Purchasing or upgrading your ice fishing flasher can be a bit of a daunting task. There are lots of various brands and models on the market, and they are not all created equal. Each flasher has slightly different features and excels under slightly different conditions. This article will break down and simplify these features, providing the best flashers for ice fishing currently on the market. Lets get started!
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Best Flashers For Ice Fishing (Quick Summary)
- Vexilar FL-18 Pro Pack (Best All Around Option)
- Vexilar FL-8SE Genz Pack (Best Budget Option)
- Marcum LX-7L (Best Digital Flasher Option)
- Humminbird Helix 5 ICE (Best For Year-Round Use)
Table of Contents:
- Ice Fishing Flasher Basics
- How To Choose An Ice Fishing Flasher
- Comparison Table
- The Best Ice Fishing Flashers (More Specifics)
- More Information
What is an Ice Fishing Flasher?
First things first, it’s important to understand the basics of an ice fishing flasher and what its intended purpose is. Your flasher is arguably one of the most important piece of ice fishing gear that your have as an angler. Ice fishing flashers have been around in ice fishing for a long time, with Vexilar being the pioneer. They are very simple, yet effective machines and excel when fishing through the ice. The water column appears throughout the ring display depending on the depth of water you are fishing. The bottom will appear as a solid and thick bar while your lure will be a much thinner bar. Any other bars that appear on your screen are either fish or cover.
How To Choose a Flasher For Ice Fishing:
Depth Control
The ability to adjust your flasher based on the depth you are fishing is more important than it may seem. When fishing in shallow water, it is useful to have the ability to expand the water column across more of the screen. On the flip side of this, it is useful to have the ability to zoom in our your lure when fishing in deep water (over 20 feet). This allows for much greater separation between your lure, fish, and the bottom. Each ice fishing flasher included in this article have varying levels of depth control options.
Vexilar FL-8SE:
First and foremost, the Vexilar FL-8SE only has the depth ranges of 20, 40, 60, 80, and 120. It does not have the ability to zoom in the screen beyond this.
Vexilar FL-18:
The FL-18 from Vexilar has slightly more depth control compared to the FL-8. The FL-18 comes equipped with a feature known as auto zoom, which allows you to zoom in on the bottom 6 feet of the bottom. This is incredibly useful when fishing near the bottom in water over 20 ft in depth.
MarCum LX-7L and Humminbird Ice Helix 5:
Both of these units have the best depth control of the options included in this article. The MarCum LX-7L comes with what they call vertical zoom, and the Humminbird Ice Helix 5 comes with what they call adjustable sonar zoom. Both are essentially the same thing. Instead of just being able to zoom into the bottom 6 ft of the bottom like the Vexilar FL-18, you have the ability to customize your viewing window to whatever you want. This is especially helpful when fishing suspended fish, like crappie or other panfish.
Display
When talking about the display of an ice fishing flasher, there’s a couple things work mentioning. Most notably, color and brightness are the two most important factors.
Vexilar FL-8SE and Vexilar FL-18:
The display types for the FL-8SE and the FL-18 are basically identical. Both feature a receded display with 3-color LED lights. Red is the strongest signal, orange is in the middle, and green is the weakest return. With the receded display, snow can accumulate and make it difficult to read. This won’t be an issue when fishing in a shelter, but if you primarily fish outdoors I would recommend purchasing a mag shield.
MarCum LX-7L and Humminbird Ice Helix 5:
Both the MarCum LX-7L and Humminbird Ice Helix 5 flashers have LCD displays. The MarCum LX-7L comes equipped with an 8″ flat panel color LCD screen with 4 color palletes to choose from. Meanwhile, the Humminbird Ice Helix 5 has a 5″ LCD display (you can upgrade to a 7″ or 9″ if you so desire) with 19 color palletes to choose from.
Target Separation
Another key factor to look out for when shopping for a new ice fishing flasher is target separation. Essentially, this is an indication of how detailed and precise your flasher image is. The smaller the target separation number, the more precise the unit is.
Vexilar FL-8SE and Vexilar FL-18:
Both Vexilar units presented in this article have a target separation of 2.6″. This is based on 525 segments around the flasher.
MarCum LX-7L:
The MarCum LX-7L has a target separation down to 1/2″.
Humminbird Ice Helix 5:
The Humminbird Ice Helix 5 has target separation down to 3/4″.
Battery
The battery that each ice flasher comes equipment is an important consideration to take into account. This will impact the battery life of the unit as well as the weight. You want a battery that will last long enough for your trip and offer consistent unit performance.
Vexilar FL-8SE and Vexilar FL-18:
The Vexilar FL-8SE and Vexilar FL-18 come standard with a 12V and 9A lead-acid battery. If you want to upgrade to a lithium battery, you’ll have to purchase this separate.
MarCum LX-7L:
The MarCum LX-7L flasher comes with a 12V 10Ah lithium battery.
Humminbird Ice Helix 5:
The Humminbird Ice Helix 5 has 12V 9A lead-acid battery included. One thing to note is that this unit draws a lot more power than both of the Vexilar units. Therefore, this battery does not last nearly as long as the Vexilar units on a full charge. I would be cautious purchasing this unit if you plan on using it for long trips where you will not have the ability to recharge the battery after each use.
Weight
The weight of your flasher has the biggest influence on anglers who predominantly walk and hole hope when ice fishing. Carrying and pulling your unit around constantly can be hard work, especially if your unit is on the heavier side.
Vexilar FL-8SE:
I was unable to find exact weights for the Vexilar units, so the following are rough estimations based on my research. A battery weight of 5.5 lbs, unit weight of 1.1 lbs, and tranducer and case weight of 2 lbs bring the total to around 9 lbs. The weight of each of these units could be drastically reduced by purchasing a lithium battery if you so desire.
MarCum LX-7L:
The MarCum LX-7L weighs approximately 8 lbs in total. This is the lightest of the units included in this article and is most likely due to the use of a lithium battery.
Humminbird Ice Helix 5:
Once again, I was unable to find an exact product weight from the Humminbird website for this unit. However, based on my research, this unit is around 14 lbs, making it the heaviest of the flashers included in this article.
Year-Round Versatility
The last factor we will mention is the year-round versatility of each unit. What we mean by year-round versatility is the ability to use the unit for both open water and ice fishing applications. This may be important to some but irrelevant for others.
Vexilar FL-8SE, Vexilar FL-18, and MarCum LX-7L:
Some may say otherwise, but all of these units are specifically intended for ice fishing. Their use outside of ice fishing is limited and not very practical.
Humminbird Ice Helix 5:
The Humminbird Ice Helix 5 has the best year-round versatility of all of the flashers listed in this article. All of the Humminbird Ice Helix units can be converted to open-water use. Keep in mind that you’ll need to purchase a few chords and such to make this conversion. Check out Humminbird’s Open Water Conversion For Ice Products for more information.
Flasher Comparison Table
That was a lot of information to digest, so lets simplify everything we just learned into a flasher comparison table
| Depth Control: | Display: | Target Separation: | Battery: | Weight: | Year Round Versatility: | Cost: | |
| Vexilar FL-8SE: | No Zoom Feature | 3-Color LED | 2.6″ | 12V 9A Lead-Acid | ~9 lbs | Limited | Cheapest |
| Vexilar FL-18: | Auto Zoom For Bottom 6′ | 3-Color LED | 2.6″ | 12V 9A Lead-Acid | ~9 lbs | Limited | Second Most Expensive |
| MarCum LX-7L: | Customizable Zoom | 8″ LCD (4 Color Palletes) | 1/2″ | 12V 10Ah Lithium | 8 lbs | Limited | Most Expensive |
| Humminbird Ice Helix 5: | Customizable Zoom | 5″ LCD (19 Color Palletes) | 3/4″ | 12V-9A Lead-Acid | ~14 lbs | Best | Second Cheapest |
The Best Ice Fishing Flashers (More Specifics)
Vexilar FL-18 Pro Pack (Best All Around Option)
Features:
- 12-Degree Ice-Ducer Combo with DD-100
- Provided by Vexilar
- Ice Fishing Electronics
- It comes standard with a 3 amp automotive fuse, but you can put in a size fuse from 3 amp to 10 amps
Pros:
The FL-18 is a great do everything ice flasher. It doesn’t have some of the glamorous features that the other higher end units have, but it has everything you’ll need to get the job done. Vexilar units have been around for awhile, and are well known as being one of the most durable and trustworthy ice flashers on the market. Vexilar flashers have some of the brightest LED screens as well compared to other LCD screens available. Additionally, the FL-18 has a higher degree of depth control compared to the FL-8 which is useful when fishing near the bottom in deep water.
Cons:
The FL-18 only has the ability to zoom into the bottom 6′ and cannot zoom into a specified range. If you plan on fishing deep water for suspended fish, this could make it difficult.
Vexilar FL-8SE Genz Pack (Best Budget Option)
Features:
- Dave Genz Blue Box with FL-8SE Flasher, 12-volt 7-amp hour battery with charger, built-in Ice-Ducer transducer, and instructional video
- FL-8SE features Vexilar’s popular three-color sonar flasher targets in green (weak), orange (medium), and red (strong)
- FL-8SE offers six depth ranges of: 20, 30, 40, 60, 80, and 120 feet
- Base fits a five gallon bucket; easy-access semi-enclosed battery compartment
- FL-8SE carries a two-year warranty; one-year battery warranty
Pros:
The Vexilar FL-8SE is the cheapest of the flashers included in this article. Additionally, it has a very bright 3-color LED screen that is visible even during the brightest portion of the day. Vexilar units have been around for awhile, and are well known as being one of the most durable and trustworthy ice flashers on the market.
Cons:
The Vexilar FL-8SE has the least amount of features included. There are very little depth zoom options which can make fishing in ultra-shallow or ultra deep water difficult.
Marcum LX-7L (Best Digital Flasher Option)
Features:
- ENHANCED DISPLAY: This advanced fish finder comes with an 8″ flat panel color LCD (800×600 pixels) with 4 color palette options.
- POWERFUL TRANSDUCER: Includes an 8’ dual beam 8/20 degree ice transducer with a 4,800 watt peak-to-peak output and target separation down to 1/2-inch.
- IMPRESSIVE CAPABILITY: Features patented technology such as 12-step interference rejection and infinitely adjustable zoom.
- VERSATILE DISPLAY: The on-screen display is capable of featuring any combination of vertical, vertical zoom, flasher, or graph & graph zoom split screen.
- ALSO INCLUDED: Comes standard with a two year warranty and the MarCum BRUTE Lithium LiFePO4 12V10amp battery and 3 amp rapid charger.
Pros:
The MarCum LX-7L is packed with features for the die hard ice anglers out there. It has ultimate depth adjustability, a large viewing screen, and is the lightest of the flashers in this article. Additionally, it comes equipped with a lithium ion battery unlike the other flashers.
Cons:
The MarCum LX-7L is the most expensive option. Additionally, the unit draws more power than both of the Vexilar flashers. Therefore, the battery life isn’t quite as good. You’ll want to recharge the battery after every use.
Humminbird Helix 5 ICE (Best For Year-Round Use)
Features:
- Dual Spectrum CHIRP Sonar: See high-resolution returns of individual fish, bait and structure on both the flasher and traditional 2D sonar views at greater depths and range, with target separation down to 3/4″.
- CHIRP Interference Rejection: Six settings keep competing sonar signals from cluttering your screen, providing a clear view in both sonar and flasher modes.
- Adjustable Sonar Zoom: Hone in on fish, whether they are tight to the bottom, or suspended high in the water column. Utilize 2X zoom on the flasher screen, or up to 16X zoom on 2D sonar view.
- Ultra Bright and Detailed LCD Display: The ICE HELIX screen provides everything you need to know, on a crystal-clear display with adjustable brightness. Whether in a fish house or on open ICE, you’ll easily be able to see digital depth display, sonar returns and more exclusive features, all shown in real-time.
- What’s Included: ICE HELIX 5 CHIRP G3 fish finder, Dual Spectrum CHIRP ICE transducer, 9Ah battery and charger, ICE shuttle, hardware, power cable and portable bag.
Pros:
The Humminbird Ice Helix 5 flasher has a wide variety of color schemes and allows for maximum depth adjustability. Additionally, it has the ability to be converted into an open water unit. If you want one unit to use for both open water and hard water applications, this is the way to go to save some money.
Cons:
Based on our research, the Humminbird Ice Helix 5 flasher has limited battery life. You’ll definitely want to charge this unit after every use. Additionally, this is the heaviest of the flashers included. If you like to hole hope with your flasher, this may not be the best option for you.
More Information
Thanks for reading our comprehensive guide of the best ice fishing flashers. Hopefully you found it helpful in determining which unit is right for you.
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If you are specifically looking for a Vexilar unit, check out our article describing The Best Vexilar For The Money
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