Now, I am by no means the only person to do this and truth be told I stole the idea from a good friend that is a bass fishing fanatic on soft water. The premise is to have 3-5 rods (more if you really want to get into the spirit!) and have a different presentation on each. Perhaps if I am crappie fishing I would have on a 1/16 oz Lindy Frostee Jigging Spoon on one pole, a 1/16 oz Genz Bug on another, a Gill Pill on a third rod, and a small Chubby Darter on a 4th rod. Obviously you can mix and match with your personal favorites, but you get my point. The key aspect being if you see that fish rise on your Marcum VX-1, but he won't bite, switch to a different rod and presentation and see if that works.

I think you will see a noticeable impact in the amount of fish caught when applying this method.

This works with all the flashers, so it isn't just a Vexilar thing.  Try it with your Marcum flasher or Hummingbird flasher and see what it shows.  This is a great way for the ice angler with a hand auger to maximize the holes that he does cut.

Have you ever tried this trick?  How has it worked for you?

Here is an online form for discounted tickets: here
There is also a place for get a discount coupon for the show: here

If you went, please leave a comment on the things you saw that caught your eye or any great bargains you were able to find.

If there are others out there with stories about how their ice fishing success changed when they started using a flasher please comment. Personally I went from some days not catching any fish, to most days catching many.

Yes, you can literally see your bait jig up and down with your hand on the screen.  Better yet, you can tell if any fish are around the hole you are fishing.  A popular method it to simply drop your Vexilar flasher down the hole and look for marks of fish on the screen.  If you don't find any, move to the next hole.  In other words, don't waste your time on a hole with no fish!

Sounds too good to be true, but I assure you it isn't.  I have followed the exact same pattern and fished more productively and have seen better catch rates because of it.  Plus you can watch the fish as they rise to take your bait and watch their reactions as you jig.  Perhaps they want a slower jig or a dead stick.  The flasher will tell you that instantaneously. 

A flasher really is a must to take advantage of the modern ice angler's way of life.  I guarantee it will put more fish on the ice for you. 

Do you have any stories to relate in regards to fishing with and without a flasher?

The Vexilar FL-8 produces all of these.  Notorious for its ability to show the bait at great depths, the FL-8 is a great baseline model.  It displays in 3 colors what is sees below the ice (red for large object and the bottom, orange for medium, and green for small).  It boasts 400 watts of power and a target separation of 2.65".  

Features:
400 Watts Power
10 step intereference rejection
2.65" target separation
3 color flasher

The Vexilar FL-8 is a great baseline model to get an angler used to a flasher and many people just stick with that for their flasher going forward.

This is especially true when there is a ton of activity on top of the ice.  Case in point, I was in an ice fishing tournament last year where although we had a large area to punch holes, everyone crowded around the same football field sized area.  There was drinking and talking and the usual banter you would expect on the ice.  Problem was that no one was catching any fish.  Our group had 0.  When I looked at the white board with all the fish that had been weighed, there were like 3 fish for the whole tournament 90 minutes in!  So, given this I decided to venture out on my own to a rock pile about 300 yards out.  After punching a hole and dropping down a crappie minnow my Marcum VX-1 Flasher lit up like a Christmas tree.  There were fish everywhere down there.  I pulled up one after another after having caught none in the first 90 minutes. 

So, don't be afraid to blaze a new trail.  Consider it a new adventure, and who knows it may end up being quite fruitful!

10. Locate all your ice fishing gear
If you are anything like me last season ended and stuff got scattered around your abode. So go around and find all the equipment and place in one central location. I'm talking about all your ice rods, flasher, auger, clothing, tackle, and so on.

9. Charge up your batteries
For whatever devices need them, charge up your batteries for your flasher(s), underwater camera(s), and ice auger(s). They likely are dead after sitting the past 8+ months.

8. Spool up your reels with new line
Now is the time to spool your reels. Invariably the time it will bite you in the rear if you don't is when you have the largest fish of the season on the other end of your line leading you to lose him.

7. Dry run your auger
This point is moot if you use a hand auger, but if you run an electric auger or gas auger get out and try them out. Mix the gas you will need. Make sure they are running ok. The worst time to find out they are not is when you are on the lake.

6. Test out your ice fishing flasher
At home you can connect the battery and turn the unit on. Ensure that it powers up and the display is working correctly. If you have time you can run to a lake and test out it is working, but this is rarely the issue.

5. Run your portable propane heater
I like to take mine hunting with me at least once, but if you don't hunt or are not inclined to bring it with, test run it outside your house. Make sure that the starter works and the heater kicks out the heat you expect it to.

4. Put up your portable ice shelter
Mice are notorious for wreaking havoc on portable houses, so if you own one put it up in your garage and note whether a furry little creature has bitten a hole in the exterior. It is always easier to patch it now that live with it all season long.

3. Test run your underwater camera
Attach the battery pack and turn the unit on. Make sure that the camera is working and the display looks like you expect it. A bad battery is usually the culprit if it doesn't work, but bad connections are also somewhat common.

2. Sit down and think of the set of lakes you are going to target
Most likely you have a well defined list of lakes that you are going to fish, either by proximity to you or by success in the past. None the less, it never hurts to have a couple lakes in your back pocket in case things are slow at your normal haunts.

1. Rig up your favorite lure
Invariably you will have one or two lures that you prefer the most for ice fishing. For me it is the Lindy Frostee Jigging Spoon. Locate your lures and tie them to your rod(s).

If you follow these 10 things you will ready to rock when the water turns hard!

A few main points to watch while you are viewing the video:
1) The large mass of colors shown on the left hand side of the Marcum is the bottom. You will notice this when you use a flasher, the bottom is often an array of colors that take up ~10% of the screen.

2) The green flash on to the screen you see them pointing to is the bait. The beauty of flasher is they allow you to see your bait in the water column and where it is in relation to the fish and bottom. Green is the weakest signal and is what your bait looks like on the screen.
3) The red solid line suspended between the bottom and bait is the fish. Watch how it rises up to the bait and eventually takes it. A great way to see the fish coming towards your bait and be ready to set the hook!

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Shoot flasher through the ice prior to dilling holes

Use your ice fishing flasher to find depths before drilling holes.  Use can use a bucket with water or just some water directly on the ice to allow your flasher to shoot through the ice and see the depth.  This will allow you to move quickly to find the depth combination you are looking for prior to pulling out your ice auger.

Use flasher readout to see if fish are below the hole

Once you have drilled your holes,  before you even drop a line you can run from hole to hole to see if fish show up above the bottom on your flasher.  Often you can eliminate several holes from even being fished if they are not holding any fish.  This is a way to ensure that you are not fishing a "dead" hole.

Use your flasher to position your bait in the correct depth and presentation to trigger bites

The use that most people are well aware of is the ability of your flasher to show where the fish are and lowering your bait to be just above them.  You will be able to see the fish rise to the bait as it drops or remains still.  This will also allow you to judge the demeanor of the fish and what works to trigger strikes.

The ice fishing flasher is a key tool of the modern ice angler.  Use the tips above to fish higher percentage spots a greater portion of your time on the ice and it will translate into more fish on the ice!