How do flashers work ??

[lew]

Mornin boyz, I've just received a new sonar from Santa that also has a flasher unit on it, but I've never used a flasher before and have no idea how to interpret what it shows.

 

I downloaded an emulator of my new machine from Lowrance to my computer to putz around with until I get the unit in the water, and just took this photograph on my computer screen.

 

What do the different colors indicate, and do these things show structure or fish or are they more for just showing bottom density ??

 

I've used sonars for years and can read them well, but this is a 1st time for a flasher, so I'm just wondering if there's an advantage to the flasher over the standard sonar ??

 

Any thoughts ??

 

[fishdawg]

hey Lew

 

that flasher option on your sonar is just like a Vexilar or Marcum

 

on the dial the bottom will be displayed with a solid bar & then there will be an open area from the bottom mark to the surface (but wth the lowrance as you see, it tells you the depth in the middle - 26.7 ) any other blips/bars/mark in between that area will be fish/subsurface weeds/clutter/structure - different colours will represent stronger/weaker signals and this will all depend on how you have the sensitivty level set ( just like a normal sonar right?)

 

flashers a re really only used for two things - fishing vertically (ie jigging) and years ago many guys had them on there boats because they could read depths will boats were under power better then their old sonars could back then

 

really tho, the flasher will mostly benfit ya on the baot if your jigging & you have your bait in the tranducers "cone-zone" - many guys also rig these Lowrance units so they can also be used on the ice

 

hope this helps a bit

Edited December 26, 2007 by fishdawg

[lew]

Thanks for the info Mark, that's sorta how I figured they'd work.

 

I think though, with my style of fishing which is all casting or trolling, and NO still fishing at all, the flasher wouldn't be of much use to me.

 

Oh well, maybe just a toy to play around with when nuthin is biting

 

Thanks again Mark

[Terry]

yeah unless you are anchored or on ice they have no advantage .

 

but on the ice they give the fastest updated info, so you can see your jig and the fish swim up to it to bite it

[Garry2Rs]

Hi Lew;

Flashers also read through weeds and show the hard bottom. So if your in some weed choked you can read the actual depth, not just the depth to the top of the weeds.

Garry2rs

[Roy]

I'm wondering though Lew, maybe someone here knows, if at high speeds with the boat that you wouldn't get faster response times with the flasher option on. They used to sell flashers for that express purpose.....instant response. I'll play with mine or find info on it if I can.

[fishindevil]

Well roy i hear you !!! but on the newer units you can adjust the ping speed,and that sends out the sonar at whichever speed you want,thats an even better way,travelling at 30mph,on lake ontario in 300ft of water i saty in constant reading with the bottom all i do is up the ping speed !!!!see if yours has it i will say for sure that it does lew& roy as well

[Roy]

FD, I have the LCX-25C.

[fishindevil]

hey roy it should have it check in the menu,and settings im sure it will be there,and yours will have it too lew !!!!!

[lew]

Thanks boyz, plenty of good info here as always, and yes Shawn, mine does indeed have the adjustment for increasing / decreasing the ping speed.

[fishindevil]

Yes its useful,and if you are just drifting ,or sitting at anchor that ping speed can work even better than a flasher,its very versitile for sure !!!!you will have to experiment with it,i usually have mine set at about 75%..and you can really see the nice hooks when you get that all set and where you want it,along with a few other options,of the unit,as you kinow you only get what you pay for right !!!!

[Sinker]

Has anyone ever used this flasher option thru the ice?

 

My unit has it as well, but I've never tried it. I just up the ping speed and use the normal graph zoomed in when I'm icefishing. It works great, but I'm just curious if I should be using the flasher option instead? Would it be faster response I wonder? I know the graph takes a couple seconds to see it on the screen.

 

Sinker

[fishindevil]

Yes i have used it for ice fishing and it works awesome,use it on that screen,if you read your manual it tells you to use it when you are stationary and it will work just as good or better than a flasher !!!!

[Sinker]

I have no complaints at all using it thru the ice, just never tried the flasher screen. If I'm marking fish on the graph, I usually catch one. I'm confident using the graph, just curious if the flasher would relay the info faster? I'm going to have to try it out next time I use it.......just to see the difference between the flasher and graph screens when there are fish down there

 

Sinker

[camillj]

Jeeze Lew .. when I saw the title ... it took me back ... when I started ice fishing ... a flasher was a guy in a raincoat that was wanted by the law ...

 

 

Anyhow .. to be honest I have always preferred the sonar to the flasher .... If you are looking at the screen (IMHO) its exactly the same speed as the flasher .. but if you ARENT ... you get about a minute to see what you missed

 

There is a alot to be said for seeing your jig AND the fish ... but if you tune your sonar right you can do that too ... and see the 'trail' of the fish coming up to the bait

 

Anyhow ... at least you'll never wonder 'what if I also had a flasher'

 

 

BTW .. I am jealous - thats one awesome looking piece of equipment ... blows the doors off my 20 yr old Humminbird ... hmm maybe a little boxing day shopping is in order after all

[Musky or Specks]

Jeeze Lew .. when I saw the title ... it took me back ... when I started ice fishing ... a flasher was a guy in a raincoat that was wanted by the law ...

Anyhow .. to be honest I have always preferred the sonar to the flasher .... If you are looking at the screen (IMHO) its exactly the same speed as the flasher .. but if you ARENT ... you get about a minute to see what you missed

 

There is a alot to be said for seeing your jig AND the fish ... but if you tune your sonar right you can do that too ... and see the 'trail' of the fish coming up to the bait

 

Anyhow ... at least you'll never wonder 'what if I also had a flasher'

BTW .. I am jealous - thats one awesome looking piece of equipment ... blows the doors off my 20 yr old Humminbird ... hmm maybe a little boxing day shopping is in order after all

Was doing this the other day on south bay for crappie. You could see your minnow on the screen down 18ft in 28 fow. A few pixels bar would seperate from the bottom and move upwards towards the minnow, pick up your rod wait fish pixels merge with minnow pixels you feel the tap, set the hook, crappie on ice. Its all in knnowing how to set up your LCD for ice fishing. My graph also has a flasher but I never use it I understand the graph picture better.

[lew]

BTW .. I am jealous - thats one awesome looking piece of equipment ... blows the doors off my 20 yr old Humminbird ... hmm maybe a little boxing day shopping is in order after all

 

I'm like you Jon, and lived in the old black & white world for too many years, thinking everything was just fine and I didn't need anything better.

 

I decided to bite the bullet last season & bought myself a nice 7" wide, color GPS for the console and couldn't believe how much it opened up my fishing world. I always figured I knew my way around the waters I frequent, but soon found out how much more there was to them.

 

Never thought I'd bother to upgrade to a color sonar either but am sure glad now that I made the decision, and will probably also be buying another one to replace the relic that currentely sits on the bow of the boat.

 

Don't know if they'll catch me anymore fish or not, but at least now I'll have a better understanding of the waters while I'm getting skunked

[camillj]

I agree fully Lew .. I am a little slower than some at picking up the new technology ... but I am almost alway thrilled when I do ... I dont know what I would do without my little Lowrance H2Oc ... there are lakes and streams literally within yards of places I have fished for years that I would never have known about ... and nothin beats following your cookie trail on open water to help you 'see' a drop-off coming before you hit it ... and thus allowing you to get you lures coming in at the right depth and from the right direction ... yep ... I thinks a new sonar is on the 'gotta-get-it' list ands thats the exact one I would opt for.

 

Edited December 27, 2007 by camillj

[Vanselena]

There are two main differences between using the flasher mode and fishfinder mode. In flasher mode the unit turns off digital and operates in analog, this gives you a faster updates on your screen. The second difference is flasher mode does not show history and therefor the unit only concentrates on current information.

 

In regards to high speed travel, the problem is not the units fault but the transducers. When the boat travels at high speed the force of the water causes air to cavitate under the transducer and therefor you lose signal.