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Showdowns still being used? Made? - Printable Version

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Showdowns still being used? Made? - BearLakeFishGuy - 01-21-2022

Everyone is running flashers or some type of sonar while ice fishing, but I haven't heard a peep about the Showdown vertical flashers in a couple of years.  Are you still using them?  Is Marcum still making them?  Just curious.  Heck, I'm running a Lowrance X91 so I can't talk about staying up with new technology for ice fishing, but I'll be dang if I'm going to spend $400+ for a flasher I only use about 10 times/year.  I get good results with my old Lowrance LCD unit, so until it dies, I'll be using it.


RE: Showdowns still being used? Made? - hook_sets - 01-21-2022

(01-21-2022, 02:14 AM)BearLakeFishGuy Wrote: Everyone is running flashers or some type of sonar while ice fishing, but I haven't heard a peep about the Showdown vertical flashers in a couple of years.  Are you still using them?  Is Marcum still making them?  Just curious.  Heck, I'm running a Lowrance X91 so I can't talk about staying up with new technology for ice fishing, but I'll be dang if I'm going to spend $400+ for a flasher I only use about 10 times/year.  I get good results with my old Lowrance LCD unit, so until it dies, I'll be using it.

I am currently using the showdown 5.6 that I bought it used 3 years ago.  I still like it even though it is not as fancy as other sonars.  I like the simplicity of it.  All I need it to tell me what depth the fish are at and the rest is up to me to get the fish to bite which is not a problem for me.


RE: Showdowns still being used? Made? - TopH2O - 01-21-2022

(01-21-2022, 02:14 AM)BearLakeFishGuy Wrote: Everyone is running flashers or some type of sonar while ice fishing, but I haven't heard a peep about the Showdown vertical flashers in a couple of years.  Are you still using them?  Is Marcum still making them?  Just curious.  Heck, I'm running a Lowrance X91 so I can't talk about staying up with new technology for ice fishing, but I'll be dang if I'm going to spend $400+ for a flasher I only use about 10 times/year.  I get good results with my old Lowrance LCD unit, so until it dies, I'll be using it.

I have been using my Showdown since 2012 and it's never skipped a beat.  I've gone through a number of 8 and 9Ah batteries but I've always had a lot of confidence in the unit's performance.  I've used it at the Gorge fishing in 90 feet of water for Macs and at Pelican in 8 feet of water for bluegill.  I'm one of the Showdown's biggest fans.  Besides, Flashers cause Whirling disease! (The spinning dials and flashing lights)

I dread the day my Showdown will bite the dust but until then I'm 100% behind the Marcum unit.

Mike


RE: Showdowns still being used? Made? - fishnate - 01-21-2022

I just bought a Showdown Ice Troller 2.0 off the Marcum website for $130. I've been using one for years and thought I'd buy a new upgraded model. I made an adapter so I can plug into a 12v or you can just use the AA battery option.


RE: Showdowns still being used? Made? - wiperhunter2 - 01-21-2022

(01-21-2022, 03:52 AM)fishnate Wrote: I just bought a Showdown Ice Troller 2.0 off the Marcum website for $130. I've been using one for years and thought I'd buy a new upgraded model. I made an adapter so I can plug into a 12v or you can just use the AA battery option.

I have the same one but it's several years old. I wish mine had an adapter, how did you make it?


RE: Showdowns still being used? Made? - EyLayo - 01-21-2022

Hey I’d like to meet up with one of you fellers with a working unit. I picked up one last year for all the reasons you mentioned, portable, simple etc. I want to like it, it reads depth and will show fish on occasion, but I’m not convinced it works properly. I’d like to try it side by side with a similar model before I write it off as broken.


RE: Showdowns still being used? Made? - JBSPARKIE - 01-21-2022

I ran the showdown 5.6 for 7 years before it crapped out. I loved it. I tried to send back for repair but after they trouble shot the unit they determined that the part that was bad was not replaceable since they discontinued the model. They offered me a 20% discount for a direct purchase. I ended up with a Marcum LX9 lithium. I am in love. Works like showdown in color. Had it out 9 times this year already. Only bad comment is no GPS. You would think at that price point it would have been a given Sad.


RE: Showdowns still being used? Made? - RockyRaab2 - 01-21-2022

I really liked mine. The vertical display is much easier for your brain to process versus trying to visualize what the heck a spinning circle means. The vertical display is like the shaft of a well, immediately intuitive. It's Sad that they discontinued it.

I had a handheld GPS with lake maps that I used in my kayak, so that took care of the lack of one in the Marcum.


RE: Showdowns still being used? Made? - wiperhunter2 - 01-21-2022

(01-21-2022, 04:30 AM)EyLayo Wrote: Hey I’d like to meet up with one of you fellers with a working unit. I picked up one last year for all the reasons you mentioned, portable, simple etc. I want to like it, it reads depth and will show fish on occasion, but I’m not convinced it works properly. I’d like to try it side by side with a similar model before I write it off as broken.

I can't help you on that one because I only use mine for hole hopping, when checking depth, it will pick up fish but the off switch quit working after the second year, so I have to pull the batteries out to turn it off. Seems like these troller models had a lot of issues but what I did like about it was that you can hang it around your neck while hole hopping and it was very portable.


RE: Showdowns still being used? Made? - TubeDude - 01-21-2022

I used a Showdown for the last 3-4 years I still fished through the ice.  While I greatly admired the skill and success enjoyed by some users of the circular flasher models, I found them too "busy" for my liking.  I liked the simpliciy of the vertical display much better...and the real time display of fishy activity below without having to interpret color and width of lines, etc.  A lot of the fish I caught on most trips were directly attributable to having a Showdown and learning how to use it to full advantage. 

One of the biggies I enjoyed was being able to cover a lot of area and to shoot down through clean ice to see what was below...without having to drill holes.  I took apart the bag setup that came with the Showdown and made my own mounting arrangement with an insulated drink bag...using PVC (what else) for a mounting riser.  This setup fit in my sled and I could move across the ice...with an insulated container of warm water...dribbling a little on the ice wherever I wanted to "shoot" and getting an instant read on depth and fish below.  That saved me a lot of time and hole drilling on numerous trips.  Here are a few pics of my setup.

[Image: SHOWDOWN-READY.jpg]  [Image: COMPONENTS.jpg]  [Image: SUSPENDERS.jpg]   [Image: SHOOTIN-THROUGH-ICE.jpg]









RE: Showdowns still being used? Made? - MrShane - 01-21-2022

I love my 5.6 and use it every trip.


RE: Showdowns still being used? Made? - Jmorfish - 01-21-2022

Happy camper here with mine also, which I guess I've had for 8 or 9 years...Never an issue, except one time when I forgot to re-connect cables after I had re-charged at home...I re-charge after every trip, and have never had to replace battery....over these years I've averaged maybe 15 trips per year, always using it...Love the 'Up is Up, Down is Down' display...don't need the color....If you are interested in buying one, good luck...because if someone has a good working one, they probably don't want to sell it...I did have a problem with my original 'Dual Beam' Showdown, but  they replaced it with the 5.6 'Single Beam'..this is the one you might want to try finding...for all reasons stated by all..Guluk


RE: Showdowns still being used? Made? - fishnate - 01-21-2022

One other option you might like is the A-Scope setting on a Garmin. I've been using that on my Striker 4. I like that it has the vertical display like the Marcum plus it has color and the history of the traditional sonar. I'm sure other brands have something similar.


RE: Showdowns still being used? Made? - SkunkedAgain - 01-24-2022

Hey Scott, I think Marcum incorporated that feature in their LX line of finders so they probably want to sell them for more money... I use it on my LX as a second screen and really like it, but they don't come cheap in that version, but I do love the finder.... However, ice season is my main season, so I guess I spend more on the ice gear... Anyway good luck finding a used one, they are a lot more intuitive to me as well... Later J