sled by hand, hand-drill my fishing holes, wear blaze-orange, always bring a cigar or two, some Leinie’s and maybe a bottle of Jager along in case I get cold

---

Sounds like a MarCum man to me

No matter what unit you decide to go with, don’t let the universal transducer in your trolling motor dictate what unit you buy. You will want to use the transducer made by the manufacturer. The univerasal sonar in your trolling motor, is exactly that, universal. You will lose performance from any higher end unit by using this sonar. MarCum did the testing, and has opted not to go that route. I am sure Vexilar has done the same testing and can tell you the same thing.

As for what unit to buy, my recommendation is always going to be the MarCum unit(until I find a better unit). I have used them all (accept the new 12 & 20) and have yet to see one that outperforms the LX-5. I use the same unit on my boat as I do on the ice. I would not fish without it. One other thing to consider is the interference rejection. I am not sure what other units you are running on your boat, you want to be able to tune out other units. There is nothing worse than not being able to use the Flasher you paid a lot of money for because you can not use it near other units. The only way to make IR work effectively is to have enough power to offer many different signals. You will not find a better IR than the one Patented by MarCum.

No matter what you decide to do, you are making the right decision by getting a flasher. By the way, there is nothing wrong with your old Clearwater Classic, accept no IR

The flashers on the market today are awesome units. I have the Marcum LX-5 and have friends that are using the LX-3. They have been great units. I also like the quietness of the MarCum’s. I mostly ice fish back water of the Mississippi in 4-10fow. I have not experienced picking up junk because of to much power. I may be confused but the Gain button clears things up for me. I do like the extra power for when I am able to fish deeper Lakes in the area. The separation between bottom and fish is unbelievable, especially in the zoom mode and with the SFL (super fine line) opption!
Shop around; I’m sure you will find the Flasher that is right for you!

Bret

Wow… that was quick! I expect there will be even more opinions offered over the next day or so…

Scott: if I don’t use the universal transducer, where would you suggest mounting the flasher transducer? I have a lowrance unit on the boat now. I think that I’d prefer to run the flasher off the bow, for jigging or slow-trolling. Does Marcum sell a unit to mount on the trolling motor?

Farmboy: thanks for the link! That’s a funny story… when I said “I pull my sled by hand” and “hand-drill my holes”, that’s not what I was referring to… as they say, when fishing a river, you never know what you’ll ‘catch’

Yes, MarCum has a trolling motor kit. It includes the transducer that mounts on the bottom of the trolling motor, the Gimbal Bracket, wiring, power cord, screws, etc. Basically everything you need to mount the unit on your boat. They also have a High Speed transducer in case you want to transom mount the unit on your boat. I do not use anything besides my flasher when I am fishing from the bow, that is how important it is to me.

As for where to mount it, I would use the puck that is included in the bow mount kit and mount it on the bottom of the trolling motor. I had really good luck running both Lowrance & Humminbird units at the same time as my MarCum. You may need to use your IR but they units are compatible on the same boat.

When you buy a MarCum you get a unit that is ice ready. If you want to put the unit on your boat, you just buy the transducer kit you want. You take the powerhead off the ice package and you are good to go on the boat

Quote:

---

Quote:

---

I pull my sled by hand, hand-drill my fishing holes, wear blaze-orange, always bring a cigar or two, some Leinie’s and maybe a bottle of Jager along in case I get cold

---

Sounds like a MarCum man to me

---

I have to share an amusing story from last winter… picture this: I’m 6’4″ tall, weigh about 275lbs – out ice fishing at Willow River Park; standing outside my portable shack, in my blaze-orange parka and bibs, with a rabbit-fur hat, sorel boots, I have a full beard, wearing ray-bans, big ol’ churchill cigar hanging out of my mouth, icicles hanging off my mustache, bottle of Leinie’s in one hand, jigging pole in the other, staring down at a hole in the ice… I look up and notice this young couple walking out toward me with two small children in tow. They stop to talk and I notice a definite accent – somewhat British but I thought more like Aussie or New Zealander… Turns out they just moved to Hudson from Sydney Australia, had never seen a frozen lake before, and, most certainly, had never seen anyone that looked like I did that day . They came out to see what we were doing – they had heard about ‘ice fishing’ but thought it was a ‘myth’!!! I’m sure they were thinking “Oh my GOD, where did we move to!!! Are all the people around here like this hick????”. We got to talking about his job and why they moved to the states and to Hudson in particular…. Now imagine the look on their faces when I explained to them that I have a B.S. in Biology and Chemistry, a Master’s degree in Physiology, and a PhD in Pharmacology/Physiology and that I am the Scientific Director of a local medical research company!!! I think they walked away even more bewildered and confused…

Then, not more than a couple of weeks later – had a similar ‘encounter’… this time it was with a very yuppie couple out cross-country skiing (she had the whole ensemble going – fur jacket, fur ear muffs, tight pants, tons of makeup, jewelry – not sure who she was trying to impress – the deer??); they were out visiting from LA. I know she thought I was a real ‘local’ as she was talking ‘down’ to me as if I didn’t understand english!!! We struck up a bit more of discussion and it turned out that she was very nice and quite interested in learning more about the sport of ice fishing and the technology behind the flasher, etc.

Just remember – looks CAN be deceiving

Quote:

---

I have a B.S. in Biology and Chemistry, a Master’s degree in Physiology, and a PhD in Pharmacology/Physiology and that I am the Scientific Director of a local medical research company!!!

---

Yep, a MarCum man for sure.

You will really appreciate the engineering and design that went into the MarCum LX-5. The unit was designed by two ex-military engineers that specialized in Sonar Technology. Those two engineers still do the design and engineering as well as are part owners of the company

They basically copied the Vexilar technology and design after the Vexilar three color patent expired. The new FL-20 has the latest interference rejection technology. Last winter when it was tested, 4 FL-20 units were placed in the same ice hole and there was zero interference.

Stop in at your local retailer and compare them all. You might even find a tackle shop that will rent units out. You will really like the flat display on the FL-20.

I recommend taking advantage of the universal sonar. Its very convenient not to have to run cable down your motor not to mention having to buy another transducer. I cant confirm the testing Marcum did with the US but I can confirm Minn-kota chose not to make the US compatible with the Marcum units.

Anybody use the lowrance ???? Im a Vex guy but sure like the built in GPS on the Ice Machine 68.

Just a note on the transducers, I have the high speed transducer for my MarCum and love it. It is cool to be locating real time as the flashers do. I just have a 14’ with a 25hp and back troll a lot. It works great for following drops, channel edges and gives structure/fish away when you are on it, not past it! Most all my fishing is done from the back of my boat with my hand on the tiller or trolling motor.

With that said…… Mike C spends more time fishing out of the front of his boat and has the trolling motor mounted transducer. His flasher is the MarCum LX-3. All I can say about that, I like it when Mike lets me have the front of the boat We both spend most are time on the river but love it when we have the chance to hit a lake now and then. A flasher is a great tool in the boat

Come on Ice
Bret

I also switched from Vexilar to a MarCum LX-3 and really like it I also have the trolling motor transducer for open water use. That unit has helped me tremendously in finding fish through the ice and while jigging for walleyes on the river. The Zoom, quiet motor, and target seperation are all VERY favorable in my opinion.

Yea, what he said. I had an FL-8 for three years and sold it to a coworker last winter and bought the LX-3. I love that unit and as Bret says it works very nicely with the puck kit mounted on my trolling motor and the mounting bracket up front. That gives me two locators, one up front and one in the back for when I’m scootin’ across the water. I think whatever unit you buy, you will be happy having a flasher in your ice fishing arsenal. Good luck with your decision.

Yes, flashers are an excellent tool, whether you switched from vex to marc or marc to vex. However, I’m a little confused as to when most of you talk about target separation. What do you mean exactly? How many lines of segments are on the dial of marcum unit vs. some of the others out there and do they differ from the LX 2,3 or 5??

The lines on the MarCum units are cleaner and crisper. When we talk about target seperation, we are basically talking about the units ability to pick up individual fish. The tighter the seperation, the easier it is to see how many fish and the relative size of the fish below you. When you have 1/2″ of target seperation, you really pick up on what is below you. It is really awesome in the zoom mode. In Zoom mode, you get everything magnified in the water column that you choose to zoom in on. This is especially helpful with suspending fish such as crappie. But, it also helps with bottom hugging fish as well.

I certainly agree with wats, target seperation and adjustable zoom sold me on the LX3, ( any marcum shares the target seperation) I sold my fl-18 after using it. Last year I fished with my uncle that bought my fl-18 from me, and I actually felt bad for him, I feel I’m spoiled with the LX3. Though we both caught as many fish.

I was never unhappy with my vex, and I don’t think there is a vex user out there that really is unhappy with thier units either, but IMHO marcum makes a better flasher for the money right now, I’d expect vex to come right back and make some changes, but the target seperation was the big key for me, I’d mark fish super tight to the bottom with the marcum, the vex couldn’t see, in mille lacs, 22 feet of water.

I use my flasher in the ice pack year round, I just set it up on the bow (normally where I’m fishing) and I can watch my jig like you can in winter, I can’t even begin to tell you how many times I have marked a fish or two, dropped my bait down to them and had them hammer it. Nor could I tell you how many times I dropped my bait down watched fish react to it, and swim away, a quick color change and it was fish on, short of throwing down a camera, nothing IMHO gives you better instant feedback than a flasher, don’t limit yourself to just the ice . 7 pound Nothern last time I was out at our cabin, 45 feet of water, big fish marked at around 40 feet, dropped my bait and fish on, Makes me giggle everytime, it’s even more fun when I give the play by play to the wife…. Oh he sees it, he’s looking at it, fish on! No one ever believes me til I set the hook.

No personaly expeince with the Lowrance, a few people that actually run them seem to like them, the gps is a plus in my book, though I usually use a hand held GPS or like this winter I’m mounting the unit from my boat to my 4 wheeler with a ram mount and the gps and lake chip installed, I only need the gps when I’m moving, so It’s not really needed so much in the flasher itself, but I see the appeal.

It is always fun to see who is sponsered by who here . I personally don’t own a unit. The guy I fish with has a MarCum and I think it is great. I’ve fished with people who have Vex and they seem very loud. I plan on picking up a unit this fall and am pretty….wait….POSITIVE it will be a MarCum.

Hmmm. Interesting feedback. What do you mean by cleaner and crisper?
So back to my second question. How many lines or segments are around the dial on these flashers? Kind of like, how vertical pixels are on a graph.

Have a FL-18 and a LX-1 that I got from Scott last year for my wife to use when she joins me on the ice and my brother who I fish with allot has a LX-3. I think all the units work great but I prefer using my vexilar maybe it is just because I am more used to fishing with it then the marcum’s but like it was said before I do not think you can go wrong with either unit. For the type of fishing that I do there just is not a huge need for me to use the adjustable 6 foot zoom but that is a nice feature. Just my 2 cents.

P.S. My brother uses my FL-18 in the summer on his boat with the universal sonar. I agree with Derrick it is just allot cleaner to use the universal sonar versus the cord and attaching the transducer.

Quote:

---

Anybody use the lowrance ???? Im a Vex guy but sure like the built in GPS on the Ice Machine 68.

---

I have an X67C and love it. I love the digital display and the fact that I have the dual screen zoom in both the flasher and graph modes. It is quiet compared to the mechanical flashers, and it is real time data. My battery lasts a very long time and it looks cool. I was also on the fence when I got the X67C, but I was persuaded by “Rickyfishes”. He probably could help you out more. He’s a great fisherman and if it good enough for him, then I was sold.

I do kind of wish that I would have got the M68 with the GPS. I think it would come in pretty handy when hunting fish on the larger lakes.

My buddies have Marcums and Vexies, and I am usually pretty happy that I have the Lowrance. They are all nice.

I really like the price compared to the others. Hope it helps

Mallard, do you get a lot of interference issues with your X67 while fishing around other units? When I tested that unit, that was the biggest issue I found. It was frustrating to say the least when used around other units.

As for the GPS, get a good handheld. If you are happy with your X67 keep it and spend the other money you would use for an upgrade and get a handheld that accepts cards with lakemaps. You don’t want to have to pull your graph out every time you want to use your GPS.

I did get a lot of interference from an LX-3 while fishing at Mille Lacs. It was the first trip I had it out on, but I was able to adjust out of it by adjusting my ping speed and sensitivity. There was a vex in the house that couldn’t get away from the interference at all. The Marcum was also able to avoid any of the interference from me by some adjustment. I also had to have the guy with the LX-3 go to a different channel. I can’t recall, what I recall, but I do recall that I got rid of it somehow and the Marcums gave me the worst trouble.

It isn’t as easy as turning a knob on the face, so I had to actually read through the manual, but I did get rid of it.

Quote:

---

I can’t recall, what I recall, but I do recall

---

say what?????

I guess nobody knows what I’m asking or doesn’t know the answer…

I’ll give it a shot 500. The MarCum from what I understand in the simplest terms digitally compresses the image to give you that clean distinctive look. Some use pixels or analog. It may have something to do with the filtering aspects of the MarCum unit that cleans up and eliminates distortion, anyway that is why the seperation is very crisp on the display. I don’t know if I helped you or confused you more but I tried…

500, you can go to the each company’s website and see the details on each unit. My choice is the Vexilar.

Vexilar FL20

LX5

I guess Marcum doesn’t offer much info on their site…sorry.

Chad, “500” works for Vexilar, he doesn’t need to go to there site to get answers

Oh, and welcome back I had a feeling you would be showing up again this year for the debates