every where i look i see a fish finder flasher and every video i see

[Shack]

Number 1 feature of any flasher: It lets you know very clearly there are no fish or there are a ton of dinky perch in the area. I have yet to find the button or feature labeled "Make Fish Come in the Area & Bite".

Even thought I did not grow up with forums or these fancy units, well we had fancy units at the time, but I figure going without is still part of the game. Honestly I paid my dues while wishing and fishing till about my mid 20's. Most times I had nothing but a jig pole and a depth bomb, with as much time as I could get on a frozen chunk of ice. Was lucky enough to get tossed some old units and spent nights after school modifying the old green and blue boxes. Hated the lantern battery look (plus they were pocket draining killer), so I would carve the old green and blue box units in half and run direct 12v wires to a car battery during the summer and winter. Late teens I started modifying summer Humm. locators I got free or for a couple bucks, even one that was paper, that I would use in my old Herters fiberglass 12' shooter with a 3.5 Evensrudest solo pushing the works during the summer. This setup was drug to the local lake via a wreck of a 4'x8' flatbed homemade utility trailer I got my hands on before it went to the scrape yard back in about 88'. Of course I was able to convince my father to install a new hitch on our family mini-van which I installed. Back to ice fishing, I would make boxes for these Humminbird summer graphs I would snatch up and they worked. Heck even the green and blue boxes worked. Then around age 23 I bought a Wide100 Hummingbird and modified that to fish ice and winter. Speed up to age 31, with a wife and 2 kids in tow, I was able to get a deal on an LX-5 out in Forestlake. I wish I would have had this thing back when I was 13. I did buy a brand new FL-8 back when I bought the wide100, but back then was still able to use it one time, have buyers remorse with the amount of money spent and returned it with the thought of the bills needing to be paid first. It worked though.

My best advice is to skip talking with your parents and go for the uncles who are into fishing if you have them. Everything I mentioned above was donations tossed out to an enthusiastic nephew (maybe a grandpa willing to help with a part or with priming the uncles also) that showed some respect and while displaying his passion towards fishing.

If my 14 year old son asked for me to get him his own new model or even used newer model flasher, I would chuckle and say "no" right after telling him the story above. If he pestered his uncle Dan enough, I would say there is a good chance something would happen.

[MN BassFisher]

No joke, I was on a lake yesterday and saw 2 guys using a ice pick to chop holes through 18 inches of ice and were using full length 6' fishing rods?!?!?!?!? Weird right

I saw that on the ice this year, someone using a big 6 foot summer rod. Looks real funny.

[Cliff Wagenbach]

Robert,

They are just messing with you! The MarCum Verses Hummingbird, Verses

Vexilar, verses Lowrance is an old argument.

Any one of these flasher units will make you a much better winter fisherman and will greatly increase your enjoyment while you are out there!

You younger guys and gals usually learn how to use these high-tech things much easier then us old farts!

Cliff

[robert aldrich]

i sent this topic to my dad and mom

[MN BassFisher]

i sent this topic to my dad and mom

Good idea! If you don't want to buy a new one, just do some research on some sites, or in the classifieds on here. You can find a lot of FL-8's in those places that are lightly used and they can last a LONG time!

[Ed Carlson]

Another point to mention to them is long term dependability. That is why you see so many Vexilar sonars in those clips, there is that man out there still in use today, old and new. Not built in obsolescence, made to last and be repairable as required. That is a very valid point to use when considering any new technology, it's longevity of use.

[Shack]

Good luck robert aldrich. If you can get your parents to pick you one up, then that leaves your uncles for the portable and auger.

[robert aldrich]

Good luck robert aldrich. If you can get your parents to pick you one up, then that leaves your uncles for the portable and auger.

i dont need a portable ice house and i have a ice auger, rods, lures,and etc. i love being able to move around faster and not have to be setting up a portable ice house.

[TravP]

That's a great attitude to have as far as mobility is concerned, but IMO when its ten degrees or even a little warmer, a house is nice. You can detect bites WAY better when out of the wind too. Not to mention no frozen line, guides, or fingers.

[robert aldrich]

ya, to tell the truth, i am in college right now and i am liveing in a apartment (550$ per month) so i have to watch my money and a flasher is too expensive and a protable ice house is not fezable because it to large. i been browing a protable ice house when i go ice fishing with a friend and soon the ice will be gone so there is no reason to hurry.

[TravP]

My wife lets me keep my otter cottage in our apartment to thaw out, It looks great in the kitchen.

[fazer]

No, You dont need a flasher to catch fish.....But you also dont need a power auger, or a propane heater, or a 4 wheel drive truck, etc. My point is, if it'll make it easier for me to find and catch fish, I'm all for it. And a flasher (of any brand) definitely is an advantage. I won't fish blind if I don't have to. To each his own, just enjoy yourself.

[DonC]

No Vex for me......... this works great

[JIvers]

ya, to tell the truth, i am in college right now and i am liveing in a apartment (550$ per month) so i have to watch my money and a vexliar is too expensive and a protable ice house is not fezable because it to large. i been browing a protable ice house when i go ice fishing with a friend and soon the ice will be gone so there is no reason to hurry.

I hear you about costs, especially when you're a college student.

However, when I was an undergrad, I splurged and bought a flasher for ice-fishing; best ice-fishing purchase ever! It definitely helped me catch more fish.

My flasher also cut down on my workload, as I could use it to check water depth if the ice was clear, which meant drilling fewer holes. That saved me money on auger blades, since hitting mud was easy to do in the Mississippi backwaters around Winona.

Twelve+ years later, that flasher I got when I was at WSU still works very well. It has paid for itself many times over.