trying to pick the right unit, help plz

thinking about getting a vex, marcum lx5-6 or helix 7. depends if i find that right deal. kinda want it to do all but i know its hard. targeting eyes, whities and lakers. Thanks

They are all great ice fishing units it comes down to preference and what you can afford. As you can see I have The Vexilar FL20 unit and love it. You can't go wrong with either of the units. All the best. I got mine for a steele about 5 years ago when the Canadian dollar was at par. I paid $535.00 taxes in, that unit now is going for $799.99 plus tax. Again it comes down to what you can afford ...

There's a hook 4 in the bargain cave at BP for 299 if a graph is an option.

Cant go wrong with the vex, i got the fl 18 best thing i ever bought

Helix 7 from your choices because of the graphing. If you want the best, the LX-9. It can do anything.

What ever unit you buy make sure there is a zoom on it. Myself I have a fl18 for 10 years never had a problem yet knock on wood it also has the dual beam.

For longevity nothing we,ll out last your vexilar. I have original units since the early 80's that are still running. Flx 28 is the Cadillac if you just want a straight flasher . Otherwise any of the graph mode units are good by humminbirds or Lowrance . I'm not a marcums fan however and I've used all of them. Make sure you get a unit with zoom though

Most of those units you mentioned above come with a 20 degree ducer witch will work perfectly targeting fish in water up to 50 fow. Any deeper then that and you will have to narrow the cone angle to get acccurate readings of fish directly under you. Look into the Vexilar with a 12 degree transducer, this should give you the best of both worlds. Check out Radio Word, they got a bunch of ducers in stock this time of year. Hope this helps narrow it down for you.

Why would you want a tighter cone angle than 20 degrees ?? These are pretty much standard on the products offered by most companies. A 20 degree cone angle transducer gives you about 30 feet of coverage at 100 feet. Personally, I think this is ideal. Why limit yourself to only the fish that are directly under your hole?? With clear water, fish can see significant distances and can be enticed in closer with a variety of jigging cadences.

I went the helix main reason it's a year round unit use it on the boat and ice.

there are so many models now a days recently I got a helix 5, gen 2, and got an electrician to instal a fuse and battery. keep in mind, if you go with the sonar, you will need an extra 200$ for battery and ice transducer.

its a fun project, but might be hard. sonars are the newest technology, i have read that flashers are like typewriters, sonars the keyboards.

I agree when targeting fish that are suspended the wide cone angle can be an advantage. However when targeting fish that are hugging bottom the chances of a dead zone are much greater do to bottom structure and how the signal is sent back. Also you will get a much better return when sending power down a narrow beam apposed to a wider beam specially when fishing deep water.

Miro,
When targeting bottom hugging fish (whities) you can readily eliminate any creation of dead zones by simply zooming into the bottom 10 feet or so of the water strata. What you will see is a hump appearing on what was formerly a level bottom. This is a fish with its fins right on the floor or very close to it. It can look like a mini sub if you are fully zoomed in to the bottom.
I feel your concern about maximizing power of a sonar unit by maintaining a narrow cone angle is invalid. Even old or entry level units have more than sufficient "power" to clearly mark a small #8 bare treble when the gain is properly adjusted when using a 20 degree transducer in well over 100 feet of water.
I really don't think you need the latest, greatest (and most expensive) sonar units for successful use when ice fishing. I'm more than pleased with the screen images I can obtain with older model Lowrance X-70 A's and LX15 MT's and even a Hummingbird 570. The relative simplicity of some of these units lends itself to quick set up and frustration free usage. I do run a Simrad unit on my "big" boat which is a current model with chirp technology, side scan, dual transducer cone capability, GPS and all kinds of bells and whistles and fully enjoy all the modern capabilities but it is admittedly a much more frustrating procedure to fine tune all the features to maximize the potential of these new models.
As with virtually all fishing topics, you will derive more success and enjoyment when using the product with which you are most comfortable.

I would personally make sure to check the Canadian Tires around you for any that are on clearance as good deals can usually be had.

Got my Helix 5 gps for $189 last year and it is a great unit that I really like

I am from the southwest and one of them had a marcum on in store clearance last week for $299

My vex fl-20 never gave me any problems. And it has easily doubled or tripled or even more, the amount I catch.
I think it's a 12 degree transducer, I'm usually after lakers and whitefish in 50-70 feet. Only complaint - the current price...I got mine a few years back at $399.
Can't say as id be happy with the current $800 price tag, but after using it for a few years, I know it's worth every penny!