I bought a used Marcum Showdown Troller last year. I liked it a lot but thought it would be smart to get it upgraded to the 2.0 version. I also thought that August would be a smart time to do that.
I paid the requisite $50.00 plus $5.85 for return Priority Mail shipping (that's actual cost, btw) and dropped my old unit and transducer in the mail.
Zingo zango, it was back in seven days. Now I have bottom zoom to focus in on the bottom five or 10 feet, a battery level gauge, and a couple other features.
Great service, and if you have gear that might need factory work, now's the time to get'er done.
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I had to send in my showdown this year because it stopped reading the bottom and picking up fish. I wrote an email to Markum and they replied with an RA #, which is required for service. I have the dual beam and love it! It changed the way I fish and increased my success rate. I recommend it to anyone who is considering a fish finder for this ice season. I also will add that the customer service department is very prompt and kind with responses.
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I appreciate the discussion of depth finders for ice fishing, but really guys, it is almost 100 degrees outside !! Is the the way you are trying to cool off ????
[#0000FF]Define "early".
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I love that pic.....my wife say's that's exactly what I would do!
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Not trying to beat the heat, good friend Therapy. Trying to beat the frantic rush for service when the lakes start skimming and people suddenly remember they have a flasher that needs service.
And as my service did indeed go quickly and smoothly, I thought I'd reminderize anyone else who wants to beat the crowd.
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Thanks for the reminder. I have an AquaVu underwater camera that needs to go in for service. Never too early to start getting geared up and things repaired. [cool]
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excellent reminder, got some auger blades that need sharpening!! the jiffy was giving me a serious workout late last season - don't want to go through that again
bring on the ice!
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[font "Times New Roman"]Thank you RockyRaab, I need to do this with my Showdown. I am glad everything went well, Makes me feel better about sending it in.[/font]
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Never to early. Get out the sled and hit your favorite fishing spot! Just don't go too slow.
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What kind of ice tent do you guys prefer to get. I had my eskimo tent and I just hate them with a passion. Poles keep breaking and I'm sick of it. Going to put it for sale on ksl and just buy a new one.
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[font "Times New Roman"]I had a clam 2000 it was nice other then the zippers failed etc and left the wife and I frozen on the lake (short trip that day). That was it for Clam. Then I bought an Eskimo Traveller (green) and loved it just a little too small for 2. It seemed like it was made better (zipper quality etc... Then I bought an Eskimo (green) quickflip 3 loved it but was to heavy to haul around by foot, had to weigh over a 150LBS with gear and equipment also bench seat was very uncomfortable. Then I settled with the quickfish 3 and love every second using it. I am concerned a little with the zipper quality compared to the green Eskimo’s (big heavy zippers). One thing I will be buying this year is a bigger sled to haul everything around much easier. Also depends on how much you want to spend. Otter's are supposed to be the best ice tent made. That is if you can spend $1000 plus on one. If I would do it again I would buy Eskimo. I just wish I did some research before buying 4 tents oh well lesson learned the hard way. Everybody has their favourite brand and model of tent; everybody prefers one brand over the other. You just need to find one that fits your needs. Do some research it will make your decision a whole lot easier. I learned the hard way 4 tents later. At first all I wanted was a tent with a built in sled. I would not look at the tents that did not have a sled attached. That soon changed when I found out how much they weighed and limits on what you can haul. Now I will not get one with a built in sled unless I buy a snowmobile. My Quickfish3 is just right for now, it is a little small with 3 people, fish finder and heater but it fits the bill. It usually is only 2 people in the tent. In the future I will be upgrading to something a little bigger in the future. Hope this helps you out, not trying to sell you on Eskimo I just had nothing but good with them, seems you didn’t sorry and good luck with what ever you decide to buy. Just remember to research it is well worth the time and effort also keeps your wallet fat.[/font]
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Last Christmas my wife and family surprised me with an insulated 2-man Clam Nanook, and I love it. I was a bit worried about pulling it around, but found it is surprisingly easy. There have been a few occasions that it was a workout due to heavy wet snow, or drifts, but all in all it worked out great. It may be used as a two man, but works great as an oversized one man tent. The insulation keeps the condensation to a minimum and retains heat quite well. I only put one seat in it to reduce weight, and I use a hand auger, so overall my set up is somewhere around 80 pounds. It's not the lightest, but I can still manage to put it into the bed of my truck after a day of fishing. I know a previous poster mentioned using a four wheeler or snowmobile to haul the sled type shelters around. That would be the cats meow, but for now a good breakfast and human power does just fine for me, but everyone varies. There are many good suggestions here, good luck in your search.
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First let me say I am not opposed to having company while fishing through the ice. I often fish with 3-5 others. I do however like to fish independently as do my friends. It allows me to concentrate more on what's going on below me. I have a Quick fish that I sometimes use if I take one of the little kids or whimps along. If I use a shelter at all it is a one person flip over type, which I usually always drag behind me. If bad weather comes in or a cold wind or even on a bright day when I have trouble seeing the flasher clearly I can cover myself completely or parcelly as needed. I have 3 of them; the Clam is probably the best, it is wide enough for elbow room but does require extending the telescoping supports. That can sometimes be a nuisance. I have used it enough over the years I had to have it resewn in several places. The other 2 only need fliping the cover which can easily be done with the flick of the wrist. One of those I don't use because the corners are worn out and collect snow as I drag it. The other is made by Shapel, It's a bit wider than than the one I just described and seems to work out pretty good. So! my choice at this time: Shapell #1 Clam #2.
There are a lot to choose from, it's a matter of how you like to fish and how mobile you want to be.
RJ
Forgot! I don't use any type of heater so I don't worry about space for that. If you get something big it seems one want's to fill it with a bunch of junk you don't need.
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have only had one, but the FatFish 949 has been great for me. Had to get the "new" model of the 949. new and improved. bigger and stronger stringers from what I could tell.
Looking for a new/used finder..... anyone wanting to upgrade ?
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For me I just hate how easy those rods break. It's a pain in the but when the wind comes or there's time the eskimo is hard to put down in my opinion.
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Ya the best day's are when it snows 1" an hr and ends up being 5" of fresh powder then another 1' of snow from a few days ago.
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I am considering a Showdown for ice fishing. How hard is the troller to view because of its size? How about battery life? The Troller would be much less $ than a larger dual beam.
Thanks...
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I'm happy with mine and I expect that I'll be even happier with the upgrade, especially the "bottom lock" function. The display is easy to read even in bright sun (as opposed to my phone, which is unusable, darn near) and I can easily see even a tiny jig on its way down. Most times, I was able to see a barrel swivel tied in above the lure, the lure itself, and any fish that appear nearby. I set my unit up across the hole from me, so the screen is probably six feet from my eyes. That way, I can watch the screen and my rod tip.
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I got a showdown troller with the upgrade package that let's you use a 12 v battery. Trust me with the double a batteries it just sucks. They die in like 4 hrs where with the 12 v battery you can go on a 12 hr fishing trip with no problems.
The showdown and 2.0 are cheaper this year then last year. The cost of the showdown with the 12 v package was around $260 last year that's with tax but luckily my parents and their friends gave me tons of gift cards that basically made it close to free.
For me it's really easy to see the fish come around just adjust the angle view on the package and your good to go.
Now it's 139.99 just for the showdown troller and additional 49.99 for 12v package.
If I were you I'd buy it now before there out of stock.
http://www.rapala.com/marcum/sonar/?id=10
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