Ice fishing is a patient sport and requires a lot of time. But there are plenty of gadgets that can help speed up and streamline the process. Depending on your fishing style and climate, you may benefit from an ice fishing flasher or a fish finder.
An ice fishing flasher gives a real-time picture of what is happening below the ice in your fishing hole. However, a fish finder provides a historical depiction of where you can find fish while you are cruising in a boat. While one is better for locating fix in one place and the other is better for fishing on the go, both will help you increase the likelihood of a catch.
When you are ice fishing, a flasher can be extremely helpful. It provides you with useful data that helps you know exactly when to drop your line. You can get a clear picture of what is beneath the surface, giving you the opportunity to go home with more fish in hand. This saves you time and makes it easier for you to find the perfect spot to go fishing.
Flashers have a pretty wide price range and can cost up to several hundred dollars. But if you go ice fishing regularly in the wintertime, it’s a worthy investment that ensures you get more catches. The batteries for flashers last around 18 hours and have a lifetime of 3-4 years.
Having a flasher allows you to be aware of what’s going on below the ice in real-time. You can see where the fish are located and how far away they are from your ice hole. This can help you decide where to set up an ice hole and track the best time to locate fish.
Flashers can also let you know more about the floor bottom and informs you if the bottom is hard, soft or made of foliage. Knowing what kind of fishing floor you’re working with can affect what kind of tackle you use as well as what sort of fish may be around. You can observe your findings on the flasher and track creatures no matter what size they are.
Flashers work best for fishing in one, still location, so they won’t work well on open water. They also do not have GPS or mapping abilities as they scan an immediate location rather than storing historical information on a trip. And some users have said that certain flashers have difficulty picking up small jigs. This can make it difficult to know how far your lure has dropped from the surface.
Humminbird ICE-45 Three Color Flasher with LCD
Unlike traditional flashers, this one tracks fish well below the surface of the ice. It has adjustable gain and depth ranges. It also lets you customize how the sonar comes back to you, so you can customize your viewing options.
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Vexilar GPX1212 Inc, FLX-12 Genz Pack with 12 Ice-Ducer
If you’re out ice fishing with several other anglers, this flasher has a 20 steps interference rejection (IR) which helps remove interference from other sonars. It also works well in shallow and deep depths, up to 120 feet deep.
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These devices are perfect for learning more about the historical data of fish activity in an area. People typically use them in open water situations to allow a fisher to see schools of fish as they pass by. Having a clear idea of where fish are located allows fishers to cover more ground and circle back when fish are located. These are ideal for ice fishing, but they work in every climate, so you can use them throughout the year.
Generally, fish finders cost about the same as flashers, but some can cost over a thousand dollars. You can use them year-round, and many have a setting with flasher capabilities, allowing you can see real-time data of the floor. Finders also include GPS capabilities that help fishers keep track of locations throughout the trip.
Anglers can locate schools of fish as they swim past, so you’ll know within moments if it’s worth it to stop and drop your line. Fish finders send out sound waves which bounce off the seafloor, so you’ll have a detailed view of the foliage and landscape below. The delayed reading allows them to cover wider areas by giving them input on their surroundings beneath the surface.
Knowing where fish live also gives a fisher the upper hand by locating small hiding spots. Fish finders allow you to get a clear view of the habitat, the number of fish and the temperature of the water.
A quality fish finder can be very expensive and difficult to get used to. The information on the finder is complex, and there is a bit of a learning curve to reading it. Additionally, the data may not be as easy to read in deep waters, leading to pixelated images. There are several readings that work better in slower speeds or certain depths.
This fish finder has the ability to store maps for up to 2 million acres. It comes with built-in traditional and scanning sonar to track fish on any bottom floor.
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Deeper START Smart Fish Finder – Castable Wi-Fi fish finder
This lightweight, sleek fish finder is great for recreational fishing. It creates its own Wi-Fi, so you can connect it directly to your smartphone and see what’s going on below. It reads out to 165 feet and scans all the way down to 165 feet.
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While fish flashers provide a lot of information about what’s below you, fish finders are a better investment overall. You can use a fish finder in the winter for ice fishing as well as throughout the year in warmer temperatures. Fish finders also work well when you’re on the move, instead of just in one spot.
Finders also have additional features that can benefit your fishing trip no matter what the weather is like outside. These are useful for tracking your location in relation to the fish at the bottom of a lake or sea floor.
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Erica Redding writes for BestReviews. BestReviews has helped millions of consumers simplify their purchasing decisions, saving them time and money.
