Fishfinders - Confused

[Ricky]

howdy all...

i have been trying to follow the gr8 fish finder debate and am still confused...

i am looking to spend no more than $300 and only want one fish locator...i am not familiar with using fish finders...but i do some ice fishing too..in which i hear the flashers are good...

am i better off gettinq a portable unit to use both on the mississippi and for ice fishing...or are there better options...

if someone could again revieve the difference between the flashers and the lcg's...

As i said...i am between the vexilar portable...and the garmins...and has anyone ever used the bottomline fishing buddy 2250?

thx for taking the time to reply..

ricky

[Weyes1]

I have found flashers difficult to learn to read. A quality LCG with 160 to 240 verticle pixles and a setting memory are what I would recommend. Either Lowrance X65 and up or the Eagle top end fishfinders. Eagle makes many portables and they are somewhat nice if you aren't going to fly across the water. Real useful for ice fishing.
Pinpoint also makes real good fishfinders but they are more expensive.
Opt for the available Fish ID off. Humingbirds from what I understand do not have that option.
After two years I was able to read and understand my Eagles. Learn to distinguish fish suspended, under and in a school of shad, etc.
I hope this helps. Don't go cheap unless you are able to read the units really well.
Weyes1

[byron]

Have never used flashers but i would rather see what is below me in a picture than just see a line showing the bottom and maybe a fish or structure.

If you are a weekend fisherman, you need a sonar that gives you the basic info like depth, structure, bottom type, speed, temp and of course fish. The more pixels you have will give you a clearer picture of the bottom, but after getting to know your fishfinder, whether cheap (less pixels) or expensive (more pixels), you will be able to tell a tree stump from a rock.

Most ppl feel that humingbirds are cheap and not worth the money but we have been using a 128 vert pixel bird for years and have never had a problem. And yes we have caught fish. You do have the option to have the fish id on or off, depending on what you like.

Shop around and find out what you are looking for in features and in price. Just make sure to buy one that has the temp/speed option. Cabelas and Bass pro shops catalogs have lots of info and finders so you can compare them right there. Plus they have pretty good prices.

hope this helps.

[MarbleEye's]

If you will be doing fishing on the mississippi and also ice fishing, get a vexilar. You will love it for both applications.
The difference between a flasher and LCD is that a flasher usualy has a circular screne with depth calibrations and only shows you instantaneous readouts. The LCD's are the screne type, which show you what you have gone over.
For both ice fishing and jigging on the mississippi you cant beat a vexilar, you can see your lure, the fish, and how the fish reacts to your lure.
Once you get used to (may take a few times out on the water) using this unit you will love it.
Have fun and good fishing, MarbleEye's

[larry g]

Well you needn't be confused by "flashers" any more, i dont think they make them any longer.The last flaher I had was a feature on my bottom line unit, and it was just a fancy add on lcd.The flashers still are probably the best, because they give almost instant readings of whats happening.The bells and whistles hype is just that, make sure you have at least a temp and speed and trip log, and probably an adjustable gain for sensativity, probably all the middle priced units have these features. If bottom line has not improved the quality of their units[i had two dogs], go with eagle, since i threw my bottom line away, I've been out of the "fishfinder" market.

[JohnP]

I bought a Garmin 240 last year, and I am not disappointed. It works extremely well, is user friendly, and the definition is fantastic. I bought it at Gander Mountain for just under $300 bucks. I don't think you'll be disappointed either. lol
JohnP

[Brian]

They still do make flashers and there are two excellent ones out there. The Vexilar and Zercom. Been the LCG route and went back to flashers. I am currently running a Zercom Classic on the dash and a Zercom LCF 40 on the bow. Zercom makes a Pro Plus flasher that which includes the speed and temp. Flashers give you an instant readout. Learn to read a flasher and you won't regret buying one.

[chatman]

like anything else, if you put in the time to learn your unit, you'l love it. i agree that it's easier to look at a lcg and the lowrance,pin point etc (at least 240 pixels) that have good detail and show a picture. i went from a paper graph (the best detail but very slow) to flashers and have 2 lcgs also now. over all i prefer my 2530 lowrance flasher(which just died this year and can't get them any more or repaired). for me the clearwater flashers don't seem quite as good (personal choice) ( a couple buddies have them in their boats, decided to get flashers after getting to understand mine)the indash 1240 lowrance flasher is only 150 watts where the 2530 was 600 watts. i haven't tried the color flasher yet. the reason for using a flasher for ice fishing is that you can watch your jig and fish with a constant(instant)update, where a lcg shows streaks going up as you raise your jig or as a fish follows but is not quite as fast like real time. both lowrance and pin point now have faster processors that are supposed to give real time flasher readings....haven't tryed yet in my waters, only on others boats in diferent conditions so i can't comment on that ..yet
hope that helps

[ricky]

thx so far for the info...i hope that more responses will follow...

ricky

[Gunga Din]

Though it's going for over $300, I'm selling my Lowrance LMS-350A, http://www.climbing-guides.com/350a

[larry g]

Brian, the flashers you are talking about, do they have the spinning wheel? or are they lcd?