What's the Future of Flashers/Graphs for Ice Fishing?

[Mr. Bear]

Guys, just wondering what you see when you look into the future of flashers 5-10 years from now. Flashers have improved a lot over the years, but the basic technology is still the same. The marketers for these products want you to believe they reinvented the wheel with each new model, but it is almost always just a small tweak (relatively) to the existing platform. That's not necessarily bad (the old technology part), the flasher is what I would call an elegant design: simple yet effective. So what's a flasher going to be like in 10 years? Still relatively the same? If so, I bet you can kiss your American made product good-bye because someone will take it overseas to make it for less. Only thing stopping that is the attitudes of ice fishermen that tend to prefer locally manufactured stuff.

I could also see Lowrance taking over market share if they want to. The Ice Machine is their first attempt at a graph for ice-fishing that I know of. It's not perfect, but I'd say they've done a pretty darn good job for a newcomer. The platform has a lot more possibilities than a flasher because of the flexibility afforded by the display and computing power. I also believe it is fundamentally cheaper to manufacture, positional and mechanical tolerances are greater without moving parts. Let's just say they come out with a unit that is just as rugged as a flasher with equivalent noise rejection and a simple user interface. (I think it is almost equivalent or better in other areas) Would you ditch the flasher for one of these? Would you ditch the flasher if they could offer it at a substantial discount to get you to change over? (they could do this due to lower manufacturing costs)

Personally, between Vex, Marcum, and Lowrance, I think Lowrance has the future of the ice fishing flasher/graph market in their hands more than any other. Whether they want that market as a company is the big question mark. If they decide to pursue it, I think Vex and Marcum better come up with something truly innovative or else they'll be forced to go overseas or ride their reputation into the sunset. Or am I totally off base here and underestimating marketing power and the loyalty/tradition of the ice fishing community? Is there some FUNDAMENTAL advantage to flashers that I'm not seeing?

[Rick]

You could be right. However Ice fishermen tend to torture their equipment and leave their gear out in extreme cold. I know I've left my Vexilar in the truck for hours on end in frigid temps. Tossed it around here and there and it just kept on ticking. To date I can say the same for the MarCum Flasher as well.

Sometimes simple technology is the best. Just look at the Ice Buster Bobber.

Now I'm not saying Flashers will always be king but they are likely to remain that way for the next few years anyway. Just because they are reliable and most importantly that's what we are used to using.

[hanson]

What's the future? Thats a tough call.

Even though I'm a huge Lowrance fan, I don't think they are anywhere close to taking over the flasher market.

Marcum is definitely making some advances, but you are right, they are refinements to a technology that has been around awhile.

I really don't know what else I need in a flasher that my LX-3 can't do. I can find depth, I can see my lure, I can see the fish, and I can watch how they all interact.

Maybe we need to see a combination flasher/underwater camera perhaps? Think of the possibilities.

Maybe our flasher screens are more like computer screens that would show a combination of things at once. Your flasher, camera, and GPS would all be networked, integrated, and working together.

[icehousebob]

For ice fishing, keep it simple and rugged. When I took one of my brother-in-law's Vex's into the service center, they cleaned it up and recomended the he not store it in a snow bank in the back of his pickup. My FL18 does about what I want it to do and outside of a few minor twitches, I don't want to change it. Of course,my favorite deer rifle is a custom built gun on a comercial 1898 Mauser action with a caliber invented in 1893, so I might be a bit behind times.

[BDR]

I think we will see the combo Camera/flasher.

I think they will get the size of the cameras down considerably.

I think some company will figure out what sounds attract fish, and that will become built in.

Night time viewing will become as good as daylight.

I think we will see more of a radar type fish finder that sends a signal in a huge cone and reads as they come closer, and closer, and closer..I got him!

OK I'm back

just some ideas!

[Deitz Dittrich]

BDR-they already have something like you are talking about with the underwater radar thing.. Its made by hummingbird I think.. I have seen in work in demo mode, and you can actually see shadows behind tree limbs and such.. Kinda wicked to say the least!

[croixeyes]

OOOHHH my head hurts.Cant I just be happy with what I have.My next invention is gonna be a drain plug so i can just walk out and pick up the fish I want.Now thats technology...................Or have I just been looking to closely at my flasher?????????

[tylerflom89]

Deitz, could you provide a link? I've always wondered why they never made a radar unit. It would be as valuble as a flasher or cam!

[CNY Tim]

Who knows but it will be exciting to see, I look forward to the competition.

If Lowrance is thinking flasher they have some catching up to do with MarCum in the short 3 years of there existence they have held the advancement lead in the flasher market, not bad at all for a U.S. company. The LX-5 is an absolute masterpiece I can't honestly see anyone topping this unit but I could be wrong and it will be up to Lowrance, Vexilar and timbucktoo to figure that out.

[fisherking01]

American Made??? My Vexilar plainly says "Made in Japan" I'm sure the others are as well. US patents however!

I'm guessing an American made "vex" would run you 700 plus!

As for the near future The changes will be minor in flasher units, graphs will continue to have more features as selling points, more than likely will see more color screens.

[Northlander]

Im with BDR. We will see a Flasher, GPS, Camera and sound maker all in 1 unit in the next 10-15 years. Someone will also come up with a much better battery for them that is smaller, lighter and lasts longer. Marcum wil have a LX-20 out by then and Vex may finally come out with a FL-28. (Joke, Vex guys relax. )

Colors will be much improved and you wont only be watching lines on a screen but a actual image of your lure and the fish coming in to eat it. Man I hope I live to see all this or maybe even invent it and make some $ off my fishing for a change.

[LaVoi]

I also agree that the flasher/camera is the next thing to come out, and I really wouldn't be surprised if that is within the next five years. You just have to think that the technology is easily in place already for someone to try this. How bout this for thought, what if one of the manufacturers had a flasher that could somehow distinguish species, for instance a purple line is a crappie, yellow is walleye etc. etc...Now that would be something.

[hawkeye43]

Earth to to BDR, Earth to BDR, come in.....

You may not be that far off, time will tell. Look how far we have come in 20 years. I have a green box on the shelf that was top of the line not long ago..

[Bobb-o]

there is a product in the In-fisherman ice fishing edition that sends out sounds of fish feeding underwater that is supposed to make them feed. Hawkeye, if you dont plan on using that green-box anytime soon i am in need of a flasher, any flasher.

[iffwalleyes]

I thought last year how can Marcum improve their LX 3 because I was very satisfied with it. Well then the LX 5 came along and they did just that. I agree they will be starting to package stuff smaller with more things being put together. Just look at that one Garmin fish finder that came out last year. Sonar/GPS/Aqua Vu/XM radio all in one unit with the right modules. That is a really cool looking unit. But it just goes to show that some complanies are already combining many features into one.

[metrojoe]

It's been mentioned in some of the posts above, but I think the overall size and weight is where they could really make some improvements. With everything a guy needs to bring for a day out on the ice, room in the sled is starting to become a commodity.

[Mr. Bear]

So the Vexs are already made overseas? I thought they were made right here in the Twin Cities, but I really don't know much about them.

I agree that the camera/flasher unit will be coming soon. Marcum already has a camera and a flasher. It wouldn't be too hard.

[Hotspotter]

I think we'll start seeing a "Fudruckers-approach" (not a swear) to ice-fishing equipment.

Start with your basic burger (standard flasher), then add fixin's for more money each. GPS, camera, dual ducers, zoom, etc. The nickel-'n-diming will never stop, probably because it's such an effective sales approach. There will always be the guys that need the very best, or at least the very most, and they'll stack the thing 50 features deep.

It sounds attractive to me, as there's quite a bit I can still do without, and customizing to SAVE money sounds nice.

BTW, this was a Matt Johnson/Joel Nelson collective idea, so I won't take sole credit for it.

Joel

--does fudruckers charge more for each fixin'? I think I just broke an already weak analogy.

[Rick]

Mr Bear,

I believe all the Vexilars are made by Hondex Electronics in Japan. Hondex also makes the original Hondex FL18.

[Matt Johnson]

Quote:

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BTW, this was a Matt Johnson/Joel Nelson collective idea...

---

That's a scary thought

I think it would be great if an angler could pick and choose what they want in a flasher. Sort of a "custom order" type of deal. This way I can be the only person with an LX-5.5

[Farley]

BEHOLD! I have seen the future:

Pretty sweet technology, I think in the future tie together a GPS, computer, and one of these baby's and we wont have to pay Lakemaster or Navionics to cruise around a lake all day to make maps for us, we'll be able to cruise around the lake all day and make our own maps. I'm guessing that maybee with the plotters that are already on the market we might already have the technology to do this. I dont know HOW to do it, but am guessing we could.

Either way, in the future I see more regulations, wheather its lower limits, slots, or whatever BECAUSE of electronics. Think about it, 20 years ago, there was a handfull of people who know about spot X on Lake X. They would mark thier spot using triangulation, then sit there and wait, sometimes for hours not knowing what was down there wondering if he has a livley minnow or maybee a fish is playing with it.

Nowadays, a guy can know where spot X is before he even steps foot on the lake and walks right to it becuase his GPS is accurate to 3 meters. He starts drilling holes and watches his Marcum LX5/Aqua View for an hour and decides there are no fish. So moves on to spot Y.

I guess what I'm getting at is back then 10% of fishermen on Lake X caught 60% of the fish taken(not a factual figure) nowadays it must be like 60% of the fishermen (those with the good electronics) on lake X catch 75% of the total fish to come out of the lake. Rarley do you see a fish house without at least a vexilar running.

Dont get me wrong, I dont think it's wrong to use electronics, I have a vexilar, although it's broken so I dont use it, but just seems like the "old school" way of fishing is almost completly gone, so I think the DNR has to adjust to that to maintain the fisheries.

Maybee FM should sponsor a good ol fahioned hand auger, depth bomb, jiggle stick, hook and minnow contest to show some of the newer guys who just got into fishing how we used to do it.

[Guest]

I could very easily see a high quality flasher with the extra bells and whistles(zoom features, etc) combined with a quality GPS with lakemap, and/or map creating capabilities in one very compact, energy efficient unit... I dont want to carry around a 40 Ah battery.

What the future is going to hold for ice gear is really hard to say. I think much will depend on the price. There are not many of us that would invest $1500+ into new super-units that do everything but make a cup of coffee and heat the portable. However, there are many that would invest $500 into a great unit that provided a few key tools useful to every day ice fishing.

The display needs/desires on the open water, and on the ice are 2 different worlds. A large display is ideal when heading across open water, but its a burdon on the ice.

[Mr. Bear]

Hook that baby up to a Roomba and get it set up to shoot thru the ice and you could be making maps while you sleep.

[Quackaddict9]

a camera that has Night Vision to use at night without using the "flashlight", because I think it scares the fish away at night but for some people it does not? But sure would like to have a night vision to use during night times. But you know how much $$ that would be