Accused of cheating

[HuyFishin]

When I tell people I use a flasher they accuse me of cheating. What do you call it?

[Red Neck]

I call it upping the odds :snapoutofit: those people are most likely not as addicted as we are???
Red Neck Out
:scared0018:

[recce43]

called being smart

[Okotokian]

Everyone chooses their own level of challenge. To use a big game hunting hunting example: For ME, sitting in a blind over bait with the heater and ozonics going that has all been set up by a guide is too little challenge. Hunting with a traditional bow is too much challenge.

I don't care what technology another fisherman uses. In most bodies of water you can't legally take any more fish than I can. You'll probably just do it faster. Have at 'er!

[#1younggun]

I call it upping the odds :snapoutofit: those people are most likely not as addicted as we are???
Red Neck Out
:scared0018:
Im with you on this one Red Neck, A flasher does nothing but let you know that fish are down there. IMO if anything, cameras give you more of an upper hand as you can see what species you are dealing with and how they are reacting to what you got down hole.

[Bigdad013]

Using todays technology is a cool thing. If they are calling you a cheater, does that include using augers, rods, tent, etc. I guess we should go back to a stick some twine and hook made from bone and a axe to cut the hole. Nah, I like technology.....

[HuyFishin]

Using todays technology is a cool thing. If they are calling you a cheater, does that include using augers, rods, tent, etc. I guess we should go back to a stick some twine and hook made from bone and a axe to cut the hole. Nah, I like technology.....

Ok this is a good one, I'll use this to my defence

[cube]

To me the biggest cheat by far is the gasoline, or electric, engine. Nothing has done more to change fishing ,so ask them next time if they would prefer to get out and walk instead.

[Alberta Bigbore]

I call it fishing smart.

[pikester]

Using todays technology is a cool thing. If they are calling you a cheater, does that include using augers, rods, tent, etc. I guess we should go back to a stick some twine and hook made from bone and a axe to cut the hole. Nah, I like technology.....

Add to this list "they" can go buy a 1965 chevy 1/2 ton with window cranks & am/fm dial radio because power windows & digital stereo is cheating, or how about that cell phone; that's cheating too cause they could wait until they get home to phone people!!

Going tech is a fun way to pass the time when not much is happening, kids get a frikken blast out of using flashers & cameras making it easier to get them out of the house; & let's not forget that you can throw all the electronics down the hole you want but you can't force the fish to bite!

[Boots270]

I'm still old school but very much want a camera if only just for the entertainment factor.
I've watched lots of vids on utube and now I really want one.
If someone calls you a cheater then I guess any tool could be called cheating. Including gps or contour maps.

Cheating is poaching as I understand it.

[tight line]

Utilizing my precious time! Lol

[JReed]

When I tell people I use a flasher they accuse me of cheating. What do you call it?

In my opinion, you gotta do whatever it takes for a tight line. The tug is the drug, regardless of how ya get there

[SCHOOCH]

Fishing........simple answer!!!

[Mike_W]

I would consider using a camera "cheating" more than a flasher as with a flasher you know when a fish is about to bite but you must still detect the bite where as when using a camera the bite is seen and not detected.

Either way I think both are not cheating.

I went out fishing cold lake last year three guys. While two of us had flashers and when fishing was slow we were the only ones catching when we found the honey hole you literally couldn't get your hook to the bottom. At the end of the day buddy without a flasher claimed that flashers were a waste of money as he almost caught as many fish as us.

For one he wouldn't have known where to go, what depth, what depth to fish or able to locate fish as quick.

He went out the following weekend with another buddy and caught .....0 fish funny how that works when you don't have a GPS or any way to determine if you are fishing 130ft or 75 ft. Or if you are fishing where the fish are or if they just aren't liking your lure.

Flashers help and make us better fishermen but you need to know how to use them to your advantage. Its also pretty fun to watch a laker rocket off the bottom (90ft) and meet your lure at 35ft.

[pickrel pat]

jealous. those people don't own one.

[omega50]

Technology can absolutely be used as a suitable replacement for skill:sHa_shakeshout:

["No Choke"Lord Walsingham]

I would call it finding fish!

In fact I have always known the device of which you speak, sushi_man, as a fish finder. To the best of my recollection this is the first time I have heard such a device referred to as a flasher, an interesting name!

Personally I look at things such as this in one of a few ways - Outdoors activities of Traping, Fishing and Hunting, Subsistence/survival and poaching.

Here's the breakdown - Depending upon specific activity, if one is partaking of said activity legally and conducting themselves according to their own personal code of ethics then said individual is either Fishing, Trapping or Hunting dependant upon which category of Oudoormanship that specific activity falls under.

If someone is lost or simply needs meat from an animal to live as part of their lifestyle and for the survival of themselves, their Family and/or community then such activity falls under the subsistence category. Many jurisdictions have legal statutes that condone such activity.

A modern person with access to modern food delivery methods and/or someone who eschews rule of law and/or kills wantonly for their amusement or whatever ill purpose is a poacher. Poaching is crime and people who perform such vile acts are criminals. Wounding, injuring and harrassing Wildlife, hunting out of season, not adhering to fishing limits and using inhumane/illegal traps are all examples of such activity.

Provided an Outdoorsperson is Fishing, Trapping or Hunting legally they how they choose to do so is up to them, it's a personal choice. Using a casting rod, spinning rod, fly fishing, flasher for Fish is all Fishing and a great time! Same goes for the things Okotokian wrote concerning Hunting in this thread. I'll add that high-fence hunting is hunting as is using bait to take a Black Bear here in Alberta. If it's legal you are good to go and judgements should be reserved. There is no need for rude, harsh or judgemental comments concerning how others like to go about their time afield. Such behaviour and statements are counterproductive and hurtful. As Outdoorspeople, we face more than enough challenges and strife caused by those who are opposed to our activites. We surely do not need condesension from within our own ranks Sir! I support all legal outdoor activities and do things my way. Go ahead and do it your way.

Stay safe, have fun and enjoy the Outdoors!

[J D]

Unless you chew a hole through the ice with your teeth jump in and chase the fish down with nothing but your hands you're cheating.

[buckman]

As long as its within the rules/regulations its not cheating.

Technology is not for everyone,we decide for ourselves. However it is nice to at least know the fish are there even if they wont bite.

[Winch101]

Yes you are a bad person ,if you would like to lighten your conscience
I would happily pick up all cheating electronics....Glad to help

If you think it's bad now . I had the first Lowrance Green Box
Flasher in Canada circa late 60,s ... You couldn't tell anybody you had a fish finder......burnt at the stake . Likely a woman said you were cheating .

I won't fish without electronics ...

[Gslice]

How is that cheating? Just because you use a flasher does not mean fish are biting your lure more.

Would it also be cheating if I was sight fishing in
12 fow?

[aulrich]

I have just started recording what is on the fish cam, and I already have hours of video of fish not biting :)

[fish gunner]

Give them the light bright for an hour (after fiddling with the settings ) and say prove it. Of corse they will be decimating the poulation of the target species in no time lol:sHa_sarcasticlol:... not.

[tight line]

I would consider using a camera "cheating" more than a flasher as with a flasher you know when a fish is about to bite but you must still detect the bite where as when using a camera the bite is seen and not detected.

Either way I think both are not cheating.

I went out fishing cold lake last year three guys. While two of us had flashers and when fishing was slow we were the only ones catching when we found the honey hole you literally couldn't get your hook to the bottom. At the end of the day buddy without a flasher claimed that flashers were a waste of money as he almost caught as many fish as us.

For one he wouldn't have known where to go, what depth, what depth to fish or able to locate fish as quick.

He went out the following weekend with another buddy and caught .....0 fish funny how that works when you don't have a GPS or any way to determine if you are fishing 130ft or 75 ft. Or if you are fishing where the fish are or if they just aren't liking your lure.

Flashers help and make us better fishermen but you need to know how to use them to your advantage. Its also pretty fun to watch a laker rocket off the bottom (90ft) and meet your lure at 35ft.
Or five feet below the ice!! After 30ft is when i stop watching the flasher and check out the hole, nothing cooler than watching a big laker(s) coming in for the kill! I had one push water up my hole he was so close, then he proceded to spool me! Lol. Definately agree with you Mike, Being sucessfull at catching Lake Trout consistantly involves a flasher!

[The Reel Deal]

jealous. those people don't own one.

X2
I don't have a flasher... and jealous!

[BassDude]

I guess using a depth finder/flasher in summer to avoid rocks, sandbars and reefs is cheating too.

[TylerThomson]

Cheating is what people that can't afford a flasher call it. Don't sweat it.

[maverick_8teen]

& let's not forget that you can throw all the electronics down the hole you want but you can't force the fish to bite!

I don't own any electronics to date, that's only because I haven't bought them yet. Won't lie, not fully sure I understand how to use a flasher. I don't like the idea of driving as far as i do sometimes and getting nothing. At least if you know your in the right spot it's just a matter of picking the right lure and even then, no guarantee there interested.

[Chewie66]

I think fishermen that say a flasher/sonar is cheating could be put into two categories: (a)They haven't been able come up with the funds to buy one YET or (b)They haven't been able to convince the wife to let them buy one YET. :sign0111:

[fishin_guy]

Add to this list "they" can go buy a 1965 chevy 1/2 ton with window cranks & am/fm dial radio because power windows & digital stereo is cheating, or how about that cell phone; that's cheating too cause they could wait until they get home to phone people!!

Going tech is a fun way to pass the time when not much is happening, kids get a frikken blast out of using flashers & cameras making it easier to get them out of the house; & let's not forget that you can throw all the electronics down the hole you want but you can't force the fish to bite!


As technology evolves it is all about keeping the sport interesting. Gone are my days of pulling my sled, 6" hand auger, tarp to lay on, and cut up hockey sticks and line.

Weekends are spent with my wife and daughter in a heated pop up. Fishing out of holes drilled by a power auger. Sitting on comfy chairs watching the flasher. When a fish is marked the challenge begins on who will catch it. The smiles of my wife and daughter are worth more than some razzing on cheating ice fishing.

[338Bluff]

Just cause you have a flasher does not mean a Cold Lake Laker is going to bite your tube jigs.

I have spent more than one day watching those little blips go up....go down.....go up.........go down........go up.................:1041:

Yeah cheating....sure.:rolleyes:

[Brandonkop]

It's cheating until you have one... then it's God's gift to every fisherman. I love the flasher... turns slow days into a learning experience. We're the fish just not there, not interested in presentation or just plain not biting. Those little blinking lights add to skill.

[BPman]

You aren't cheating unless you are breaking rules. Even with a camera or flasher, you still have to get them to bite!

I wonder whether they walk or drive everywhere: either way they will get there but driving is cheating those who like to walk...... and on and on blah blah blah.

[Lornce]

jealous. those people don't own one.

x2

[HunterDave]

I think that they're just pulling your leg. :) Besides, a flasher might let you know if fish are there and at what depth but it won't catch them for you. How many times have you seen fish on a fish finder and not be able to catch them?

IMO the only place that a flasher is a real advantage is on a lake like Cold Lake where the lake trout can be anywhere between the surface and 150 feet deep. Old school was to try different depths until you found the right one. A flasher is just a short cut for doing that.

[Arob]

Yes you are a bad person ,if you would like to lighten your conscience
I would happily pick up all cheating electronics.... I had the first Lowrance Green Box
... in Canada circa late 60,s ... You couldn't tell anybody you had a fish finder......burnt at the stake . ..

I won't fish without electronics ...

so many fascinating nuggets in that speech

tell me... do you think it should be that the person with the best electronics wins the derby?

[Mike_W]

I think that they're just pulling your leg. :) Besides, a flasher might let you know if fish are there and at what depth but it won't catch them for you. How many times have you seen fish on a fish finder and not be able to catch them?

IMO the only place that a flasher is a real advantage is on a lake like Cold Lake where the lake trout can be anywhere between the surface and 150 feet deep. Old school was to try different depths until you found the right one. A flasher is just a short cut for doing that.

I hear this a lot but will tell you it's an advantage all the time in any water.

[TroyLang]

I think fishermen that say a flasher/sonar is cheating could be put into two categories: (a)They haven't been able come up with the funds to buy one YET or (b)They haven't been able to convince the wife to let them buy one YET. :sign0111:


Haha, this is the best one yet! :sHa_shakeshout:

[GreenCanada]

Who cares if some people think it's cheating, it's legal and within the regulations. I personally don't use every piece of technology, but more so because I'm frugal.. haha. I'd be more primed to focus on the snaggers, flossers, and various other types of poachers.

[HunterDave]

I hear this a lot but will tell you it's an advantage all the time in any water.

....it's an advantage all the time in any water because.....? :)

[TylerThomson]

Because it allows you to quickly search an area for structure depth and fish. You could accomplish the same thing with your rod and counting your line for depth but a flasher is much quicker. I'll even use it in 6ft of water when the sun is out if I'm searching for perch it eliminates a lot of wasted time