fish finder for ice fishing

[allinone]

So after twenty years my fishfinderror took a dump so looking for an easy to use accurate replacement for the hole. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, heading to sportsman and cables to look at my options. Hit strawberry yesturday slow fishing but nice to get out for the first time of the year.
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[rspeters]

Assuming you're looking for a flasher, I have a Humminbird Ice 55 and love it. It's a good bang for the buck. Marcum and Vexilar are probably the biggest names in Flashers and you can't go wrong with either of them as well.
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[allinone]

Thanks for the info I have never used a flasher are they easy to use. I will go check them out.
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[rspeters]

Yeah they're pretty simple. Go watch some youtube videos to see what they do and how they're different from a traditional fish finder.
I would definitely recommend some sort of flasher for ice fishing. It's a game changer. About half my fish caught this year I attribute fully to the flasher.
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[fmrusmc]

I use a humminbird ice 45 flasher and love it. I also use a lowrance elite 4 hdi on the ice. That has flasher and graph on the same screen. I do have to say i dont like the flasher on the lowrance. The graph is great. And it can also be put on a boat or tube or anything else you can fish off of. For 300 brand new at cabelas, i douldnt go wrong. Oh, and it has gps for marking spots.
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[RockyRaab]

The only one I've owned is the Marcum Showdown Troller 2.0. I really like the vertical display, which is intuitive to the actual water column. (You have to literally wrap your mind around a circular flasher dial to visualize the water column.)

The bottom zoom is also wonderful, allowing me to look at only the bottom five or 10 feet, with crisper detail than if the whole depth is shown.

If you fish bottom and only the bottom for species like perch, you can get away without a flasher. But if you'd like to dangle a bait in front of suspended cruisers, you can't do that without electronic help.
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[kentd71]

There are some LCD graphs with a small vertical bar flasher like a Showdown on the right side. That way you can see what happened 5-10 seconds ago. $200 on up . Add GPS for about $100 more. My old Lowrance graph was causing problems with a Showdown 25-30' away but not a Hummingbird 55.
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[spoondog]

I use vexilars myself, I have the fl-20 and the flx-28 and they have both worked flawlessly. I wouldn't fish the hard deck without them. You can't go wrong with the other brands either but I think you'll find that a flasher out fishs most standard fish finders when it comes to the hard deck. In my own opinion of course.
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[kbfan]

Showdown for me.
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[The_Red_Leaker]

Love the Lowrance Elite 4 HDI - can't imagine ice fishing without it. Agree on preferring to use it in graph mode vs flasher and love that you can zoom in on any part of the water column you choose. Had the x67 and upgraded this year. The gps/mapping/marking etc functions are going to be very helpful for future trips[].
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[UTchukarhunter]

I agree. I just got a showdown and the jig, swivel and anything else shows up easily.
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[allinone]

Thanks for the info guys I went to sportsman but the guy didn't know to much about the flashers so i informed myself on YouTube,thinking a flasher over a fishing buddy type. Now either a hummingbird ice55 or marcum.lx5 does anyone have a showdown5.6 .just wondering a showdown verses a round display.. I'm hitting strawberry in the morning then Cabelas on the way home. Thanks again
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[rspeters]

I have the Ice 55 and Showdown Troller 2.0 and let 3 people completely new to flashers try both and they all said without a doubt that they liked the Ice 55 better. Reading vertically vs in a circle is a non-issue in my (and their) opinion, but what did make the difference was the colors. However, the troller is quite small as compared to the Showdown 5.6 so it's not the exact comparison you're looking for.

For me, if money isn't a factor, between the Ice 55 and the Showdown, I'd go with the Ice 55. When you throw in the Marcum LX5, I believe the Humminbird is going to have a better display and more features, but I'll admit there is something to be said for the Marcum name as compared to the Humminbird (for flashers).
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[allinone]

Great feedback thanks. .one more question what about the underwater cameras.
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[ifishinxs]

Having my own offshore sport fishing boat and fishing on long range boats out of San Diego for years. Then fishing on bass boats a flasher just won't cut it for me.

With a nice easy to read screen you can see bottom structure and how the fish relate to it. You can watch your lure rise and fall on the screen and see where it is in relation to the fish and the bottom. Not just a mark on a flasher. You can see how many fish are in the area of the cone..You will see what you've been missing.

Lowrance Elite-4 HDI Ice Machine looks like it would fit the bill nicely. And if you like the old flasher display this one will do that as well.

Lowrance, hummingbird and Garmin all make great sonars and if it has a GPS even better.

Check out what Ashley Bonser uses.
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[rspeters]

I don't own an underwater camera quite yet, although the aquavu micro (I think that's what it's called) interests me. I think the typical concensus on forums is that if you're only going to own one, it should be a flasher. A camera is next to useless if the water isn't clear or there's not enough light, and it doesn't help much if you've got the camera on the bottom and a fish comes by higher up in the water column.
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[RockyRaab]

I had an Aqua-Vu Micro for a while and it was great for times when the water was completely clear. It has its own infrared lights that don't spook the fish, so dark wasn't an issue.

The main problem with one is that you have to have the camera pretty close to your lure and the first thing that happens when you do hook a fish is that fish, line, camera, and cord get wrapped up in an incredible tangle.
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[fishinaddiction]

I love my lowrance elite 5 ice machine.
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[kj]

Back when Vexilar was the only game in town, I became sold on them. Over the last few years, others have found the value of a good flasher and so most fish finder companies now produce their version of a flasher. Which brand is best? Don't know and really don't care. I am a solid Vex fan. Mine has always served me well. I wouldn't mind seeing what the other brands have to offer, but as far as reliability, my vex is tops. Battery will run for 16 hrs or more, air temp doesn't affect it and it is always reliable. As far as a mark on a screen, I see a mark for every fish that comes into the cone. If you spend enough time learning the screen, you can tell what the bottom conditions are. The sonar penetrates into the bottom. All those that I have fished with who have owned a camera shelved them after using a flasher.
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[Fishrmn]

Huh?!? Lowrance sold the "Little Green Box" before 1960. Vexilar was late to the game. Lowrance pretty much gave up on the antique technology of flashers by the 1990s.



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