Looking to possibly upgrade to a Marcum Lx6 or Lx7

Hello everyone, I have a Humminbird Ice-35 that I bought new last season. It works real well, but I am just looking to get something with better target separation and more power. I just got a new Eskimo quickflip 1 that I will be fishing out of this season. Last season was out of a Eskimo quickfish 3, but I like to be more mobile and I fish alone 95% of the time. I don’t hole hop and jig outside very often, so most all of my fishing will be in the flip over and hole hopping that way. I have read a lot of hit and miss, good and bad reviews on the Marcum LX6 & LX7’s. But these are the ones I am leaning towards. Which one would be best in the flip over? I don’t want the screen to be too small, will the lx6 fit the bill? When I go out fishing I am usually out for 14-17 hours at a time, and I need a unit that will have enough battery to get me through that long of a day. What kind of battery life are you guys seeing out of these units? I need a unit that is reliable, has a good battery life, and works everytime I head out. The bird has never given me an issue and the batter will last for 2-15 hour days before needing a charge. I just want something with more features, better target separation, great reliability (works every single time I head out), and has great battery. Keep in mind it will be used in a heated shanty.

I got the six last year I like I upgraded from a bird 45 and the battery life seem about the same if you are mainly fishing in the house id do the seven because of the bigger screen but for hole hopping the six is the best depending on how bright you run the back light of its super bright you’ll lose a few hours of battery life other than that you should be good to go

I bought the 6 last year in the same position you are and if you get it you won’t be disappointed. It’s plenty big to use in a flip over house or outside without a problem and the battery life is surprisingly good. I was skeptical about it at first but I wouldn’t change my decision now in hindsight.

Thanks for the responses guys. I am kinda leaning more towards the 7 because for not much more money you get the bigger screen. Anyone have any pics of your LX6 or 7 in action??? Can you give me a little more insight on the good and bad of the units? What made you guys decide to go with the lx series of sonars?

I was able to get my LX6 for a great deal late season 2yrs ago, upgrade from the ICE35. It was well worth it and works in every situation I’ve had it in so far. The only place the ICE35 didn’t work well was perch fishing in 50 to 80ft.

bigstorm wrote:

I was able to get my LX6 for a great deal late season 2yrs ago, upgrade from the ICE35. It was well worth it and works in every situation I’ve had it in so far. The only place the ICE35 didn’t work well was perch fishing in 50 to 80ft.

I like the ICE35, it works well for suspended fish. I missed quite a few fish by not being able to see them walleye hugging the bottom and when the perch, blue gill, & crappie were schooled up they were just a big blob with no way to tune the unit to separate the targets and see what was going on with the fish reacting to my presentation. Between the 6 & 7 I keep thinking that I’m going to regret not getting the bigger screen….I guess I live by the “bigger is better” motto. LOL

Here is a pic of me sitting in my flip over with my ICE35 doing a dry run in the garage:

Cant say much for the bird since ive never owned one. But here’s a couple things to consider. I was going ti upgrade from an lx3 to a 6. Found a great deal on the 7 so i bought it instead. The footprint is pretty much the same on the 6 and 7. As far as weight you wont notice the difference. If u dismantle and hild both the bare units they are a mere few ounces different. Sounds like you wont be hole hopping much anyway. Since youll be in a shack u can keep the screen brightness lower. This like a cell phone is a battery saver. If u can afford the 7 go for it. But youll love either.

Well after much research, going to Scheels and playing with all of the units, and taking a buddies FLX-28 out on the boat and playing with it; I went with the Marcum LX-7. Will be keeping my Humminbird Ice-35 as a backup and for others that come along who don’t have a sonar. Didn’t feel that I was gaining much of anything with the FLX-28, it had a smaller dial face than my Bird and few other things I personally didn’t care for. It’s a great unit don’t get me wrong, but I figured if I was gonna spend the money I wanted something with some bells and whistles above my Bird. The LX-6 was just as nice, but for $30 more I got the larger screen and the option to upgrade my LX-7 to the LX-9 in the future if I want. Watching all of the ice fishing videos of James Holst using his LX-9 really helped to sway me to the LX-7 also. Thanks for all of the help and information everyone!! I appreciate it and will post up some pics of the unboxing when the 7 arrives. Ordered it from Redrock store today for $649. If anyone has any tips on setting up and using the LX series of flashers or pictures of theirs in action post them up! Thanks again. Now I’m all excited and gotta wait for it to show up! Lol

MIKE METCALF wrote:

When I go out fishing I am usually out for 14-17 hours at a time, and I need a unit that will have enough battery to get me through that long of a day. What kind of battery life are you guys seeing out of these units?

I have the LX9 which is same unit as the LX7 but with the camera. You will not get anywhere near 14 hours of battery life. I will not even get 8 hours of battery and that is without using the camera. If you plan on fishing this long you will need a spare battery.

4walleye wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>MIKE METCALF wrote:</div>
When I go out fishing I am usually out for 14-17 hours at a time, and I need a unit that will have enough battery to get me through that long of a day. What kind of battery life are you guys seeing out of these units?

I have the LX9 which is same unit as the LX7 but with the camera. You will not get anywhere near 14 hours of battery life. I will not even get 8 hours of battery and that is without using the camera. If you plan on fishing this long you will need a spare battery.

I did read where guys were having no problems getting 12-14 hours of fishing time with their units by turning down the backlight on the screen. I also imagine if I were to set it on something (like a piece of wood) instead of right on the ice it would help the battery life by not letting the battery get as cold. Will wait and see I guess. If anyone else can comment on the battery life of these units that would be great. Thanks

I have had my Lx-7 run all day 5am to 9pm in my shack with the backlight turned down and thats probably one of my most favorite features other then the fact that you can run a bottom zoom mode to the right and a scrolling graph to the rest of the left which makes it easy to see what fish are doing and what kind of jigging cadence you used to get the big one to commit

enjoy your new toy your going to love it

Got my LX-7 yesterday on my birthday. Was a great birthday gift!!! Just opened it today and am going to check that it has the current software update. Will post up some pics in a bit.

Great info/instruction on YouTube! Just search Marcum LX7!

Has anyone ever added a battery gauge that reads in percentage on how much battery life is left on these Marcum digitals??? Or can some one explain how the battery voltage shown on the built in gauge correlates to how much battery life is left?? Was thinking of adding a battery gauge to mine and curious if anyone has done it to theirs. Thanks

Voltage goes like the gauge says…(right after it gets off the charger in can read to 13.4)
12.7 and higher – Full charge
12.4-5 – half charge
12.1 or lower -almost out

No need to add anything else

Mudshark wrote:

Voltage goes like the gauge says…(right after it gets off the charger in can read to 13.4)
12.7 and higher – Full charge
12.4-5 – half charge
12.1 or lower -almost out

No need to add anything else

Your right….didn’t even realize it till I turned it on and looked at it. Thanks for the reply.

Looking at how much room I have in the front of my Eskimo Quickflip 1 that I just got this fall. When I am seated in “fishing mode”, I am trying to figure out how I should place my holes. Was thinking of 2 holes, 1 for jigging and 1 for a deadstick. And where to place my LX-7. Anyone have any pictures of their hole placement in their 1 man flip overs? Just looking for some suggestions. Thanks.