What Comes First?

[WalleyeAssasin22]

What should you get first when buying supplies for ice fishing, An ice house or a vexilar?

[Raquettedacker]

MarCum....   

[Jiggin-Johnny]

If you get the flasher first, you'll catch more fish and want to be out all the time, leading to buying an ice house.  thats my vote.

[deerhunterkyle]

I agree, fish locator first... I went three years with out sonar and now that I have my showdown troller ($139 @ iceforce.com) I have caught more fish this year than all three previous years combined... If you get the troller, it's cheap enough that for the cost of the troller and a cheap hub shelter, you could get a $450 flasher... JMO. You may even be able to spend less depending on where you buy your hub from...

[Sawtooth]

My sequence was a little different.  Took grandson fishing where the trout were really biting a lot, so no problem catching at least some.  But the wind and cold were brutal and not fun to stay out for long.  The little guy had amazing fortitude, but I didn't like chasing chairs and buckets.  Easy to sell grandma on the idea of a hut to protect us, so got a cheap hub shelter.  Then the flasher followed soon thereafter as we went to lakes where the bite was tougher.  Again, grandma was an easy sell when it came to getting her grandson onto fish.  The flasher has made an AMAZING difference in success.  Ultimately you'll probably want both.

I've noticed on Craigslist that used hub shelters can be pretty cheap.  I'd probably buy the flasher new.

[husb0023]

Get a flasher, fish when it is 30 or above.  Next year get a hub shelter.

[HuntHard]

If you get the flasher first, you'll catch more fish and want to be out all the time, leading to buying an ice house.  thats my vote.

x2

[Reel_Force]

Check out your local Craiglist - you might be able to afford both ....

[adkRoy]

What should you get first when buying supplies for ice fishing, An ice house or a vexilar?

Shanty... you can stay out longer....

[Tinker]

I seen a couple of guys out with a vex and no shack over Christmas week.  It was cold, 12 degrees and I thought how could you have a sonar and no shack brrrrrr.  Guess I am just getting softer every day but I like to fish not shiver and keep ice off the hole and keep ice from building on my line and well you get the point.  That being said I would rather fish a warm day with a sonar than a cold day in a shack with no sonar.

[Dave R]

I did just the opposite and had the shelter first. It was birthday gift from my wife. Later on I got a flasher. Getting the flasher made all the difference. So I would say flasher first, shelter second.

[spud bar]

flasher.

[rabbittrapper]

definitely  a flasher.

[dutch3376]

I use my flasher every time out.  I rarely use my pop-up shanty.

[Fire_Ice]

I have fished in North Dakota for over 30 years and only 5 of those years have included a fish finder. They are awesome tools and I love every minute of using it. If a person has skills or knows someone with skills, a fish house can be cheaply built (under $100) with scrap material. I would try fishing first then decide once you are HOOKED!

[MeanDrLily]

I'd also vote flasher, but for a different reason.

Fishfinder prices tend to remain fairly constant year-round. There's generally not many great deals to be had. Shelters, however, are big and take up space and retailers want them off the floor. You can often find really great late-season deals.

[NYSporty]

I'd also vote flasher, but for a different reason.

Fishfinder prices tend to remain fairly constant year-round. There's generally not many great deals to be had. Shelters, however, are big and take up space and retailers want them off the floor. You can often find really great late-season deals.

2x watch ebay they always have floor models for sale mid and late season you should start to see them now.

[bobberbill]

Didn't have flashers in the 60's.. (well maybe, not those flashers), shanty's been around for a LONG time..

[Webby]

Flasher by far! Wouldn't leave home with out it!

[Fishrmn]

Didn't have flashers in the 60's.. (well maybe, not those flashers), shanty's been around for a LONG time..

Lowrance sold the "Little Green Box" in 1957.


Get a fish finder.  Doesn't NEED to be a flasher.  I've had sonar for decades.  I've got hub shelters too.  Two of 'em.  I almost never set up the shelters.  I'd turn around and go home if I left my fish finder.



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[jeepdude64]

flasher.. i prefer the flasher over a fish finder.. you see more.. it is something to see your bait as a thin green line and a thick red line about 5 feet above it.. rise up and hope its hungry.

[Jig4M]

I got the flasher first. Hopefully next year will be the year for the pop-up.

[ASATMillerbluegill]

I'd get a shelter first, hard to get into it sittng on a bucket in 5 below weather imo; even if they are jumping on your hook. A good strike indicator on your rod, 2lb flouro, and just fish where the main crowd on the lake is. U will catch fish, and then get a flasher later.

[Idahogator]

Some sort of sonar is a must and after a year or so, it's easy to see why so many, go with a flasher.  Just turn it on, make very few adjustments and fish.  With graph mode sonar, working via a "menu" can be confusing, but once the system is learned, the true value becomes apparent with so many more things that can be quickly accessed.   So, really, it's a best first choice. If that first choice is just colored lights, it seems to mesmerize the owner into thinking it's the only way. To bad, they may never rise above that mindset.   So many graph sonars also have a flasher for simplicity.         

[spudsaway]

Shelter I like my finder and my camera, but shelter made all the difference when it came to bringing out my Son and My niece and next My Daughter wants to give it a go..  I am taking them to a small lake full of pike so finding is not and issue....  When I go alone I often leave Hut in the Car and Move with My finder and  fish wither thither and Nod  ..

 So  for your answer do you plan on fishing alone and want the gear for it or do you plan on Kids and Rookie company..  Both are correct

 Spuds

[bobberbill]

Lowrance sold the "Little Green Box" in 1957.
HAHA.. I was  8 yrs old.. All I wanted was a BB gun and skates. Lived on the river, but wasn't allowed on it until I could  keep up with the big kids...!!

[keithire2]

I would get the flasher first

[fishin machine]

I use my flasher every single time I go ice fishing, and would never want to be without it.
I don't have a shanty, and rarely wish I did.
I do however have a quality fishing suit.

[Pickeralpicker91]

I still don't have a flasher yet because I chose the shelter and heater before the flasher.  I have no regrets because I caught plenty of fish before and I'm warm while doing it now

[pastaboy]

Flasher, hands down! You can always dress warmer.