electronics in shallow waters?

[fishless fisher]

I've been looking into buying a three light flasher but my budget will not buy me the best of the best. I looked at vexilars and I am really thinking about buying a fl-8 but i have herd that it doesnt work in the shallow waters that i often find myself jiggingin.(15'-0'). So if any one can prove the previous statement wrong or even point me in the direction of a model that will do the trick and not empty my savings please do. :help:

[dajumboman]

i've never fished shallow with mine but often fish 15fow and it works fine

[scottyhoover]

an fl-8 will do you just fine for anything you want to do. The new FL-8s have shallow water mode (15fow isn't really shallow....10 or less is shallow), or the older ones come with a special suppression cable for shallow fishing.....you will be fine with an FL8 , and it will help you be a better ice-fisher-person.

[fishless fisher]

thanks for the information It sounds like the fl-8 will do the job. But is it the best for the job? Im sure many people will think differant but i would really like to here what everyone else has to say. So please let me know what you think of the fl-8 or other flashers in its price range. Also will they work in 10' to 7' fow. It prolly sounds odd to many people that i jig that shallow but i do.

[gbriii]

This time of year with the weather the way it has been the sporting goods stores are starting to get there ice stuff gone early. You may be able to pick up the fl-18 on sale or Cabelas has the Cabela's X67c/M68c Soft Pack On sale!
Item: UF-016347
Price: Was. $379.99 - $479.99
Now. $279.99 - $439.99
I have not seen the x67 up close put have heard a lot of good things about it. For the $279 you might be better to go with that. i don't know what you are looking at spending but a new fl-8 is in the $200-250 range.
Just a thought.

[zx10r2004]

i'll sell you a fl-18 propack for $335 if it dont sell on ebay. it was used only a few times in great condition or ill sell you a new marcum lx3 for $210 just for the head unit you will have to buy a battery and iceducer.

[9mmruger1]

Once you have one, you will find, like I did that fishing deeper water will become very enjoyable. I now rarely fish less than 15' of water. I absolutely love the feel of a pumping bluegill in deep water with an ultra light spinning reel on a limber Ice rod. What a joy to behold.

I would get the FL18 just for the autozoom.

[bhorn]

If your not looking to spend much money but want a good flasher I would go with a LX-2. It`s has all the features, and some, of a FL-18 but cheaper.

[FISH21]

You can probably find a marcum lx-3 in Cabelas bargain cave or some other store for $299. That's the same price as the fl-8 pro pack, but with the zoom(throughout the whole water column) and more power.....I think it's a better deal...

[Houghton laker]

thanks for the information It sounds like the fl-8 will do the job. But is it the best for the job? Im sure many people will think differant but i would really like to here what everyone else has to say. So please let me know what you think of the fl-8 or other flashers in its price range. Also will they work in 10' to 7' fow. It prolly sounds odd to many people that i jig that shallow but i do.


I use mine often in 5-10ft. of water in Houghton lake...works great!! There is one in the classifieds being sold by shadow......You can't go wrong with a vex!!

[skamaniac]

You can probably find a marcum lx-3 in Cabelas bargain cave or some other store for $299. That's the same price as the fl-8 pro pack, but with the zoom(throughout the whole water column) and more power.....I think it's a better deal...

Why do you need zoom through out the whole water column? And why do you need more power?

[fishless fisher]

I'm sure it would be easy to find a used model on ebay or in the classified ads but i have cabelas cift cards to use up so my purchase is almost gaurunteed to come from there. As far as price goes its between the fl-8 and X67c. Both seem to be great finders with each of them having thier own pluses. Such as the longer warranty on the vexilar also its capabilty to see a splitshot. Where as the X67c has the digital flasher and sonar screens. It also has more power. But does the X67c have the ability to find fish and see my jig as well as the vexilar is said to do? If anyone could give me some feedback about the X67c's performance on the ice or the vexilars my search might be complete.

[skamaniac]

But i've gotten to read my vex pretty good. Not only does it pick up your tiny jig but you can tell if it has a minnow hanging on it. You can tell the difference between hard and soft bottom. It's a great proven unit. A lot of guys like the idea of a graph, and if that's what you like, then buy the 67x. Lowrance makes a good product, but i'm not sold on there flasher mode. I downloaded the 67x emulator from their site and played with it but have no ice time experience with it.

[FISH21]

Skamaniac,
To answer your question the zoom increases the target separation from 2.15" to 1" which is a great feature, at least I think so, it's usually on most of the time Im using my Marcum. The more power is to have better target separation and better interference rejection...why not for the same price?

[skamaniac]

I have an fl18 and use the bottom zoom all the time also because of target seperation i.e. picking up fish tight to bottom, but have never had a problem when the fish are suspended. Do the Marcums have a Low Power feature for shallow water?. I have my vex on Low Power on anything under 15 ft and a lot of times under 20 ft depending on the size of spoon/lure i'm using. If i'm fishing walleyes with a decent sized spoon in Normal Mode the signal is too strong even with gain on zero, swith it over to Low Power Mode and your good to go. You have better target seperation if you keep your teardrop or spoon to where you are just picking it up so when the fish come in they return a stronger signal.

[FISH21]

I see what your saying about the zoom, but its still better to zoom in on a school of suspended crappies when your fishing for them rather than having it in regular mode. I haven't noticed the problem of having my lure show up too big in shallow water, so the LX-3 doesnt need the LP mode. I mean if you can find a FL-18 for $300 then go ahead and buy it if you want, but they usually start around $370 and the lx-3 is $300, I havent used the vexilar so I can't say the marcum is a better unit...I'm just sayin what I think is a better deal for the money....

fishless fisher,
No matter what flasher you get you will catch more fish and really enjoy having one, I doubt you will have any regrets of buying one..so good luck!

[fishless fisher]

The X67c sounds like an awsome finder i like the idea of having a flasher and chart mode in one. I also like all the other bells in and whistles including alarms and colorline. But does it have a zoom or lower power level that will make it deadly in 10'-7' of water? Or does it evan need it? If anyone could answer these few questions i would be very gratefull.

[bucknduck]

This is my first year using electronics and I use a fishmark 320. I disconnected it from the boat and built a portable holder for the finder/battery, and iceducer ( Lowrance sells an iceducer for the 320 which I believe is the same one for their M68). I fished in 3'-24' of water so far this season and have had absolutly no problems picking up my jig, bottom detail, and fish moving in. Turn up the scroll and ping and and adjust the sesitivity and your in real time at least too close for me to tell if its not, plus you get the history of what the fish are doing or your jigging etc..as the screen scrolls by. I fish in a shanty where its toasty warm, so haven't had any problems with the screen freezing which could be a problem with LCD if fishing in the open weather, but don't know for sure. I can move it from hole to hole just like any other sonar and yes, I can place the ducer on the ice without drilling a hole and it has no problem giving me a reading. Tested in over 12 inches of ice out on Houghton Lk this past weekend.
So there ya, go, another option for electronics. And yes, I use the zoom, but I can zoom in on any section of the water column, not just the bottom 6 ft.