Importance of a ice fishing fish finder?

[drifter]

A flasher is a must if you do any type of bobber fishing. I always recheck the depth after a fish due to the light line and bobber stops not staying set They seem to get caught on the eyes and slide on the line. So in short YES a flasher is a must. Just think fishing in 27 fow catching fish and all of a sudden nothing. checking depth with a flasher finding you are fishing in 17 fow makes the difference.

[amateurfishing]

Dropped 170 yesterday for a troller and hoping to take the plunge to day by getting it wet and proving its worthiness.

[mixxedbagg]

Quote:

a flasher is a nice plus, but totally not a necessity. you can catch plenty of fish while you save your money for one!

True. I've been ice fishing for about 10 years and I've only had access to an FL8 (still don't actually own one) for about 5 of those years. Do I catch more fish now? Yes. Would I have continued to fish for the first 5 years if I didn't catch any fish then? No. Electronics make life easier, but there are plenty of fish to be had without them--I've had good days on panfish, perch, crappies, bass, and northerns without that FL8. I can't seem to ice walleyes (I just don't get that fish in winter for some reason), so the flasher has pretty much taken my walleye catch rate from '0' to '0'.

[Ed Carlson]

To look for fish, yes, electronics such as a sonar or a underwater camera system are critical and indispensable tools. Without them you essentially wait for fish to find you and your bait.

Electronics on the ice keeps you better informed and offers you the spontaneous feedback on the fish and the mood they are in, and how best to adjust your presentation tactics to there present mood to increase your success rate.

Without it all you really know is they bite, or don't bite.

(The Troller is a good option, it is portable and compact and is flexible in it's use, and cost effective (*$170 was a good price too bud.) Even if you choose to go with a larger dedicated sonar unit latter on it, the Troller will prove handy on many situations. I feel it was a very wise choice in your situation.)

[robert aldrich]

i drill 12 holes first and i fish every one of the holes until i find the fish.. i dont have a fish finder.

[PurpleFloyd]

I think the most important thing to consider is whether you are enjoying yourself out there or not and what it takes to make you happy. To me fishing is more about getting out, relaxing and being around people that I like to be around and catching the fish is secondary. So for me I am not going to go hog wild buying every device under the sun to help me land more fish because all of that expense and activity will diminish the relaxation and enjoyment I get out of what I do.

OTOH some people are in it for the competition or because they really want to hone their skills and figure out every detail of what is happening so that they can be as productive as possible and that is great too. In that situation I would say buy anything and everything you can to give you the edge and go for it.

[amateurfishing]

Got to use the troller this am, found fish b4 drilling, bite was on but unfortunately I could not hook!! Guess I like the eye candy part of it, its nice to know there are fish where u r, but also helps keep me interested during fishing when i can look at screen and know fish did not leave, much different than on a boat driving anywhere watching the birds and having a beer.

[leech~~]

Here's two examples of the need for a flasher. Yesterday I was fishing a Trout lake up north in 70' feet of water. I had schools of smelt coming in at about 15-20 feet down. The only way I could have known that they were there or even had a chance to get them was with a flasher. Here's the other example. Today I buzzed out to a local lake I had never fished before trying to do a little pre-fishing for next weekend when I go with my son-in-law out there. I pulled up in about 45' feet of water, drilled my holes, clean them out and scooped a little spot where I usually put my flasher by the hole. Looked around for the flasher when I realized that it was still on my bench in the basement charging from my fishing trip the day before! Auuuuggg! Bone head! Well the game was over because there was no way I was going to see where the suspended crappies were in 45' feet of water!! If you are going for bottom feeders all the time then you may not need one but if you are going to try and fish any suspended fish you mite as well save your gas! I wish I would have!

[reinhard1]

i have done that, and it's not a good thing to happen. except for shallow water were you can sight fish or as you have mentioned if you bottom fish a flasher is a must. a flasher also tells you were the tops of weeds are as well so you can keep your bait on top. a valuable tool, a must have for me. good luck.

[SFC]

Flasher++++++ If you can afford it do it u wont be disappointed.

[imgoing2sleep]

Glad to hear you bought one. I am also new to ice fishing and am still learning. Lots of good information and people on here to help. I use mine to locate fish and also to see what they want. Just knowing that your bait is in the strikezone and seeing how they react will help you learn faster then fishing blind. Good luck.

[mixxedbagg]

As I posted before, electronics are nice--very helpful in fact--but does anyone else think many of the posts here are a LITTLE overboard with claims that you can't ice fish without gizmos? Or that you're better off without any other piece of gear than your flasher? Didn't previous generations catch fish without that stuff? Wouldn't some of you folks make the same claim that you would NEVER go open water fishing without electronics...and we know you can catch fish all year without them. I guess it's going to be a little skewed toward a full-gear arsenal when you're on a HSOforum that exists for the purpose of selling gear, but sheesh...plenty of people are out there without flashers catching fish or are just getting into the sport and don't own the thousands of dollars worth of gear this site sometimes makes you feel like you need--why make them feel like their efforts are futile when they aren't??

[TruthWalleyes]

I would rather forget bait than my flasher any day!

+1

[TruthWalleyes]

As I posted before, electronics are nice--very helpful in fact--but does anyone else think many of the posts here are a LITTLE overboard with claims that you can't ice fish without gizmos? Or that you're better off without any other piece of gear than your flasher? Didn't previous generations catch fish without that stuff? Wouldn't some of you folks make the same claim that you would NEVER go open water fishing without electronics...and we know you can catch fish all year without them. I guess it's going to be a little skewed toward a full-gear arsenal when you're on a HSOforum that exists for the purpose of selling gear, but sheesh...plenty of people are out there without flashers catching fish or are just getting into the sport and don't own the thousands of dollars worth of gear this site sometimes makes you feel like you need--why make them feel like their efforts are futile when they aren't??

Lets just say there is room for improvement from traditional methods of fishing.

[Dylan33]

It comes down to efficiency. I can drill a hole, clean it out, check the depth with a depth bomb, move my bobber stop, start fishing and there MIGHT be fish down there.

OR

I drill a hole, check the vexilar and see right now if there are fish.

Sure you can jig som fish in if that aren't immediately there, but if i can just pop another hole 20 feet away and fish where they are, I'm going to do that.

I fish without electronics from time to time, but it just makes the trip that much easier and more efficient with sonar.

[eurolarva]

As I posted before, electronics are nice--very helpful in fact--but does anyone else think many of the posts here are a LITTLE overboard with claims that you can't ice fish without gizmos? Or that you're better off without any other piece of gear than your flasher? Didn't previous generations catch fish without that stuff? Wouldn't some of you folks make the same claim that you would NEVER go open water fishing without electronics...and we know you can catch fish all year without them. I guess it's going to be a little skewed toward a full-gear arsenal when you're on a HSOforum that exists for the purpose of selling gear, but sheesh...plenty of people are out there without flashers catching fish or are just getting into the sport and don't own the thousands of dollars worth of gear this site sometimes makes you feel like you need--why make them feel like their efforts are futile when they aren't??

You can catch fish and enjoy the sport but a flasher is the key to really enjoying this sport. I went to the Reefs on LOTW. The guy and his wife were in the house next to mine. This guy lives on a lake in the Grand Rapids area that has a very good fishing population and I am sure he is a good fisherman. That day I noticed on my flasher the only way to get the fish to become active was to slowly bring the bait up about two ft off the bottom then hold it there. They would usually commit at that point. End of day my pail was full and they did not so much as have a bite. Once you have fished a season with a flasher you will feel the same as others here.