Which would you rather have?

[fishinaddict]

A shelter or a flasher?

[jigging-matt]

Hard choice, but I would have to say flasher. It is nice to be comfortable but it is even nicer to know that you are sitting on fish, and you can always find friends with shelters.

[Capt.Blaine]

For a faster response run a search, there was just a big thread about this.

[Cliff Wagenbach]

FLASHER!!

Cliff

[alwaysfishin]

Do you have warm clothes?

[Blaze]

Is the flasher male or female? Just kidding.

FLASHER - you can always layer clothing.

[Ryan_V]

I'm gonna go against the grain and say a shelter should come first. then definetly a flasher!! gets cold in a hurry sitting out in the dead of winter!! if you are miserably cold with a flasher, you'll go home. if you're comfortable in a shelter, you'll stay out and stick with ice fishing and get into a flasher.

[Ralph Wiggum]

Flasher hands down.

[Crappie_ Kid]

Flasher, i'd rather be cold catching fish, than be nice and toasty not catching fish.

[12lb8oz]

Come on, first things first. The first thing you buy is a fishing rod and reel, then a shelter, auger, heater. A flasher is a nice addition but it isn't a neccesity, you can catch fish without it. But if it's -10, you won't be around long enough to catch fish.

[TeddyBoy]

I fished for years without a flasher and always had a great time. Always caught fish too. However, now that I have a flasher, I could never go back. If you are happy just being out on the ice then a shack is probably better for you. However, if you really want to improve your chances at catching fish, go with the flasher.

Good luck!

[alwaysfishin]

check out the for sale forum or hsolist.com maybe you can get both for the price of one new!!!

[fiskyknut]

I'd have to say shelter before sonar for sure iffin it's one or the other.

fiskyknut

[danwilliams]

This'll be my first year back after 26 in Tucson...I'm gonna have both. However take a guess which one is top priority after livin in the desert all that time...

[BigDaddy]

I say shelter first. It's nice to get out of the cold and wind. I can't imagine fishing in the dark, at 5*F, in the open. I'd be too miserable to use the Flasher.

Until you can have both, you'll catch a few less fish but your overall experience will be better.

[Northlander]

Shelter. Im a much better fisherman when Im warm and out of the wind. But I do feel naked if I dont have my Marcum for even a minute.

[Tyler Holm]

Flashers can be used during open water. Shacks just take up space during the spring, summer, and fall months.

Like Northlander, I catch more fish when I'm comfortable in the warmth of a shack.

I use my shack about 50-70% of the time I ice fish. I use my flasher nearly 100% of the time.

Tough call.

[not_nuf_time]

Fishinaddict, how often do you get up around the twin cities, (I see your in 8th grade so can't drive) and do you ice fish alone or with friends, reason being, I have a two man tent style shelter that is really only good for one. If you had a way to get it you could have it.

[upnorth]

I have been out in -25 degrees fishing for half a day or so and there is no way in hell I could have done that without a shelter. It is hard to put enough clothes on to stay reasonably warm when it is colder than -10 degrees.

I say at least a cheap portable first, then the flasher. And don't forget an auger somewhere in that list. I did a hand auger for a couple years, but later in the season when the ice in the 2 1/2 foot to 3 1/2 foot range it really makes you think hard before moving when the fish ain't biting.

[Gordie]

Flasher because after having one,then not haveing one its kinda like your blind. and when then your catching fish the cold doesnt bother me.

[CCAdams]

I'd have to go with the ice shack. I know it's EASIER, to catch fish with the flasher, but I like to be comfty. Maybe I'm just a wuss:)

[Guest]

flasher... if its that cold outside I'll be at home watching fishing shows on the warm couch!

I prefer putting on layers and going out at prime time for a couple hours, catching what wants to bite, then I go home. When I drag the house out I find I stay longer, end up catching the same, and end up dragging the house back off the lake when its really cold(cant drive on lakes around here).

[riverrat56]

Are we acctaully haveing this discussion?

Shelter hands down. We caught a whole bunch of fish before either of us had flashers, but only because we would be out there all day in the house. If your not there you wont catch fish, hands down.

Although I do not always take my house with when it is nice out if you want to be able to fish more days when its cold and windy then geta shelter.

Or ask for one for christmas and buy the other

[cold one sd]

Quote:

---

A shelter or a flasher?

---

I read an offer on here for a free shelter. Really a nice deal. Get the shelter first and a heater since you want to be warm. If you fish around other people that have flaxhers for a while you will still catch fish. Put a flasher on your want list for Christmas and you may get one. There are always flashers that can be bought cheap and you don't need to start with the best. Most of us started with one thing at a time. Good luck with your fishing which ever way you decide eto go.

[HarryG]

I think the shelter is more important. It is hard to fish in a lot of wind and cold. You can catch fish with out a flasher by using maps and drilling more holes. Besides, how are you going to haul your stuff around with no shelter.