Best ice fishing finders?

[Jazzperch1]

hey guys im currently in the market for a fish finder for ice fishing, i dont need anything all that expensive just something to show depth and fish well really perch close to the bottom, i have seen some at scheels and cabelas for around 70 to 120 bucks so my question is are these worth buying for what im needing out of it?
any info would be sweet, thanks
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[Duckbutter]

I'm in the market as well, and have figured out what I want. One difference, for me, I think I'm willing to spend a bit more. That being said, I believe the Hummingbird Ice 55 will be the best for me, and I'm just waiting for the best sale to come along. I like to not only ice fish for perch, but multiple species often at the same time with two rods. I like the idea of zooming into separate depths for perch on the bottom and suspended crappie.

That being said, there many good options, and it seems to be personal preference. Since I don't have a whole lot of personal experience I'll let others pipe in. Just make sure you get something you're comfortable with, and make sure it has something to block interference from other units. Interference would drive you nuts.

I look forward to see what others have to say on other units.
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[WiperMac]

[font "Calibri"]Which is better Ford or Chevy? This is very much a personal preference. If you ask my father he’d say a traditional Marcum flasher, no bells no whistles. If you ask my neighbor he’d say Vexilar, all the bells and whistles. If you ask me I like the showdown 5.6. [/font]
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[font "Calibri"]My two cent is you get what you pay for. If $70 is all you can spend, then go for it. Ice is still a bit off. If I was you I would start saving your pennies and get a nicer unit. I have the Lowrance Elite 5 and also the Marcum showdown. Elite is nice because you have all the GPS waypoints you gathered throughout the summer. But for ease of use, showdown all the way. [/font]
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[url "http://www.lowrance.com/en-us/Products/Fishfinder-Chartplotter/Elite5-IceMachine-en-us.aspx"][font "Calibri"][/url][#800080][url "http://www.lowrance.com/en-us/Products/Fishfinder-Chartplotter/Elite5-IceMachine-en-us.aspx"]http://www.lowrance.com/en-us/Products/Fishfinder-Chartplotter/Elite5-IceMachine-en-us.aspx[/#800080][/url][/font]

[font "Calibri"][url "http://www.rapala.com/SHWD-5.6/SHWD-5.6,default,pd.html?start=4&cgid=marCum-sonar[/font]"]http://www.rapala.com/...=marCum-sonar[/font][/url][font[/url] "Calibri"] [/font]
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[perchound]

Hey JP1, knowing what a perch fanatic you are I would recommend a Vexilar FL18, FL20, or FL22, because they have the bottom zoom mode that detects within 1/4" from the bottom. I have the FL18 and absolutely love it, wouldn't leave home without it. There a little pricey but worth every penny and I've had mine for about 11 years now with no problems, great product.

Hope this helps you out, tight lines bro!
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[RockyRaab]

You can get a pocket-sized finder at Harbor Freight for about $50. I had one for my 'toon and was perfectly happy with it. I recently gave it to JLG, who also finds it adequate.

The little device runs on AA batteries, has foam floats to suspend it under your hole, and a cord long enough to reach well back from the hole to your chair.

If it turns out to be not up to your needs, you're not out a lot, and if it is, you haven't spent a lot. It even has a try-for-90-days offer. Return it at the end of the season and it costs you nothing.

Here ya go:http://www.harborfreight.com/catalogsearch/result?q=fish%20finder[\url]
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[Jazzperch1]

are ones like this worth it? if anybody has had any like these let me know how they did for ya.

the x4 runs at about 80 bucks and the x4pro goes for about 130 bucks
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[Jazzperch1]

hmmm maybe that might work for me seems simple and would do enough for what i need, ill have to go check one out possibly. thanks
RockyRaab
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[WiperMac]

[quote Jazzperch1]are ones like this worth it? if anybody has had any like these let me know how they did for ya.

the x4 runs at about 80 bucks and the x4pro goes for about 130 bucks[/quote]

That's only for the unit. You still would need to buy a case, battery and a ice transducer.
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[Jazzperch1]

see its a good thing i asked questions on this cause i did not know that, if thats the case then i think a flasher will be the way i possibly go cause after the transducer, battery and case its pretty close pricing, ive also looked at a few handheld devices like the marcum showdown ice troller for 200 and it comes with everything, also the harbor freight one looks interesting aswell as one just like it at walmart,(i know im cheap)[] but if it works good enough ill take it. ive been ice fishing blind without a finder for years and have always done good just on instinct of where i think they should be. i fished a few times with a freind of my dad who's on BFT but doesent post and he had a real nice flasher by marcum and it was like a video game, pretty cool stuff.
thanks for all the info guys and if anybody else has any input that would be sweet too.
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[k2muskie]

ohhhh boy yep interference with other flashers will drive you nuts and also make it hard to see the fish. Been there and experienced that very issue several times last year.

We currently have Vex-12s super units but have now and awaiting arrival this week via UPS the Humminbird Ice-55s. I like the zoom feature on these along with the other features these units offer. Maybe not in the price rance of what the OP desires. Also based on research we've done Humminbird flashers operate on a different frequency than Vexs and Marcums thus no interference from these units. However, if other Humminbird flashers are being used in close proxmity to you, you could have interference and these units do come with adjustments for interference.

If you take your time and look on Al Gore's internet via e-bay you can find some smoking deals on flashers/finders and for me if I don't have to pay shipping or sales tax just wait a few days and its only the listed price of the unit I'll pay, well being C.H.E.A.P. I'm all over it of course after fully researching the deal I find because as with anything on the internet thoroughly research and we've gotten some deals on reels/rods/lures on e-bay and not bidding just finding an e-bay store that is buy now.

Its all in what you desire and another suggestion is go out with someone who has a flasher or finder and then compare and decide what you'd like and namely thats in your price range.

Good luck to the OP on his endeavor.
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[Wildcat94]

JP : great question asked buddy, as many of my friends know I am a bit of a gear junkie. I have both vexs and hbird "ICE" machines, both are awesome. Both have their place and time

HBIRD - the ice 55 is an awesome machine, it has a zoom feature as well as an lcd display. The zoom is awesome for trout and bigger panfish as the separtion is not as tight as the vexilar

Vex fl- 20 : has zoom but can not zoom any part of the water column, however the vex has better separation for perch and panfish which this unit excels at.

both units are awesome
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[Hookinup]

Good thread, guys! I agree with pretty much all that everyone else has said.

I had the same dilemma a year ago. I had always "fished blind" and done well. The flasher has even made it better.

Fortunately for me, some of my friends own flashers, and I was able try several of them.

I was able to fish a Vex (22?) and a Marcum LX5 right next to each other. I liked both. I have also fished under a Hummingbird, and Showdown Dual and I liked them one as well. I ultimately selected the Marcum LX5, and I really like it. No regrets.

If I had one opinion, it would be to spend a little more to get a higher end unit if you can. You will not be disappointed if it is something you can afford.

If all you want is depth, they all work pretty well, even the "cheap" ones.
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[Kent]

If all you ice fish for is perch, it probably doesn't matter, but if you ever plan on fishing for anything suspended, I would suggest you at least purchase something expensive enough that you can see your jig. It can be extremely frustrating if one can see fish on a finder but has no idea where one's jig is in the water column.
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[CoyoteSpinner]

Pitch ya my pennies on the pile. I was gonna dis-correct one of my finders from a boat, and port-a-balize it for ice, but instead porked out for about a $300 setup - Lowrance m86c I think is the magic number. It's got a GPS/finder - Color (which is really nice) - though for a bit more you can get from the vertical 3 to horizontal 4" screen. Then there's the step up to maps. . . and . . .

It can run in a Vex mode, or finder mode. Split screen with GPS, or zoom levels - the zoom is really slick. Marking points on the GPS rocks too.
And being able to watch two jigs, or a jig and kastmaster bouncing up and down, then see a fish come right up and react! Wicked!
Being able to scan through the ice w/o digging is a perk.

Plus the unit I got comes in a portable bag, but also has a boat-mount transducer.

Tubedude probably still has some of the 12volt batteries you could use for a finder.

I have an underwater camera - which when dialed in is a lot of fun - but a finder gives you a much quicker, broader, more flexible scan. Even a simple finder will tell you more than no finder at all. Bells and whistles come at a price.

I think K2s right on the money - get with folks that have certain units, and take a walk around. This has been a very helpful thread. Good input all around.
I could send you the manual from my model. Gives you a walkthru of options.
You can certainly find older simpler sonar on KSL, or Ebay. Or check the 4-sale board here.

Can guarantee you - there will be ice fishing setups getting cleared out of garages this fall. Always seems to be.

[Jazzperch1]

well i fish for everything its just ive heard that some finders cant decipher fish hugging right on the bottom but ive only heard that from a few guys so.... all this info from everybody has been awesome its helped me to narrow down what i think will work for me. you gotta love this site when you can get an opinion in a matter of minutes.
thanks to everybody that had insight i really appreciate it.
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[Kent]

Be aware that all fish finders will not show anything below where any portion of the cone reaches bottom. If one is fishing a steep bottom there can be several feet that one can not see. I was fishing once at Electric Lake and there was at least six feet below where we could see on the fish finder. The wider the cone the worse the problem.
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[Jmaze]

I would use one of the "cheap" fishing buddy series. I personally use an old humming bird 1200. The equivalent is the 120 fishing buddy. I have used it side by side next to some other, much pricier units. As a control measure we used a under water camera. The fishing buddy marked every fish the same as a Lowrance elite series finder. The exception being Perch in the 100 to 120 foot range. My fishing buddy could not get fish in the "dink" range. It did not have any other problems.

Spend the money any way you want, but the more spendy units cannot tell you any more then the fishing buddies can. And you can buy 4 fishing buddies for the same price as an "elite". I think the money is better spent on gas to go fishing more often, then on a unit more then $150 bucks....
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[sundancekid]

last year i picked up a marcum l7 digital finder 8'' display bottom zoom or adjustable zoom can be a flasher or like the showdown full color. it is pricey but i love i have already charged the battery and had it at the local pond just to knock the dust off. ithe ice tent is up and airring out. bring on the hard top. where do you find perch????
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[sundancekid]

one more thing the lx7 also is a dual cone unit...
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[UTExplorer]

I have owned two units so far a lowrance x67 and a hummingbird 561, The lowrance was nice with it being color, but I paid double what I paid for the hummingbird after the lowrance died. At 149.00 I found it had just about everything I could want minus GPS. It is dual beam, for deep or shallow water and it also has plenty of power to see you jigs/rigs just fine. It did not come with a case, battery or ice transducer, but I was able to rig it into an old lunch box, battery I got at NPS for around 10 bucks and the transducer was easily rigged to work as portable unit, by adding a foam noodle to hold it level in the water. I can zoom into any level of the water column, several different views, even one for dual cone and I can distinguish perch/trout on the bottom pretty good.

While I am sure the Flashers are well worth it, but I would be hesitant to try one, because than I would know what I am missing. []

Also, if you go a similar route, I probably would have an old cooler/lunch box for ya if you need it.
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