old school ice fishing

[fsh4trout]

Anyone ice fish without a vexilar? Am I really handicaped?

[riverview]

the only time is tip up fishing for northern. my battery went dead last year, i went home.

[GoldeneyeHunter]

I would not fish with out one.

[bunkerbay]

I dont have one, all my buddies give me the business for not and im sure I'd do little better with one but im stubborn and do just fine without. Plus I think its a little more peacful and relaxing

[riverview]

i got a brother that still hand over hand all his fish. wont sit in a prtablehe catches fish though

[fishersofmen]

Same as flying blind.

[DrSwiftwater]

I almost never fish with a flasher, and do just fine.

[MuskieJunkie]

The first piece of ice fishing equiptment I ever owned was a auger, when I bought that thing I thought "oh I have it made I can drill holes with ease now". I'd drive out to the middle of the lake punch a hole, drop a bobber rig with a depth bomb, pull the bobber 6 inches off the bottom and sit and wait.......

NEVER caught any fish doing it, if I knew then what I know now.

Now I'm the guy that has too much equiptment, GPS, sonar, aqua vu camera, I don't know where I'm going with this story but I guess it's that you don't need to drop a ton of money on gear to have fun. But if I had to start all over again I would buy a cheap auger and a cheap flasher, get a lake map and go out with a plan.

[jdog]

muskie your a liar

[thedeadsea]

For suspended fish like crappies and lakers it will make a huge difference. Also for light biting eyes or perch.

[pulleye16]

I too never caught a fish out ice fishing but ever since I bought a flasher, I'm fishing like a pro....LOL No-seriously, It is a great investment and it is EXTREMLEY hard to fish without one now. You can punch tons of holes, stick your flasher down and easily find the fish...better yet, you can find the fish that won't bite!!!! Power auger, flasher, and a pole...best $400 you'll spend if you like ice fishing!!

[bigfoot]

To an extent some would say that you are. Others will say you are not.

If you are looking to catch fish it can be done without a flasher. Get a lake map, examine it, go to that spot and drill holes. Find the desired depth and set-up there. Have a dead stick and a jigging rod. You just can't see if there are fish down there. Perhaps that isn't so bad because then you aren't disappointed when you look and see no fish, instead you wait anticipating the bite from the fish.

If your after numbers of fish then by all means flashers, GPS units and even cameras are your best friends. They minimize time spent on finding spots and fish and maximize time spent on fishing and catching.

It's no harder to fish without a flasher now than before they were around and popular.

[mrscott]

I don't have a flasher. I have a heavy lead thing that I drop down the hole to find my depth and set my slip bobber. Sure I wish I had a flasher. Someday, maybe I'll get a 2008 model in 2012. The technology is always getting better, so I have a hard time buying something that will be outdated in 6 months.

Actually, I go out in open water and visually use the shoreline as a reference to mark changes from my open water Humminbird. I just need to anticipate what it will look like covered in snow and ice. So far my success is limited. But, I am happy to be out on the ice; handicapped in comparison.

[MarkAlm]

It depends how deep and what you are fishing for! I see alot of guys fishing in 10ft. or less for panfish and get hung up watching a fish on a signal where the cone dia. is barely 1 ft on the bottom. IMO I think that they could work the column with their lures and be more sucsessful.

I have had a vex. for more than 20 years and I sold alot of them on the success that I had perch fishing with them. It does help for walleyes as you see them come in and you are ready to set the hook when you are jigging.

I think 2lb test , lure size and paying attention to how you present your lure have a lot to do with your success for sunnies and crappies.

[T&KK]

I brought my buddy out for his first time fishing ever the other day and educated him on the vexilar. When it was down his hole, he caught fish, when it was down my hole, I caught fish.... Out of the 15-20 fish, maybe 3 were pulled up with out the vex. We were not changing how we fished, just were able to react to suspended fish or following fish. Its truly amazing how much more success they give you!

[Surface Tension]

I started out with a spoon auger, a cut off broomstick with eye screws for a rod and wooden box to sit on and put my stuff in.

Fished like that for years. Eventually I evolved to a maniac.

[jimmyjames76]

I could always catch plenty of fish without a flasher, but it requires a lot more time, experimentation, and work. You have to drill more holes, move around more, experiment more with different depths and presentations. You have to do that with a flasher too, but the flasher gives you feedback to help zero in on the fish a lot faster and easier. I don't think it's necessary, but I don't think there's any doubt that you'll catch more fish in less time with a flasher.

[Eric_Kruger]

i had the best season of ice fishing last year without a flasher..... but after 12 years of fishing without one i picked up a 40 dollar fl8 last summer cause it is harder and harder every year you go without one!

EK

[RebelSS]

I'll second what bigfoot says...get a good lake map, study it, talk to people, know what type of fish you are after, and use correct technique/tackle. I don't use one, and I do extremely well with just a camera. However, MOST of the spots I ice fish I also fish in my boat in the summer, which does have all the goodies; GPS, Locater, etc. I know the areas and terrain, and have fished them for years. To sum it up, I guess I'd say you can do well if you know as much as possible about your fishing spot, and vary your area according to type of year/conditions/underwater terrain. But, yes, you will do better with a flasher..but you can do OK without, too.

[marshmallow]

CONTOUR LAKE MAP..CLIP ON DEPTH FINDER..DIGITAL CAMERA..are my basic needs..If I am with someone that has a Vex,or near someone,I'll politely ask the depth..Other wise I measure with my Clip on.. Co-ordinate with the contour map"STRUCTURE"..I have buddies that despise Lake Maps.. But the saying goes "If you don't understand something you don't like it.." In my spare time I like to study my lake map books.. Another basic need for me is Busch.. Beer that is..

[matthothand]

I grew up fishing "old school" with the depth bombs and jiggle sticks and it was a great way to learn and get started in the sport of ice fishing. The trouble is just that.. it's the start. To be a more efficient/proficient ice angler and continue learning, well that's where a flasher comes in. You learn a lot more about the way fish react to your presentation and can more quickly fine tune your approach to get the bites. The most obvious benefit of a flasher is its ability to prove the existence of fish in the area rather than just hope they are there. We all know how well it works to rely on 'hope'. Not so good. I now view my flasher as a necessary part of ice fishing and wouldn't fish without one.

[Fly2day]

I have been ice fishing for the last 15 years without a vexilar, and have never actually been around one in use, sometimes I wish I had one but for $400 I do just fine without...

[palisade1kid]

I've been ice fishing for over 40 years and having become an ardent advocate of a flasher after seeing if fish are there but to be able to react to how the fish are reacting is truely the cat's meow.Having the ability to work the entire water column also aides in catching more fish more often.

[icefishing21]

I wont go out without it.

[jigginjim]

when you don't have a flasher you don't mind it sometimes. Once you have a flasher you fill handicapped fishing without it.