Hard water sonar - teach me about 'Flashers'

[Geezle]

So I posted in Tuc's thread about fish finders, but I don't want to hijack his thread.

Since I'm boatless and do most of my open water fishing from shore, I haven't really put much thought into fish finders, but now that winter is coming, I'm thinking it might be a good idea to get something for hard water season, especially since I don't know the lakes in the area.

So first I thought about just a 'not too expensive' fish finder, since when I was a kid, that's what my dad did. He had kind of a long hook rigged up with the transducer on the bottom so he could drop it down the hole below the ice. My uncle used/uses a similar setup as well.

But then somebody (maybe waxy?) said that a flasher would be a better way to go. Now granted I've been out of the fishing game for quite a while, but I've never even heard of these things, and definitely don't know exactly how they work. Or rather I don't understand how to read them without the visual graph like you'd get with a regular fish finder.

I did a quick search to see what's available, and I do see that they tend to be more expensive than the more 'entry level' fish finders, but that doesn't mean much.

I've been doing a little reading, and I do see that in some conditions they'll actually work through the ice, so you can see what's down there before you start digging holes, which is kinda cool. But what other benefits does this thing bring? :confused:

[tchow]

Here's a few links to IMO are the top 3 Flashers that are available for the Hardwater:

http://www.fishfever.com/node/202/play
http://www.vexilar.com/pages/support/support_videos.html
http://www.humminbird.com/on_the_water/video/

Vexilar, Marcum, and Lowrance carry various models pending on what your budget is. Of course, the better the unit, the more bells and whistles you have to play with.
Currently myself, I use the Marcum Lx-5. I did at the same time have the Vexilar FL18. When I put the units side by side, I found that the display on the Marcum was much sharper than the Vex. I have not had the opportunity to test out the Lowrance Ice 55 myself but others have gave thumbs up on it. Vexilar did put out the Vex FL20 and again, have not tested one out but Vex owners are happy with it. I'm happy with my Marcum and stuck with it. (Should anything happen to the unit, my next choice would be leaning towards the Ice-55 unit...).
Coupled with an Underwater Camera, you would have a deadly combination for the Hardwater season. Bear in mind that there is Pros and Cons to both. For example with Cameras, the water can be cloudy or stained during the early and late stages of Hardwater. Visibilitity would be limited to what the water clarity is. This is where the Flasher units come up shining. Flashers will display the fish to where they are holding in the water column regardless of water clarity.
Now fishing in water bodies where there is multi-species present, you don't really know what species it is with Flashers and the Camera would show it. There are other examples I could mention but wanted to stay with the topic of Flasher units.
With the variety of models available, the choice will be hard. What comes into factor is how often can you get out and what you want for your buck.
You can always start off with a middle of the road model and then upgrade later.
PS: In regards to not knowing lakes, my suggestion is to obtain Bathymetric maps of the water bodies you want to go to. These would show the depths, points, sharp breaks, Drop-off, etc. Once you locate a prime spot, you can mark it off with a GPS. Now you can return to your spot and spend more time catching and less time looking for fish...
You'll have alot of fun with the Flashers. Good luck out on the Hardwater.

[Geezle]

So what makes a flasher better than a finder for ice fishing? :confused:

[tchow]

The explaination that was told me was that Flashers show in real time display whereas the LCD's, there is a delay. It took more time for a LCD to send a signal and receive it back to display than the Flasher unit.
Also, the majority of LCD's ( Liquid Crystal Display) are not made for the extreme. The cold can freeze up the Crystals on the screen and render it useles. If used primarily in a heated hut or on a warm day, you're good to go. Nature Vision did put out a LCD a couple years ago on the market. One feature that it has is a heated screen. I have an Eagle 3D which is a nice Bookend because some of the Crystals froze up on the screen when I used it out o-for the Hardwater season.
Your best option would be is to go to your local Tackle shop to get a better technical explaination on LCD's and Flasher units for the Hardwater.

[Rick.]

I'm watching this thread with baited breath. I have a flasher a buddy gave me and It has been sitting for years because frankly, I don't have a clue what it does or what it's good for. Great question. Oddly my friend just bought a top of the line Lowrance Finder and one (of the many) screens it has is a flasher screen. Rick.

[Marlin07]

I can't wait to fire up the flasher. I feel it's almost not even fair compared to fishing with out one. They are better suited for water over 15' however. It only takes a few minutes to figure out the basics of how to read them. Trust me, cameras are toys compared to flashers, they will increases your catch for sure.

[Waxy]

The explaination that was told me was that Flashers show in real time display whereas the LCD's, there is a delay. It took more time for a LCD to send a signal and receive it back to display than the Flasher unit.
Also, the majority of LCD's ( Liquid Crystal Display) are not made for the extreme. The cold can freeze up the Crystals on the screen and render it useles. If used primarily in a heated hut or on a warm day, you're good to go. Nature Vision did put out a LCD a couple years ago on the market. One feature that it has is a heated screen. I have an Eagle 3D which is a nice Bookend because some of the Crystals froze up on the screen when I used it out o-for the Hardwater season.
Your best option would be is to go to your local Tackle shop to get a better technical explaination on LCD's and Flasher units for the Hardwater.

Pretty much sums it up.

Most LCD graphs won't work in extreme temps.

The key to the flasher is that everything is instantaneous or "real time". You can actually watch yourself bounce your jig up and down, slow, fast, doesn't matter, on the screen/dial. You can also instantly see not only if there is a fish under your hole, but what depth it's at, and approx. how big it is.

They are amazing tools, far better than a camera if you just want to catch fish. (Cameras are very cool, and a lot of fun, but you'll catch more fish with a flasher, especially walleye.)

I'm sure if you search around a little, maybe on Vexilar or Marcum's websites, or Youtube for that matter, you'll find some info on how to use them or maybe even some video of flashers in use that'll give you a feel for how impressive a tool they are.

Waxy

[Drano]

I have a marcum lx5 it is great use.:wave::wave:

[Geezle]

Okay, I did a little more homework on these things, and watched a couple vids on youtube to get a better idea as to how these things really work, and I do have to say that they seem pretty neat.

The price point is a bit of a deterrent for me, even the entry level units aren't exactly inexpensive so I'm not sure if I'll actually be looking at getting one this hard water season or not. I think that'll be determined by how much I'm even able to get out, and if I'm going out with somebody who's got a sonar, or if I'm on my own.

I would like to have something if I'm not with somebody with some sort of sonar...I hate the idea of flying blind since it's tougher to move around on the ice with having to drill holes...especially since I've just got a hand auger and I've gotta grunt it out!

[ULTRAlite]

I'm watching this thread with baited breath. I have a flasher a buddy gave me and It has been sitting for years because frankly, I don't have a clue what it does or what it's good for. Great question. Oddly my friend just bought a top of the line Lowrance Finder and one (of the many) screens it has is a flasher screen. Rick.

Don't let it go to waste - it shouldn't be collecting dust. Let me know if your not gonna use it... I will :)