Vexilar FL8, Zercom Colorpoint, or Zercom Clearwater???

[jeff nelson]

I am going to buy a flasher and would like to hear your opinions on these flashers and which one is the best option. I will be using it for ice fishing and in my boat.

Thanks-Jeff

[walleyeguy]

Have had all 3 they are all excellent units. Clearwater is better for open water, but not as nice for ice fishing. Vexilar & colorpoint are pretty similar. Colorpoint has better target seperation and is much easier to read outdoors. Vexilar is almost impossible to read outside without a sun shield. I settled for the colorpoint it is great for ice & easy to see in the boat. Better battery life in winter. Just my opinion. Vexilar has been on the market for a long time. Has a good history as a solid unit.

[Bob]

I've asked the same question many times as I tried to decide on an Ice unit. I finally setteled on Vexilar. I'm happy with it. I can easily see a 3/8 ounce jig in 100 feet of water right off bottom. I've got no experience with the Colorpoint but I will say that Vexilar is a quality unit. I do use a sun hood with it and it helps in direct sunlight. I prefer a color unit as it helps you see whats going on down below. When a fish shows up as Red you know he is looking right at your bait. For ice fishing Lake Trout it really helps as sometimes you need to tease them a bit.
One of the most impresive things about Vexilar is the way they respond to questions. I must have sent a dozen emails when I was first learning to use the unit. Vexilar returned my emails usually within a couple hours....every time. Most impressive! On the other hand Zercom would never answer my emails. Heck, maybe I had the wrong email address. But it was on thier web site. So, I could never get my Colorpoint questions answered. That's why I bought Vexilar. I don't believe it was a mistake.

[Mr T]

I have used the Vexilar and really like it through the ice. I can see a 3/8 oz. jig in 100 feet of water really well. And I can see the Lake Trout following that jig really well too. Vexilar is also easy to contact via email if you need help. They have always gotten back to me within a few hours.

[fred]

as far as less problems go with the fl-8 they have less problems. ive sold all three and the only one i will sell now is fl-8.

[Backwater Eddy]

LAST EDITED ON Mar-19-01 AT 08:40AM (CST)[p]The Vexilar FL-8 is a very good unit for all seasons.

One thing it shines at is river use, all year long. In shallow water or river conditions with a lot of clutter use the S-cable to clean up the signal. I am able to see well near dams far better in this manner then with any other unit I have used. You are able to tune out the air bubble clutter that washes out other signals. Detection of bottom hugging fish in the shallows is much easier too. I use the suppression cable or (S-Cable) for this reason more then on the ice.

If you have a fiberglass boat try installing the puck transducer in the hull near the rear sump, great preformance if properly installed. Fallow their directions carefully to insure a good signal.

Mounting on a trolling more is a great option too, same reasons as for ice fishing, precision. A wider cone angle is better for summer use or go with the duel beam puck to pinpoint fish if calm conditions.

Just like in the ice hole you need to get a good angle on the signal to see the bait and fish so expect some variation if you use a 9 degree puck and not the 19.

I just received from Vexilar a new FL-8 SLT Pro-Pack Deluxe with all the summer hardware and a high speed and a puck transducer. A very economical way to get the whole shooting match is the Deluxe Pro-Pack.

This is a new model that is more Day-light friendly as compared to the past displays. So far I would say it is 60% easier to see and my target separation is much better on this unit than my last one. I still recommend a good pair of gray polarized glass's on sunny days though or the reflection from the sun off the snow wears out your eyes fast.

Preformance is very good, you should be very pleased.


Backwater Eddy

[Riceburner]

Couple more thoughts from a Clearwater classic owner--I'm very happy with the fact that it runs a week of fishing at a fly-in lake(no recharge available there),or on a trip where you stay on the ice a couple days....the units with spinning dials eat batteries. There is something to be said for the color change (fl-8) on a bottom hugging fish--I have to hold my jig slightly off the bottom-to leave a line of separation-and then can see if a fish fills that gap--otherwise the bottom reading hides the fish. The classic is fantastic in bright sun, as mentioned. Cannot ice fish without it now, thats for sure.