Finder, flasher, or camera

[DeadI]

Just wondering what the preferance is out there among the ice fishing crowd. What do you like better the fish finder, the flasher or the under water camera?
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[RyanCreek]

For ice fishing, a flasher is the supreme king. However, I use a regular finder and it does all that I need. I also have an underwater camera and this is the conclusion that I have reached - cameras are really not very useful at all except in rare circumstances (such as checking lure action or identifying the species circling your bait). Cameras are cumbersome, time consuming, and hooked fish can often wrap around the camera cable. They are little more than a fun novelty.

Sonar lets you see the entire water column and also out to the sides a bit as it sees in a cone. Cameras generally only give you a few feet. Sometimes much more but it all depends on lighting and water clarity - even with night vision capability.
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[DeadI]

Thanks for that Ryan. Very helpfull. If you were going to look at getting a new flasher what kind would you get. - Best bang for the buck.
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[IceAndFly]

Lol, that's about like asking which of Ford, Chevy, or Dodge is better.

Next time you see someone using a flasher on the ice ask them to show you how it works. Most guys are happy to talk about their toys. They all work really well with small differences.
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[RyanCreek]

For a flasher, I'd get an entry level Humminbird like the ICE 35 model. If you don't have any sonar at all and also want to use the sonar for open water on a boat, just stick with a normal finder - they can easily be adapted for use on the ice.
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[k2muskie]

100% agree with RC...flashers are the ticket...I haven't use a regular fish finder ice fish'n...I have a camera used it twice and said forget this...I echo RC comments on the camera. Its more of an entertainment item as I see it.

The flashers we use are Vexilar 18s...we love them and won't go on the ice without them...real time display...drop the lure down you see it as its going down...hit the bottom reel it up a turn or two and you see it (lure) and see the fish following the lure...way cool and very simple to use and I'm by far not a techno geek...if I can use these and show a father and son in less than a minute how they work anyone can work a Vexilar flasher or probably any other type of flasher...again I only use a regular fish finder in the boat.

Good luck...[][]
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[fuzzyfisher]

here is a diffrent view.. i hate flashers.. they are not very good for deep water.. good luck lake trout fishing with one.. you will never see any of the guy's that know how to fish for them use a flasher...

reason 2 is if you watch the flasher all day your eye's and head will ache and some times realy bad..

3 they make a lot of noise.. and are annoying becouse of it.

4 you can use the fishfinder on your boat and on the ice.. flashers are best on ice, not so good on a boat..

get ya a good finder you'll be much happer with it. then a flasher or a camera..
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[TopH2O]

I thought I would toss my 2 cents worth into the pot. I have a Showdown (Marcum) finder. It's the one with the vertical LCD display. I like it over a flasher for several reasons. It doesn't make any noise, it's easier for me to quickly see my jig and any underwater visitors and the battery life is very good because it doesn't have to run a motor. I've used it in water from 8 feet to 110 feet and it's always performed very well.
I sent mine off to Marcum this fall for the software upgrade to the newer 5.6 program. This now allows me to zoom in on any 5 foot range in the water column and move that zoom range in 1 foot increments. The upgrade cost $49.95 plus shipping to Minnesota. The newer software also has added noise cancelling to prevent interference from other nearby electronic devices. I noticed a very good improvement in this feature when at least five other fish finders were in use within 50 feet of my location at Starvation yesterday. The other guys were complaining about interference from the other units near them.
The Showdown and the various flashers are all about the same price, so the final decision will depend on what you prefer. Like someone else said, "It's like Ford, Chevy or Dodge".



Mike
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[Fishrmn]

Fish finder. Flashers really are old technology. They also wear out. The recommendation from one manufacturer is replace the brushes every two years and the motor every five. Does anyone change out their electronic ignition and replace it with a distributor cap, rotor, and points? Fish finders are "real time". You just gotta quit looking at the center of the screen, and TURN OFF the fish id feature. Look at the right side of the screen. Lowrance units have a feature called "FasTrack", that should be turned on. It is the same information, displayed the same way as the "Showdown" flasher, but not nearly as wide, or as many pixels. I wish Lowrance would make the width of the "FasTrack" adjustable. I still prefer a graph over the Showdown.

Flashers have limited ranges and zooms. You can look at any part of the water column with a good graph. And if a fish swims by while you are looking away from your flasher, you will never know about it. With a graph, you have a record of what happened for the last 20 seconds or so. I've caught many fish by raising or lowering my offering to fish that came by at a different depth while I wasn't paying attention.

The choice is yours, but don't buy into the idea that flashers are real time and graphs are not. Flashers used to be better at handling the cold, but TFT screens don't freeze like LCDs were said to. Both will work on a boat too. I've never figured out why people think one is for ice fishin', and the other is for fishin' out of a boat.
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[Kevin_VanDam]

I bought a Lowrance X67c from Cabelas a few years ago for ice fishing and I love it! It's the best of both worlds because it can both a fish finder and flasher. Doesn't make any noise and the color lcd screen is easy on the eyes. When fish are suspended it would be a lot hider to find them without out it!
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[PACKFAN]

I totally agree with fuzzyfisher, those flashing lights would drive me nuts after a days fishing, might just as well be driving down the main drag in Vegas at night.[cool]
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[CROSSINEYES]

im with you fuzzy. never gona be part of my gear.
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[redfrog]

I did lots of research last year on this. After two weeks I went with a hummingbird 565 modle.http://store.humminbird.com/products/344716/565
I got the best of both worlds. Just like others have said I can turn on what they call the RTS screen. It looks just like the showdown on the right hand side of the fish finder.
It will show the fish in the water out to 20 degrees of angle. The fish finder with show both 20 and 60 degrees of angle. I can pick up perch in 90 feet of water as they come of the bottom to inspect my jig. I can also zoom in on the bottom 5 feet. I payed half of what a flasher would have cost.
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[Fishsticker]

I can't give you info for anything but what I use which is a Humminbird ice 35. Never had a headache from watching, noise not an issue, and I can see a size 16 marmooska jig 70 feet deep. I don't know how it will do deeper than that because I have never fished deeper. My flasher has drastically improved my catch rate. Good luck.
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[k2muskie]

The Vexilar 18 flashers we have really make no noise that I'd come close to considering even noise...not even anywhere as close to being the 'noise' of running a little buddy propane heater in a tent...eye strain or headaches guess we're the lucky ones as never had any problems. But maybe we're just LUCKY with the units we have...IMHO some things are just a 'personal' choice as what equipment one uses....[][]
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[Lettsfish]

Read Fuzzy's post and then read it again. 100% agree.
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[Trackerg]

Good points on both flashers and finders. I think I'm leaning more towards the fishfinder. I just got a Piranhamax 160 portable finder. Im anxious to try it out this weekend. Also have humminbird 525 and 323 on the boat and they both work fine. Has anyone used the 160? Id like some feedback. thanks
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[Kent]

I have both a flasher (Marcum LX3-TC) and a Lowrance color fish finder. I have heard that watching a flasher hour after hour gives some a headache but this has never been an issue with me. I do not hear any noise, but my hearing isn't perfect either. With the zoom feature, I have no problem seeing my jig and fish on the bottom in over 100' of water.

I do enjoy the history that is provided by my Lowrance but I don't like like how it looks like there is a huge school of fish showing on my screen almost every time I give a hook set. When this happens it can take several seconds before the screen returns to normal. In the mean time, I can't see my jig and any actual fish. I have had others say that they have also experienced the same problem with their fish finders.
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[doggonefishin]

RE "Next time you see someone using a flasher on the ice ask them to show you how it works. Most guys are happy to talk about their toys. They all work really well with small differences."

Ice and Fly gave you golden advice here. Try different units and pick the one that works best for YOU. If not on the ice, go to the store and stare at the screen for 10-15 minutes, if possible. If what you see irritates your eyes then look elsewhere. Don't buy a finder of any type just because some dude on BFT says it is the "best".

I happen to agree with what Fuzzy wrote and for the exact same reasons. However, my fishing buddies love their flashers and catch lots of fish using them. I like my regular finder and catch lots of fish with it. We all are happy.
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[Fishrmn]

Do you have the "Fish ID" turned on? If so, turn it off. There will sometimes be air bubbles, or sometimes fish poop after a wicked hook set, but it is easier to determine which is your jig if you don't have the "Fish ID" on.
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