Are flashers vex/zer good for icefishing

[LoveIce]

Are the ice fishing flashers like Vexler and zercom realy worth the money ice fishing???

[fishmann]

Read what everyone says about em, and YES!!!

[Fat Boy]

Here we go again!  LoveIce, not makin' fun of you but we've been over this one and had some really...hmmm...good discussions.  To answer your question.  Yes, get one, you'll catch more fish for sure if you follow the advice on this site.  Do a google search on Dave Genz and take his methods to heart, his system works.  I'm not going to tell you which one is better.  I own and use a Zercom Clearwater Classic and I love it.  But, I'm impressed with the Vexilar FL18 too, my next flasher when I can afford it.  Bottom line, get one and do a search on this site.  You won't regret it!

[pigmania]

i have a clearwater classic, bought it when they first came out. i dont need the christmas effect to know when a fish shows up on my screen. just my input.

[LoveIce]

Hi guys I now they are I have one .but up in Maine i mean know one uses them at all .On the state of maine forum Im trying to exsplane to the guys how good they are and they realy arnt shore So I wanted to send them over here to get some feed back from you guys or go to Maine click it and go to do mainers use zercom or vexilar and see what I mean thanks guys

[P Gottshall]

Last year I used a $5 garge-sale Humminbird flasher & did great.  10-to-1 (easily) improvement over fishing blind, and that's assuming your sitting over fish.

The key is to have eyes under the ice.  You don't need to spend the big bucks on the latest Vex or MarCum to do well, although the 3-colors do have advantages.

Anyone not fishing with electronics is missing the boat.

Some will argue that they don't need electronics.  They may do OK if they're over the honey hole, but I've sat for a day over last-week's honey hole & not caught a fish.  - Been there / done that - not gong back.  Electronics are the key & are worth the price if you want to catch fish.

Where's Maine's forum?  I'd be interesting in reading / discussing.

[Cook078]

Hey Loveice, I think it was you that gave me advice on Smelt...now imagine this...with the Vex., not only do you know when the school is coming through, but you know WHERE, at what depth, to fish!!  You know when you can kick back and grab a beer, and you know when you need to get ready...That is the beauty of it, you really don't miss a beat....Now getting these little buggers to bite, I'm still working on...
Mike

[billditrite]

p gottshall, go to the bottom of this page. where it says "jump to" click on the little arrow to open the drop down menu. scroll down the list to "ice fishing maine"click it. there we are !! welcome to vacationland !!;D

[LoveIce]

Hi guys I hope the smelt thing worked for you.Go to The state of Maine forum click whe list on the first page that says do mainers use vexilar/zercom some thing like that and tell the mainers they work and im not bull sh@#ing them thanks.I have ben using my zercom 5 years its great

[qwerty]

When you guys are using your flashers, how deep is the water that you're fishing in?
I fish in around 5-7 ft of water and my friends always tell me to turn it off because of the noise that the base unit makes.
Is 5-7 ft too shallow to be using a flasher?

[LoveIce]

I dont know I fish 15 -80 ft. you cant site fish

[acsacmboy]

i havea Zercom Clear water pro. beutiful machine. they are a very good investment. just read around and you will know what we are talking about. i love my zercom. good seperation too. i bet over 95% or this site will highly recommend oneas do i. improve your fishing ratio's.

[fishingking]

used my buddies zercom last year  went out this november and got myself a vex. wouldnt leave home without it

[P Gottshall]

qwerty,

With a 19degree transducer, 5 ft will show you a 3.4ft diameter area of the bottom.  1/2-way up, it'll be a 1.7ft diameter.  It may be tough to really see much there.

I fish 10ft regularly, & do see fish.  At 10 ft, I'm seeing a 6.9ft diameter on the bottom.  A lot look like they're moving through, although they're probably just wandering outside of the cone angle.

Paul

[alpinehigh]

I'm too poor to own a flasher but I see the use in them. I also see the use in power augers. I also see the use in 4x4 trucks.

Though I still park on the shore and walk on, and hand drill my own holes and put a blanket over my head and watch the lure on the bottom.
I think flashers make the most of a situation but what I have seen is that too many people rely on them too much and will fish deeper water cuz because their flasher is more useful.
I wish they were never invented but now that they are I wish i had one.

[LoveIce]

You can get one for 50.00 on ebay no sh@t!!!!I would have a yard sale to get one

[acsacmboy]

I GOT MINE OFF EBAY FOR 180 BUCKS. it came with everything, battery, extra cable, the mount for ice fishing, one of them blue box Dave Genz style holders, and even a transducer for open water fishing, so i made a bracket and made it fit on my lil 14 foot and wham! we are in business. i use it for for the depth and weeds but hey i can still see them bass down there cruizin a foot off the bottom.

[Polar]

If my battery is low and needs charging I won't even go fishing.You bet there worth the money.......

[FishDeepCreek]

Bought an FL-18 Propack, for $400, worth every cent, heck id be willing to pay more for it! Has upped my catch signifcantly! Get yourself one youll never view the sport the same again!

[LoveIce]

just got of ebay got a zercom flaser .for 37.00 bucks battery and charger cabelas 25.00 bucks and genz pack to cary it reeds 20.00 bucks grand total $82.00 got love it im giving it to my ice fishing budy to get him away from me and my color point zercom,50 feet away i hope guys it can be dun

[jigginstick]

They are spelled Vexilar. And yes the fl-18 is very much worth the $400.00 dollars if you can swing the$$$$$$$$

[alpinehigh]

If my battery is low and needs charging I won't even go fishing.You bet there worth the money.......

Same here Polar!!!!!!

Thats probably why I wouldnt get one. Catching fish is second to getting out.

[RodH]

Yes.  If interested. Get one and learn how to use it.  Great for spotting suspended fish!  Gives you something to work with if the bite is slow.

[Polar]

Thats probably why I wouldnt get one. Catching fish is second to getting out.

WE ALL GET OUT FOR DIFFERENT REASONS

[RodH]

Isn't that a flasher unit I see sitting on your tailgate polar?

[Jack Magnum]

Does anybody have any experiences with the Eagle fish mark 480 series? My Humminbird 400 ID died and the factory says no more parts so I am looking to replace it with something in the 250 price range.I used it on the trolling motor for summer time fishing as well.

[Polar]

Isn't that a flasher unit I see sitting on your tailgate polar?

It' a fl-18 Pro Pack

[fishmann]

I admit to relying on my Vexi a lot for both suspended fish and bottom fishing, but they do have one drawback. When you can see fish coming up a foot off the bottom and looking at your jig and not biting. By the time you've tried the pink, green, white, glow, orange, black and chartreuse colored jigs, in 4 different sizes, then the pimple, buckshot, buddy, and rapala, tipped with a head, tipped with a tail, untipped, spit on, sprayed with WD-40, added a drop of peppermint schnapps, fathead on a bare hook, shiner on a bare hook, just a head on a bare hook, different colored bare hooks, fast jigging, slow jigging, no action, lift-drop, maggots, waxies, plastics and you STILL can't get one of the dang things to bite, I'd almost rather not know they were even there!

[Fat Boy]

There are too many advantages to not have one.  Finding and catching fish depends upon moving to find them.  If you find finicky fish, often you can move and find aggressive ones.  A flasher helps you determine when to move or not, knowing what is below you and giving you the chance of making the right decision.  Not having a flasher means that you are guessing that either fish are there or will move through.  You can determine the "mood" of the fish.  You can know almost when they will bite...when a fish is ON your lure ready to bite.  Without a flasher, you have to focus and concentrate as if a fish is always on your lure.

Owning a flasher has consistently allowed me to put fish on the ice day in and day out.  Yes, I rely on it but you still have to know how to catch fish.  Lots of fish have expensive bass boats but how many times do we see the guy in the cheap aluminum boat win that local tournament?  Knowing how to use your equipment to it's maximum effectiveness, specifically electronics in ice fishing, will put more fish on the ice than if you didn't have one.

Can you catch fish without one?  Yes.  Consistently?  Maybe.  Is it possible that you catch more fish and more consistently with one?  Yes.  Remember, your abilities to find and catch fish have always been there, this is just a tool to help you refine that and improve.  They are expensive, but if you keep your catch and eat lots of meals it will pay for itself in no time at all.  If you practice CP&R, then your enjoyment and satisaction with ice fishing alone will increase.

[Webguy]

Fishmann, cracked me up!

Fat Boy, well put!