Conventional Wisdom says walleyes can be finicky and difficult to catch. … Conventional Wisdom must not have a digital MarCum sonar system. MarCum’s Bottom-Lock Zoom helps anglers catch the fish other flashers can’t even locate.
Walleyes are often called “finicky” at the same time they’re hugging the bottom, rather than suspending in the water column. But a walleye holding within an inch or two of bottom is not necessarily inactive, neutral, or finicky. And it can be caught.
More often than some anglers realize, fish are really aggressive close to the bottom, says ICE FORCE Pro-Staffer Bryan “Beef” Sathre. “But you’re not going to know how to feed them if you can’t find them.”
Anglers using inferior sonar units might happen upon a fish or two in the morning and evening, Beef says, but they won’t find many during the day, “when the fish tuck tight to the bottom and kind of creep around and kind of peck at things.”
“Those are the fish that everyone else is missing,” he says.
That’s because you can’t catch fish you can’t find. Keep that in mind the next time another angler says fishing is tough – perhaps it’s the finding that’s tough. Perhaps he uses an inferior sonar unit. Perhaps he spends more time drilling and less time fishing.
“With other flashers, you’re going to be drilling a hundred holes trying to find the fish, but you may not have even put a line down some holes because you didn’t mark any fish in them,” Beef says. “When in reality, they’re crawling everywhere down below you – you just can’t see them.”
After Beef finds fish with his digital MarCum LX-9, he can determine their mood. Knowing that, he makes ‘em bite. Here’s how:
“Let’s say you’ve got a big Rippin’ Rap on and a fish comes in and you give it a nice shake and that fish scoots away,” Beef explains. “That says you might have to start spoon-feeding the fish.
“So you drop a Rattle Spoon, shake a couple times and scare another fish away. That says you’re going to want something with a little bit of flash and a little bit more subtle action.”
That’s how Beef uses his digital MarCum LX-9’s Bottom Lock Zoom to determine the best lure and perfect presentation on any given day on the ice. “You fine tune after you mark the fish and find out how they want to be fed,” he explains. “It’s all about finding out how they want to be fed, and the zoom lets you know that.”
Using a digital MarCum flasher’s Bottom Lock Zoom is about as easy as dropping a line down a hole. “One push of a button and you’re in zoom mode,” Beef says. “Or you can have zoom mode up on another part of your screen. You can have three different views on your screen and of those can always be zoom.”
And zoom mode can always be on.
“A guy can set his zoom before he even uses his unit for the season, and have his zoom window up all year long,” Beef says. “With one push of a button.”
Target Separation & Interference Rejection
In addition to Bottom Lock Zoom, MarCum’s LX-9, LX-7 and LX-6 digital sonar units feature Infinitely Adjustable Zoom, a 12-level Interference Rejection system and industry-best target separation.
The better a sonar unit’s target separation, the better you can tell the difference between a fish that’s about to strike your bait, and a fish that’s already got your bait in its mouth.
All MarCum digital sonar units feature Multifaceted Sonar Displays on LCD screens that can display the water column vertically, the zoom, a flasher dial and traditional widescreen graph, along with endless combinations. A customizable, on-screen dashboard displays digital depth, battery voltage, and interference rejection.
MarCum’s patented 12-level interference rejection is the envy of the industry. An interference rejection system knocks out competing “noise” from nearby sonar units, so you can fish in a group with no problems.
Equipped with USB ports, LX-6 [Product 'LX-6' not found!], LX-7 [Product 'LX-7' not found!] and LX-9 [Product 'LX-9' not found!] units connect to your home computer to install MarCum’s free firmware updates. MarCum is the only ice-fishing electronics manufacturer that makes digital units that can be upgraded in this way.
The LX-6, LX-7 and LX-9 all come in MarCum’s signature padded, red softcase with a rechargeable 12 -volt, 9 -amp battery, automatic charger and a snow shield faceplate.