Vexilar or Marcum?

Thanks Bill!

Hey Bill, I got a feeling you have a lot of fishing gear laying around your house. lol

You should know by looking at my purchase records. I love to fish so I need the equipement to do and enjoy it. I quit smoking 19 years ago and I use that ciggerette money to support my fishing addiction. You can buy a ton of fishing stuff with that money, boats, motors, electronics included.
Thanks, Bill

Bill , I quit smoking almost 9 weeks ago. I have applied the same logic turning smoke money into fishin gear $. Trouble is I’ve spent WAY more money on fishin gear than I would have on smokes. That’s ok tho, no regrets !

As for the Vex/Marcum debate. BOTH will do the job for you. Go with what you can afford , get some experience on the ice/water with it then decide from there if you want to upgrade or change brands etc.

I could’nt care less about all the technical aspects of either unit. All that stuff is way over my head anyways. All I care about is does what I buy get the job done or not. Vex does and tho I’ve never fished a Marcum I would think they will too.

I’ve been a Vex man for many years now and considering my satisfaction and Vexilars long track record I don’t see that changing anytime soon.

Thanks to everyone who participated in this thread. I got a ton of advice from all. Made my choice easy and enjoyable. My fl-18 Ultra Pack is on the way. A special thanks to IDA, a GREAT site.

Steve, I would disagree that it is a Chevy vs Ford debate unless you compare comparing the LX-2 to the Fl-18. Since you are now in retail I am sure you have had a chance to test the LX-5 on the ice. I am interested to hear your thoughs on how the units compare.

I have yet to hear one person that has tested both side by side that has not preferred the LX-5.

As for the bright display, it is for daylight viewing. Reading the Fl-18 in direct sun is a lot of fun I did it for years on my boat before I got wise and upgraded.

Scott – how can you compare the 2 side-by-side? My buddies that use Vexilar’s have to move quite a few yards away to avoid being blown away by the LX3’s power. Do you only have one on at a time when comparing? I kind of like the added wattage as it leaves the spot on the spot all for myself, LOL!

What an interesting string of OPINIONS and worthless cheap shots! Good thing there was no booze involved someone might lose an ‘eye…..

It’d be nice if there were more facts or “on the water” demonstrations to help novice anglers decide what would best serve their needs………

Does the added wattage make the cone wider or something?

Come to the Mille Lacs GTG, you will get an on the water demonstation and anyone will be able to test whatever units they want. As for using the units side by side, I do it all the time in testing. Despite what people think, you can use a MarCum and a Vexilar side by side. With the Vexilar unit, the interference is harder to tune out but it can be done with proper gain/IR adjustments. It is very easy on the MarCum unit. If you are fishing on the Rocks in deep water, if can be very tough.

Kurt, I agree, you do end up getting spots to yourself with a MarCum if you have more then 2 Vexilars in a small area. It is very hard for a Vexilar unit to tune out both another Vex & a MarCum. It really works good during open water, man boats can’t figure out what is happening to there electronics

In testing, I do a lot of different things, from running units with the gain way to high to running two units in the same hole. Just part of putting them through the test.

With guiding on the ice, clients bring all sorts of units out, which they are free to use. Most end up using a MarCum after they see it work, but that is their choice. I believe I have a pretty good understanding of how units work and how they compare to each other.

Speaking of old units, the old Clearwater Classics are very nice units if you are fishing alone. However, other units really give them a fit. Still a great unit though!

I wish Vexilar and Marcum would create a bit of competition with eachother in terms of price. They both make great units. I would be prone to think that coninciding in the same market would cause an influx of price adjustments. Feel free to critize but is a flasher really worth 4-500 bucks? Marcum claims a better unit and I beleive they want to rest assured that their price reflects their superior product. I bet they could make a slaying if they dropped their product 150 or so. Seriously $500 for a flasher? Look at the kind of unit you can get for soft water for $500. I paid around 500 for an lms 320 with gps. I know I’d own a marcum but I just can’t justify selling my 18 and then coughing up another 150 dollars. Oh well I guess the rich will be better fisherman.

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Thanks to everyone who participated in this thread. I got a ton of advice from all. Made my choice easy and enjoyable. My fl-18 Ultra Pack is on the way. A special thanks to IDA, a GREAT site.

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A wise choice Your Vexilar will bring you many years of unmatched service.

Chad

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Thanks to everyone who participated in this thread. I got a ton of advice from all. Made my choice easy and enjoyable. My fl-18 Ultra Pack is on the way. A special thanks to IDA, a GREAT site.

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And a special thanks to you Eugene!

We’re glad you joined us and I hope to see you stick around for many more discussions here at IDA. Your Vexilar FL-18 is on it’s way to you as we speak. You’ll be ready before the ice is! Enjoy your new Flasher sir.

I don’t want anybody to get upset or angry with me, but I have the best vexilar money can buy. Fl-18 dual beam ultra pack…and right now it is selling on ebay…. Why because I have fished all the units, and marcum is my choice. I am now the proud owner of an lx-5. It is only fair to yourself to try them both out and then make your decision, but if you do try them both, I am willing to bet, that like me (a past vex guru) you will only fish marcum.

Lizard, Will the Lx-5 catch you more fish? How much did the switch cost you?

My guess is he won’t be able to answer the cost part until he’s sold the 18 on Ebay.

Silly rabbit.

Opps. I though it was sold.. Whats the current bid? Maybe an IDA’er would like to get in on the action?

A good used flasher (regardless of brand) is a hot commodity this time of year and in a couple weeks people start begging for them as they begin to hit the ice after the holidays.

It sold for $440.00!! Unbelievable!! I had a soft pack with it and mag shield, I never thought it would sell for that much, but you are right James, people go crazy for flashers. Derek, I truly believe it will help me catch more fish. This subject has been beat to death, all I can say is I have owned, and fished both, and marcum is my choice. AND the best thing, I actually came out on top by selling a used vexilar, and got a NEW LX-5!!! I WIN!!!

I wish I could sell mine for $440 in 12 hours.

Just ordered my Vex FL18 Ultra at a great price from Jolly….no tax, no shipping, wow…..If the unit is half as good as Jolly, i’ll be happy on the ice for years to come.

Thanx Wade

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Just ordered my Vex FL18 Ultra at a great price from Jolly….no tax, no shipping, wow…..If the unit is half as good as Jolly, i’ll be happy on the ice for years to come.

Thanx Wade

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And many thanks to you too Derrick!

You’re gonna love that FL-18!

Matt-
I am not sure if I understand your post- are you trying to be sarcastic? Here is the item number if you don’t believe me,- The auction was three days long = 72 hours not 12 . Auction number 7204764833. Look it up.

Lizard, I was watching that auction…congrats on getting that much..almost bid on it too, had I known it was an IDA guy, I may have, but I am happy as horse hair with the deal I got from Wade….

Methinks Jolly should get into the ebay gig…he would sell thousands for his price!!!!

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Matt-
I am not sure if I understand your post- are you trying to be sarcastic? Here is the item number if you don’t believe me,- The auction was three days long = 72 hours not 12 . Auction number 7204764833. Look it up.

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lizardwizard,

I took it as Matt thought you got one heck of a good price on it. And I agree. Nice job!

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This is THE top of the line from vexilar, you cannot purchase a better, or more expensive flasher than what is being sold here.

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Glad you got top dollar.

OH-ok, my bad then..

Derek- Yes me too, it makes the “pain” of using a marcum lx-5 seem almost, bearable. HA HA!! And my statement of “This is THE top of the line from vexilar, you cannot purchase a better, or more expensive flasher than what is being sold here.” pertains only to vexilar. You can purchase a better flasher, but not from vexilar .
Enough innocent bashing from me, I loved my fl-18 and it is a dang good unit, if I had money, I would have kept it. I can only afford one, and my choice is the lx-5.

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I loved my fl-18 and it is a dang good unit, if I had money, I would have kept it. I can only afford one, and my choice is the lx-5.

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You already had it? You mean you would have kept the Fl-18 and bought the LX-5 if you had the money?

Make sure you give us a field test report. And be honest, I would like to know if your catching more fish with the LX-5

Thanks

I had the fl-18, I sold it to pay for my lx-5. I was trying to say, that if I had lots of cash, I would have just bought the lx-5 and kept the fl-18 too as a back-up, or for the wife. But I had to sell my 18 to pay for the lx-5. Does that make more sense?
Let me know, and I will be honest on the field testing. The target separation is better, so I will be able to locate more bottom hugging walleyes, that I guarantee. I have used my vexilar to locate walleyes on my home lake, and more times that not you couldn’t tell they were there, I had to use a camera.

Lizard, congratulations on that purchase. No matter what you payed for that LX-5 I bet you will think it is worth every penny. Keep us posted on how you like the unit and how it compares you your FL-18. Personally I think you made the right choice

I am in the same boat as many of the other people on here. I got a good chunk of money ($130) left from my birthday and christmas is coming..50$ from grandma and all i asked for from everyone else is money. I should be able to snatch me a vex by next week if i am lucky. Still looking into the marcums, but i am leaning towards the genz pack cuz i can actually afford it. Who knows though, i might get more than i thought, but i am guessing i will have just enough for the genz. Anyway, i read up on the vex’s and it was really quite awesome. After seeing pictures and watching bret’s jump around this weekend, i have to say it looks really complicated. Once you read the paragraph and then look back to the great illustration, it is very clear to read and i can just picture teasing those finicky crappies already!
Heres a link to the page i just read Here ya go!