Flasher vs Camera

[t_rainey]

I wanted to add some ice fishing gear and I was thinking either a flasher or underwater camera. 

I wanted to hear some opinions on which is going to give me the better results for locating fish so I don’t have to constantly drill holes and move.

Thanks!

[jaeger80]

I think they offer different capabilities to be honest.  I'd start with sonar first.  Personally I prefer typical 2D sonar to a flasher, but it's personal preference.  I think trying to use a camera in fertile cloudy Pennsylvania lakes instead of a sonar would be tough.  Plus you can pretty much only use a camera WELL in daylight.   Just my opinion.

[pugman]

A flasher will be the way to go, much faster to check holes out.

[remyjames23]

A camera is the most fun thing to use ice fishing other than sightfishing...that being said buy a sonar, I prefer a digital unit with 2D sonar and a flasher so you can switch back and forth and have GPS, like the Gamrin Strikers or Humminbird Helix. I have a camera and mainly use it to find structure like a rock to sand transition or a weed line. Unless it is day time, in clear water a camera is not worth a ton for active fishing. Also a camera battery does not last nearly as long as a sonar unit from my experience. If you can get both do it, you can find some cheap underwater cameras for finding structure, and a sonar like the Striker 4 is cheap enough that you could buy both for the price of a nice Vexilar Flasher

[icecoldchrome]

I personally have a flasher and really like it a buddy of mine has a u underwater camera and it works really well when fishing clear or shallow waters during the day  but when it comes to night fishing I like the flasher altho during the day on a school of crappie the camera is fun to watch it's all personal preference

[t_rainey]

Thanks everyone.  Admittedly I had been leaning towards a camera because it seemed most fun and easiest to use, but I can’t really think of any place locally that has super clear water so it sounds like that should be my last choice.

[G fish]

Striker 4 is cheap enough you could buy both.

I have ran Striker 4 next to my aqua vu. Revolution 5 pro. Have definitely given up some info that will give you answers your looking for.

[Captn66]

If you don't have either - i would definitely buy the flasher first.  Then add a camera later on. 

[bigfoot86]

X2 Flasher first

[QuinnTheEskimo]

If you only fish really shallow water during daylight a camera might be better, otherwise get a flasher. 

[hardwater diehard]

Flasher will help you catch more fish ..a camera will let you know why you caught more fish .

[dkfry]

Have both, the flasher is far more useful. Water clarity and light under the ice is a big factor with how well the camera will work. Figure you will need some kind of panner or something to control the camera direction and keep it from spinning. Some of the newer cameras are compact but some of the cams that use a flasher battery and have a big screen can get heavy and take up a lot of space.

[tylerf]

I have the stryker 4 and run it on dewalt drill batteries. Highly reccomended.

[Uppervalley Kid]

Flasher covers a greater area

[theTUGistheDRUG]

I have both and rarely ever use the camera.  My local tea stained PA waters allow for very poor vis.  I got a small portable cam and only use it to look for structure to try to see what keeps coming in on my flasher and not eating.  Flasher or 2d is the way to go.  Camera can be frustrating and more trouble then its worth unless you fish gin clear water.  Still a useful tool, but not essential.

[hardwater diehard]

For me ..its drill some holes ..shoot the camera down each hole and marck the holes with and structure no matter how insignificant..these are my "starter" holes ...Also looing for weed edges as well as contours..and change in bottom composition

[stormtrooper]

I just got a vex flx12  and like it alot. Your lures green baitfish orange fish red or something similar. You learn how the graph works to disseminate what’s going on and how fish move in and move up on your lure. It’s not hard. It’s a 12deg cone which is 2” at 20 ft. Your line is right next to your transducer. Your seeing what’s right below it on your lure which is pretty much what you want. Your lure is green if it turns red you look at your rod and you get a bite. If you see red bars at the bottom below your lure you’ll see the bars rise up to meet your lure as the fish rise up taking your bait. It’s pretty neat.

[Hawkobx]

I don't want to see fish I want to catch fish---FLASHER FLASHER FLASHER!!!

[t_rainey]

Thanks for the info everyone.

I decided to buy once, cry once and went the marcum Mx 7 gps.  Hoping to try it out this weekend!

[Mr. Charlie]

You’ll be happy with the Flasher. It paints a great picture.

[kautz88]

Camera for the river and flasher in the lakes and ponds.

[Rockfish]

I’ve had both for the past 20 years and yeah, begin with a flasher, but a camera, as others pointed out, can give you some valuable info. I like the little pocket sized aqua-vu for that. I’ll often pop holes, drop the cam to make sure I’m not sitting in the middle of brush, and to get a snapshot of the bottom. That way I can eliminate any with snags that’d cost me rigs ( or might warrant jigging carefully just above it for crappie holding in it).  That’s my SOP. Then, once I have my tip ups going, I can use what I’ve learned to punch some more holes (my ION kicks butt!) and see if I can’t zero in on a honey hole and deploy the flasher.

As others pointed out though, in waters given to turbidity or during low light levels, they aren’t useful. If you fish regularly from a shelter, they can also be very helpful. The lakes I fish are typically fairly clear so that, at say 50 fow, I can easily see my jigging shad (for reference) at 3-4 feet during daylight hours. My shelter arrangement is me on the left, and a buddy on my right. I’ll typically punch the hole for my camera so it’s offset to my left so that I can then rotate it and then fasten it so it doesn’t move and is pointed directly back at my lure which I’ve already got hanging about a foot off the bottom. Then, my buddy punches a hole a bit to the right of his fishing hole and drop the flasher transducer in that one. You just gotta factor in that, depending on the ducer cone setting and your depth, you may start picking up the camera, giving you false returns.

One last thing about the camera. If you’ve fished fishfinders before, you know how common it is to see marks come in, seem to almost merge with your bait return, and you feel/see absolutely nothing happening with your lure, only to see the marks move off and disappear? Well, ya get to see it in real life with the camera. It can be incredibly aggravating to see a jumbo perch pop into view, looking all hot with fins flared, only to see the damned thing stop a half inch from your bait, stare at it for a good solid minute, then turn and swim away. Sometimes, you can see how the fish responds as you change your jigging rhythm (or even stop it) and get the fish to eat. More than once I’ve seen a fish eat, without feeling a thing, and been able to stick him. But (and I bet others have seen the same thing) ironically enough, I’ll see a fish coming in, looking interested, and even if I’m not consciously doing it, it seems like my rhythm changes, possibly tightening up in anticipation of the strike, only to see the fish stop, look at your bait, and seem to become very suspicious all of a sudden, and then decline your bait. On more than one occasion, I found I had to look away as soon as I spotted a fish coming in, in order to get the strike, otherwise nothing. In the final analysis, if you don’t mind the expense, it’s like having a niche power tool, and can be a fun addition to the ice fishing game. Lastly, I was diagnosed adhd as a kid and sustaining concentration, particularly those times (which are all too common) when not much is happening, it gives you something to look at. Often, it’s surprising how many fish you’ll see move through the area, sometimes taking no notice of your baits. I once saw a decent sized turtle, just seeming hunkered down, apparently hibernating.  Oh, and added bonus, if you fish waters that have members of the Esox clan, you’ll be surprised with how often they’ll eat your camera (never lost one though. The camera, that is. Never had one swallow it either, allowing me to catch the beast, though one can hope). It’s comical to see the picture, all of a sudden bounce around and get blocked out) only to settle back and then you’re looking at a Northern or Muskie (actually, I’ve only had tigers hit it. The only true muskies I’ve seen have just eyeballed it but not tried to eat it), seeming to glare back at you, fins sculling agitatedly. You don’t get that kind of entertainment with the flasher.

[wallhanger77]

I had a gentleman show me once that if the ice is clear take along an empty soda bottle stop by someone's old unused hole and fill the bottle up with water......pour a thin layer of water on the ice and set your transducer in it and look through the ice ......no need to drill holes you won't be using

[NEZ]

You won't regret spending the money on the Marcum.  It is a great graph.  I bought a camera last year and hardly pull it out.  Kinda think I should have saved my $340+  Nez