flasher VS under water camera

[whitebassbenny]

             what is better to get if starting to buy extra gear a under water camera or a flasher ? what are some pro/con's of both. i am looking to get one this year but i am unsure of what one to get. would getting a flasher make me catch more fish or would a underwater camera help ? i like to fish for panfish and smelt.


Any help please Thanks
        whitebassbenny

[stinky]

 I personally would say get the flasher a good vexilar will help you more. I have both but only bought the camer to add to my gear after I learned how to use the vex. The vexilar by putting water on the ice and shooting thru can help you bypass drilling in unproductive water the camera has to have the hole drilled first.  A good flasher will show the fish and many times I have dropped a camera down and saw nothing but the vexilar said the fish were there. They were there under the weeds the camera didn't show that when they finally started comeing out of the weeds for my presentation the I could see them. This ismjust my opinion but the vexilar or good flasher is more important to you putting fish in the fry pan.
Bob

[Polar]

go with the flasher,it will help you put more fish on the ice.

[PerchBusterSD]

flasher, unless your lakes are clear a camera is a waste

[iceintheveins]

Definately go with the vexilar. Being able to see the exact depth, your lure, and fish under your hole is an invaluable tool. More valuable than anything else in your equipment list. You can catch fish without one, but sometimes, maybe most of the time, it will double or triple your catch.

Tyler

[MN_transplant]

Definately go with the Vexilar. There is no doubt that a camera is lots of fun when you know there are fish  within 5-10 feet, but you will find it to be virtually useless until you locate the fish, and to do that acurately you need a flasher of some sort. Aside from a good pole and an auger the vex is the most important tool in your arsenal.

[killitandgrillit]

Agreed. Vexilar. Forget the cam.

[Fish-A-Holic]

The camera is a great tool if you are fishing relatively clear  or shallow water. There are times that that is what I use and don't even hook up the Vex. However, my first purchase would be a vexilar without a doubt. As was said in previous posts, the vex. will show things that the camera can't particularly in dark water.

[swantucky]

     Flasher hands down!!!!  My buddy has both and his camera only goes out 1 or 2 times a season the vex goes every trip.

[Iceshanty]

This is a no brainer. Both great tools for ice fishing and learning more about fish, They each serve a purpose. Get the flasher first... then when and if you can buy the camera.


-Scott

[MeadowPikeman]

both are very useful tools. i own both a flasher and a camera and use the camera at least as much as the flasher, have used the camera all the way down to 80 ft and no problems with visiblity, the camera is great when the bite is really really lite for perch, they'll inhale the bait and you'll feel nothing at all but see it. never would leave home without the aqua view, but flashers are extremely useful as well and especially so for night fishing.

[trueicelover]

             what is better to get if starting to buy extra gear a under water camera or a flasher ? what are some pro/con's of both. i am looking to get one this year but i am unsure of what one to get. would getting a flasher make me catch more fish or would a underwater camera help ? i like to fish for panfish and smelt.


Any help please Thanks
        whitebassbenny

i fished through the ice many years without any radar and did well only in areas i knew. last year i bought a vexilar and man are they awesome. you can get depth readings through the ice before drilling any holes. easier to check new areas that you may not be sure of depth or cover. deffinitely go w/ vexilar and most likely you will find someone else w/ a camera who might let you check out your hole. we all stick together on ice like bros. tight lines

[killitandgrillit]

Note* the depth reading/fish finding through ice ONLY works when it's clear ice. Later in the year, when it's honeycombed or there's slush underneath, or alot of snow on top, it does not work. Sometimes you also need a little water on the ice. Easy enough to pour some on, but only if you have open holes

[Oldfart]

I agree. But...... I fish with the vex, he does, you do, she does. But if you wanted to get a camera a few years after getting used to fishing with the vex,  just to get a look at the actual structure down there, which one would you pick? Not to look for fish, just to look around.  Might be nice to know your only 15' away from a stone wall on the bottom of that local reservoir. 

[ChapstickCharlie]

The major pluses of the vex I have found is that you don't have to drop it all the way to the bottom to fish and you don't have to spin it round to find your bait like the cameras. A vex is much more portable for these reasons and thus I think it catches a lot more fish.

[MeadowPikeman]

i might be wrong on this one but a survey among SD ice anglers showed that camera users had catch rates slightly higher than flasher users, and personally i have usually outfished flasher users, but not by a huge margin, usually we were on massive schools of perch, in 40-50ft of water and an extremely light bite. once on a school you could easily pull a limit (25 in SK) in less than an hour and wouldn't doubt if i pulled a hundred out of one hole the end of march last year. my conclusion is flashers are great tools for searching when schools are scattered and only get a half dozen fish per hole or so, after enough fish deploy a camera and see the action first hand, great for light bites and seeing actuall bottom content and species ID, ie lots of times suckers move through in massive schools and on a flasher it would be pretty darn confusing if you thought they were perch and would'nt bite a thing. keep in mind visiblity on the lakes in our area are good usually from 10 to 30 feet looking down a hole(old style sight fishing), and at least this good if not better with camera's

[wisicefishinnut]

I have an Fl-8 and love it, but since Aqua View came out with the Scout for $200 this year, I think I'm going to buy a camera too.

[big walleye]

I use to fish with both. I agree with going with the flasher first. 8) 8) 8)

[Blaine]

Don't dismiss the camera so quickly Yes, they are cumbersome to use and I don't rely on mine to get fish on the ice but there is no better tool for helping you hook up on those slow days. It makes it soooooo easy to watch a fish's reaction to every little movement of your jig and fine tune your presentation. I've taken a ton of video with mine... Here is a quick clip

[Oldfart]

I think I worded last nites post wrong. What I meant was.....If you wanted to play with an aqua vu, which one? They make about 15 of them now, and I remember last year people posted a lot of pro's and con's  about each model. I'd stear clear of the scout till someone else tries it down a hole, day and nite, and tells me how it did. The ZT looks like a real good one.  Anyone use the ZT?

[Blaine]

I had the MC2X 120, now I have the DT 120. The DT has the direction and temp read outs which for me is very useful in my salt water applications. It helps a lot to know the bottom temps when targetting specific species out here.

[LoveIce]

NICE VIDEO MAN 

[MeadowPikeman]

 cool video looks like kinda murky water as the visiblity was seemingly low compared what i'm used to on my camera.

[billditrite]

definately a cool video.  but ill still take a vex!!

[camo_fish]

Blaine that is a cool video, the guys here at work liked it. Those gills really didn't want that minnow, but the striped bandit will take it.  That was cool. need like jaws music to go with it.