Fish Finders

[FishMcFisherson]

Well, I'm looking to buy my first finder, and hoping for some input from you folks. I'm looking to buy a cheap one to start with, would like to spend less than 200$. I was poking around on cabelas website and there seemed to be some decent ones in that price range. I'd like something I can take out on the ice, then hook up to my tube/toon in the summer time. HELP!!!
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[Flyfishinglover]

If your going to get one for a float tube a cheap older eagle model works good, saw some on ksl here and there, but using it on the ice not so much. It's nice too know at least what depth they are in but they don't show your jig moving in the water during on the ice season. I saw a video of a guy using a showdown mountain on his kayak and looked pretty good. If you going to get one for ice season the showdown is the way too go especially for the lowest price. I own my self a showdown and after using it for one day I fell in love it .
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[RockyRaab]

The consensus is that a flasher is best for ice and a fish finder is best for open water. That makes sense. A flasher stares straight down from a fixed spot while a fish finder is designed for movement.

I have a Humminbird Pirahna Max 160 on my kayak and it does almost everything I need. Cost was $160. They changed the model numbers for this year so the 160 is no longer available new.

A Marcum Showdown Troller 2.0 is $199 but almost everyone is out of them for the year. You can get the original 1.0 from Marcum for $139 right now - and they'll upgrade it to 2.0 for an extra $50.
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[Tarponjim]

[quote RockyRaab]The consensus is that a flasher is best for ice and a fish finder is best for open water. That makes sense. A flasher stares straight down from a fixed spot while a fish finder is designed for movement.
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Really? I thought a flasher was a "fish finder" too. But then, I thought that some fish finders had flashers on them too. And I never knew fish finders didn't "stare straight down" from a fixed spot. No wonder mine never shows what's under me. I wonder what happens when a fish finder is on a boat and not moving, it must quit working since its designed for movement?

I genuinely suggest you do a little studying on "sonar" 101. ALL sonar works on the same principle, whether you call it a "fish finder," "flasher", "sonar," "graph," or whatever. Measured sound waves. Ping speeds, frequencies, sensitivity, coverage areas, and other variables change. The selected transducer has more influence on the signal than anything. So does the power of the unit. The display is subject to human interpretation and user settings, whether flasher or LCD.

And I assure you that all sonars "stare straight down from a fixed spot" if the transducer is pointed straight down. They ALL shoot in the direction the transducer is pointed, and the sound wave is then bounced back to the same fixed spot, the transducer.
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[Coldfooter]

+1...
BTW,, I wouldn't trade a 3000-4000 watt finder for any flasher on the market when poking my nose into deep water for a look see..
And your right, they are all "finders". LOL, remember those first units?
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[RockyRaab]

TJ, you rather misinterpret what I said. I was writing for simplicity, not technical dissection. (And I am beyond Fishfinder 101, but the original poster is apparently not, so that's where I kept my answer.)

Since you've unnecessarily complicated the issue, I'll have to try again:

Flashers are better for ice. Scanning fishfinders are better for boats.
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[Fishrmn]

A (graph) fish finder doesn't show movement. It shows time. If something moves, either fish, or boat, you can see where it was and also where it is. A good fish finder beats a flasher any day IMO.


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[sandbergmc]

If you look for a finder that has "Fastrack" or "Fishtrack" (depending upon the make) feature it works VERY WELL on ice and does not need to be moving[/b]. In other words one finder for both types of fishing. Those features are the slickest things sense grease. It shows your jigs depths and fish coming into the sonar view, coming up to or down to you jig and BINGO fish on. As you move your jig up or down it tracks it's depth with a continuous line on the screen. Some finders with this feature have wide cones 65deg. or so. Where a Flasher may only have a 10-20deg cone (not sure) If I could find a finder with a 180deg. and Fastrack I would buy that in a heart beat. That would be like having your head in the ice hole. :-) I have a Lorance X102 and a Huminbird 797c2 I use that have those features just as a suggestion. Check KSL or EBAY.
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[doggonefishin]

[quote FishMcFisherson]Well, I'm looking to buy my first finder, and hoping for some input from you folks. I'm looking to buy a cheap one to start with, would like to spend less than 200$. I was poking around on cabelas website and there seemed to be some decent ones in that price range. I'd like something I can take out on the ice, then hook up to my tube/toon in the summer time. HELP!!![.img][url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/images/gforum/happy.gif[/img][/quote]"]http://www.bigfishtackle.com/...y.gif[/img][/quote][/url]


I've done this with my fishmark 320 for almost a decade now. It works great for both and as I've said many a time on here, with "real time" sonar on the right hand side of the screen, I do just fine on the hard deck compared to buddies with flashers. I'm in a dilemma now as it is time to upgrade, but the fishmark series would be a good place for you to look with your budget.
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[Charina]

[quote RockyRaab]Flashers are better for ice. Scanning fishfinders are better for boats.[/quote]
This seems to be one of those things that is stuck in lore, and many seem unwilling to let go of. The only reason I find flashers better is because of the selection of ice-specific setups. But, they are simplistic machines built for a very simplistic purpose.

Last Sat I tried out my mods for my HB 596c HD DI on the ice for the first time. Not a chance I'll ever bother with a simplistic flasher after that experience. Sharp real time info, tons more options, all around much better.

Fish were holding very very tight to the bottom. They were not showing well on either the flashers, or my unit. I set mine to split screen, with left half of the screen on an 8x zoom. Then I could see a change in bottom density when a fish was within my 16 degree cone, and could track its real time movement to my jig. Every bite was preceded with a signal showing a fish rising from the bottom, or descending from above my lure. My kastmaster, and my 1/32 ice fly were 12 inches apart, and both showed independently on the screen, clearly discernable 20 ft down.

When I wasn't marking fish in my hole, I switched to the dual beam, and ran the 455khz 16 degree and the 200khz 28 degree simultaneously on a split screen to see if fish were moving by off to the side.

I played with the RTS window a bit. If I wanted simplistic flasher-like data, I would much prefer it in the linear real-word representation than in a circular format. And if I wanted a circular flasher output, I had that option with my machine (with bottom zoom capabilities as well). From what I saw of my companions' flashers, the flasher screen on my HB was just as fast, just as responsive, and just as detailed.

The only reason I would go with a flasher is the setup, and not having to monkey around with methods to mount a standard transducer. I opted to forego getting an ice ducer as I wanted to maintain the dual frequency capability.
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[triton21]

Do a search on this site for javelin18 (another banner day) scroll down and watch the video of the eagle 500c, this unit has a flasher mode as well but why use flasher when you can watch a picture.
I think it is dated Feb some time 2013.
Good luck oh I am using a eagle 320 in black and white this year after selling my boat with the color screen.

previously javelin18...
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[WiperMac]

[font "Calibri"]My personal feeling is just that, personal. I think the different finders work better for the use they were built and intended for. But that’s just me. I prefer the vertical view found on my Marcum showdown for ice fishing and a graph in a boat. I also have the Lowrance Elite 5 that doubles as an ice machine and also mounts in the boat (both versions offered directly from Lowrance). The Elite 5 displays in the vertical, round dial and graph display yet I don’t like that unit at all for vertical fishing, just personal preference. You simply need to buy something you’re familiar and comfortable with given the task at hand. They all work; it’s just what you personal like to look at.[/font]
[font "Calibri"] [/font]
[font "Calibri"]One thing that I haven’t seen mentioned is electrics “brain freeze”. Plain and simple certain units are more prone to it. Units that were built to be run in boats don’t always like to perform in sub-zero temps. Components freeze up that weren’t engineered for colder temps; LCD screens slow down dramatically, etc etc. If you fish solely out of a tent this tends to not be as big of an issue but it’s still something to consider prior to making your purchase.[/font]
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[FishMcFisherson]

Thanks a lot, guys. I appreciate the info.
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[Fowl-Hook]

I use Lowrance X-60 from the front of my boat for Ice fishing, plenty of power, I know all the functions, small enough for Igloo or Gott cooler with battery, transducer and trans mount included.
It has experienced the Brain freeze several times when extremely cold like Zero and below. Display Pixels look like they are bleeding which can be perminant if they freeze hard enough. And response to pushing buttons or fish detection is like slowed to slow motion. I carry several chemical hand warmers in the cooler to warm the equipment up for those extreme conditions. I Don't take the unit out of the cooler when in use just open the lid and observe the unit down inside the cooler.
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