what would you do?

[Collapsi-Gill]

I'm in a pickle at the moment. I'm a senior in high school and going off to a 4 year college and am sick of not being able to locate fish. A friend of mine has a brand spanking new vexilar and loves the thing and says he hates aqua-vu's. I got another friend that hates vexilars and loves his aqua-vu. If someone would be willing to help me with some pros and cons between the two and what you would do at my age and if it would be worth it to get one of the 2 items on ebay. Thank you and good luck fishing!

[Mark Christianson]

Your asking if a flasher or underwater camera is what you want?

Flasher 10000%!

[alwaysfishin]

if you want to know if fish are below you go with a flasher, a flasher never lies. if you know fish are below you and want to know what it is then go with a camera. i have a marcum flasher and wouldn't trade it for a camera personally. with a flasher you can survey the whole water column, and tell how active the fish are based on how they react to jigging. with a camera you can see what kind of fish is checking out your lure and how it reacts to different jigging, but only at the depth you have the camera lowered to. i'd get the flasher first and down the road get the camera, only because a flasher tells you whats below you. if it's gonna bite it's gonna bite and then you'd know what it is regardless. where a camera only shows you the fish that swim by your lure. the use of both makes your chances even better. but as far as shooting through the ice and finding breaks and bottom content without even drilling a hole i'd give it to a flasher, but a camera can also show you a rock pile you'd never know was there if you didn't hit the spot with a flasher. both have advantages it just depends on what you want out of your purchase.

[smmurphy]

I don't own either yet, but I have used both and from my point of view, the flasher will be my first purchase, the GPS second and the camera third - I just have to spread them out so that the boss doesn't see $1000 coming out of the checking account again.

(I just bought a new portable, auger, chars, accessories and heater for a christmas present to myself.)

[bturck]

I happen to have both, but if I was given the choice of one or the other the camera would go. It is an awesome tool and once you've had the chance to work with it and understand what it is telling you you'll never leave home without it. You can search areas with a flasher without even drilling holes as it will read through clear ice. You need to shovel or kick the snow away, pour some water on the ice to gtt a good contact and you can see whats happening. I have 2 fl 18's and they do a great job. Marcum also has a great unit and I found in Cabellas new catalog that they now have thier own personal brand similar to the 18 with the built in zoom, priced at 279.00. I'm sure one of the major manufactur's is building these units for them. For me Flasher over camera. Good luck and hold onto your rod. Bill

[bturck]

smmurphy: Go ahead and buy the flasher too, as long as you have a pre nup and you can get all the fishing gear from the divorce settlement you're good to go. JUST KIDDING LOOOOL. Sounds like you're building up a pretty nice fishing package though. Bill

[smmurphy]

I've always ice fished with a hand auger (believe it or not it's about 40 years old "spoon type") and a bucket right on the ice. Then I started fishing with my son-in-law a couple of years ago and he spoiled me with all of his toys. Also, as I got older the cold started getting to me a little more so it wasn't just jelousy.

[89Bronco]

Flashers for sure. There are a lot of lakes I fish up north that a camera just doesn't work well in because of the stained or murky water (or night-fishing). The Vex or whatever brand you choose still works on those lakes. That's something to think about also.

[jlm]

Flasher without a doubt. As pointed out, camera's are nice to have but worthless on many bodies of water. Good luck!

[Borch]

Definitely the flasher. The camera doesn't work in a lot of the local lakes well due to stained water. They also don't work very well after dark.

[MinnesotaMuskie]

Flasher without a doubt!!!

Say hello to Ben Kasner...this will confuse him:)

[Studer]

I second,third,fourth and fifth all of the opinions posted above. I own a vexilar and absoleutely love it. It works great in four seasons too. YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT!!!

[Collapsi-Gill]

Hey MinnesotaMuskie how do you know Ben Kasner? I'm a good friend of his, and I'm convinced on the flasher you guys are telling me about but exactly how much is one of them?

[bturck]

An fl8 will run right around 299.00 and the fl18 around 400-425.00. I found in Cabellas the other day in their new catalog there own version of the fl18, with the zoom feature, for 279.00. I would expect this unit is being built for them by one of the major manufacturers. I've heard good reports on the marcum as well, have not used one and not sure of their pricing. If the billfold allows I would definitly go with a unit that allows the zoom feature. Bill

[Law Firm]

First of all the flasher is definitely the way to go. The amount of info that it can tell you vs. a camera isn't even comparable.

As far as flashers go, they all do a great job and it just depends on personal preference. I just bought a LX3tc and it ran 399. After alot of studying, I went with the Marcum because I really liked the adjustable zoom and I wouldn't be paying extra money for the name (ie Vex).

[Captain B.R.K]

I'm going to jump on the band wagon with recommending a flasher. What is nice with the flasher is that you can be reading a lake map, go to a particular spot on that map and either drill a hole or squirt a little water on the ice and read the depth.

A camera is great tool to have, don't get me wrong- I'd like to have one, but they aren't as partical as a flasher. Especially if you are starting out trying to catch fish. UNLESS you were always going to head out with your buddy, then you could tag team the fish and he'd have the flasher and you have the camera. I doubt that is the case, so go with the flasher as it serves a better purpose for you at this point.

[Collapsi-Gill]

alright so is this what you guys are talking about? Marcum Flasher and to use this all a person is to do is either drill a hole or clear the snow off and put some water on the ice and it works just like a vexilar then? Could I get for cheaper than that price say on ebay or something? thanks for all the help

[Captain B.R.K]

That is one particular flasher you can purchase. Also don't pass up Marcum's home page Marcum Technologies.

This is a great source of information come time to make a decision. If you are looking for a $$ range to stay within, I would definately take a look at the new LX-2. This is a great unit for the money as it comes with a zoom feature to the bottom 5 or 10 feet of the water column, boasts 1,000 watts peak to peak and you get the crisp readings that the Marcum flashers are know for.

This unit is very similar to Vexilars FL-18, but you are paying less

Keep bringing on the questions!

[bturck]

Captain BRK: I like your new picture!!!!!! Not the same fish though is it? LOOL Bill

[Captain B.R.K]

Same outfit, but 2 entirely different pictures. Last picture I had up was with me and a nice St.Louis River walleye caught on eye' opener. The current picture is with a nice bass caught in the Alexandria area on Bass opener of this year.

Now if I could only catch those types of quality fish through the ice, I'd be a happy fisherman

[bturck]

I'll bet you've caught plenty of quality fish, you're just not giving away any secrets!!!

Are you headed back to LOW again this year? Bill

[bturck]

I'll bet you've caught plenty of quality fish, you're just not giving away any secrets!!!

Are you headed back to LOW again this year? Bill

[Captain B.R.K]

Secrets....what secrets

Unfortunately I'm not headed back to LOTW this year. Normally just hit that once a year and that is right away at first ice.

Planning on attending the I.C.E Series event at Lake Winnie next weekend, looking forward to doing some fishing and meeting more FMers!

[bturck]

I'm headed back to LOW on Monday for three days. Hopefully the bite picks up. Looks like a different weather pattern the next several days, colder temps and front coming through. Spent the last day and a half on Millie. Some nice perch but the eyes were in the camera only, not the bucket. Have fun on Winnie, should be another nice weekend. Bill