Just got a Flasher

[TroutWhisperer]

Never used a flasher before, but decided to get the Marcum that was on sale at Dick's.   Any tips or opinions would be greatly appreciated.  I'll be fishing in 10-20 feet of water for perch, crappie, walleye, and gills.

[MikeVT]

The only way to learn is to play with it.  Set it on the lowest gain you can get away with.  If you have a large red line on the bottom, it is weeds.  A small, thinner line will indicate a hard or rocky bottom.  I have an old Marcum VX-1 and love it.  I use it on lakers up to 110 or so feet deep.

[rboot]

there are some great videos' on youtube, they'll teach what you need to know

[thebigwiggle]

i would follow the advice from the 2 previous post.. congrats on getting a flasher. You will catch more fish now" Guaranteed" i have never going fishing with out my vexliar fl-20

[Lmacvt]

I just bought a vexilar FL-22 HD, and cant wait to try it out this weekend on magog.

[TroutWhisperer]

I just bought a vexilar FL-22 HD, and cant wait to try it out this weekend on magog.

Good Luck Bud.  I'll let you know how I do.  Bring your video camera.  Time will tell, but I still find it hard to
believe I'll actually catch more fish using a flasher.  I mean...I catch tons of fish as it is.  I have to rent a trailer
to haul my fish off the ice    I can just picture myself watching the flasher and missing fish.  We'll see what happens.

[MikeVT]

The one thing I really noticed was not that I caught more fish, but I noticed how many fish were coming to my jig and not hitting it.  It really comes in handy knowing if they are down there and not biting, or if you are over the top of a dead zone.  Takes the guessing out of the equation.  My biggest problem is that I have such fun watching my flasher, I don't pay attention to my tip ups.
Mike

[vtpike]

The one thing I really noticed was not that I caught more fish, but I noticed how many fish were coming to my jig and not hitting it.  It really comes in handy knowing if they are down there and not biting, or if you are over the top of a dead zone.  Takes the guessing out of the equation.  My biggest problem is that I have such fun watching my flasher, I don't pay attention to my tip ups.
Mike

X2

[jeffro9023]

A big time saver your ice fishing has just taken on a whole new meaning...enjoy 

[semperfi]

do these units tell you how big the fish is,or are all the lines the same size,,i mean how would you know if its a 5 inch sunny,,or a 30  inch  eye

[tracker one]

you don't, the strength of the signal is determined by the size of the fish and where it is in the cone of the sonar signal,and how high the gain is set, As the fish enters the center of the cone the stronger the signal becomes,hense yellow then green and then red(strongest). A fish signal appears to be coming off the bottom but it really is just entering the cone from the side.....best advice....read the manual

[bow65lb]

One tip I can give (from experience) is... make sure you store your unit securely to and from your fishing area. My guess is the unit you just purchased is now the most expensive part of your equipment. I had my vex (fl18) fall out of a milk crate when crossing a snowbank (in hindsight probably hit it a bit too fast) and cracked the plastic housing. I thought for sure I toasted the unit. Dam thing started right up and I used it all that day (hanging from base.). Thing is bullet proof. I was able to repair the housing with glue (lucky)...  Make sure you latch your unit down!!!! Good luck with it... Your going to love it.

[tonebea]

A fish signal appears to be coming off the bottom but it really is just entering the cone from the side

I think that a red signal coming off the bottom is really a fish coming off the bottom. A green signal coming off the bottom that turns red as it comes up is a fish coming in from the side.

[Lord_of_the_Perch]

One tip I can give (from experience) is... make sure you store your unit securely to and from your fishing area. My guess is the unit you just purchased is now the most expensive part of your equipment. I had my vex (fl18) fall out of a milk crate when crossing a snowbank (in hindsight probably hit it a bit too fast) and cracked the plastic housing. I thought for sure I toasted the unit. Dam thing started right up and I used it all that day (hanging from base.). Thing is bullet proof. I was able to repair the housing with glue (lucky)...  Make sure you latch your unit down!!!! Good luck with it... Your going to love it.

Hitting the snowbank a little too fast is an understatement!!!

[cbjork49]

This is my 2nd yr.with my Vexilar FL-20. I can't fish with out it. You WILL catch more fish. Play with it, if you received and DVD with it watch that first, go to the MARCUM web site and they may have tutorials. Good luck, you will love it! For what it's worth. 

[CrappieVermonter]

I just bought the showdown 5.6 and used it the first time at lapans bay during the tournemnt and love it toke no time to figure it out. As soon as I put it in the water I say a big line half way down put my jig right above it and caught a 1.15pound crappie and another one after that. With out the flasher I could have missed them if your jigging they will help you catch more fish. Any flasher is better than no flasher I think.

[TroutWhisperer]

The verdict is in after the first weekend using a flasher.  I LOVE IT!!!!  People that own flashers will understand, people that don't.....won't.  You don't know until you use one.  Big time fun to use!  Do I think it's a magic way to catch tons and tons of fish?  NO.  But I do think it will help me catch more fish....hands down more fish.  Without it I may catch 25 keepers in a day....with it.....I'd probably catch 35.  That's my impression after 2 days of use.  Very easy to use.  Figured it out in about 5 minutes.  I will never fish without one now that I've been "hooked"!!

[TheDL]

congrats TroutWhisperer - I too am on my first season with a flasher, and I too thought "it can't be as good as everyone says" - man, what a great fishing tool!  A total game changer.  even the old man who is very old school and dismissed flashers is going to buy one now that he's tried my vex 

[MatCat]

My brother and I fished with a flasher this weekend, caught around 30 rainbows between the two of us.  The ten other people around us with no flasher caught 6 fish combined.  Fish were biting light and only once, if you weren't right there on it you missed, we knew when the fish came in and paid attention.  It gets tough to pay that close attention when you only get one bite every 15-20 minutes, but with a flasher you know when the fish are there.

[TroutWhisperer]

Several times, I could see a fish on the bottom.....but it wouldn't bite.  I teased it and teased it until it couldn't take it any longer and finally took the bait.  Without the flasher, I wouldn't have known a fish was down there and I would have given up......thinking it was a dead hole.

[TroutWhisperer]

congrats TroutWhisperer - I too am on my first season with a flasher, and I too thought "it can't be as good as everyone says" - man, what a great fishing tool!  A total game changer.  even the old man who is very old school and dismissed flashers is going to buy one now that he's tried my vex 

It is a "game changer".  And I think people that talk negatively about a flasher probably have never used one.