Choosing a flasher

Pineapple Express

Pineapple Express

Well-Known Member
I wanna know how you guys choose a flasher.

I've been fishing with riggers for about 5 years now and I've been steadily increasing the number of flashers I've got. Each time I buy a new one there's a sticker that entices me like "moonjelly" or "double glow" or "guide series" or some other nonsense. Sometimes I buy a flasher on recommendation from a forum member, or I see somebody posting success in the reports section with a certain flasher. I even bought one of those Looks That Kill flashers with a pretty lady on it.

So now I've got a bin with about 30 flashers with various colours of green, purple, red, etc. I don't know all the names.

So how do you choose what flasher to use? Based on water clarity? Do you pair the flasher colour with the lure colour? Let's hear your thoughts!
 
Thanks for the pic showing the combos. I wanna know why/how you paired the lures with the flashers. Like for example why did you pair the red blade flasher with the white hootchy and the green flashy hootchy?
 
Knowing what the colours and textures mean is very important. The bubbly texture that's an off yellow is glow. The smooth colourful stickers are UV. Yesterday in Vancouver we were fishing 130ft and the water isn't clear. So any flasher with glow on both sides would be optimal. But in the summer when catching spring at 45 feet UV gear will be me effective. In between depth use something with UV and glow. On a hot bright day the glow will be washed out by the sun, do UV only especially up top ..Water clarity, sun light and depth are factors. Also charging glow is key. Personally in Vancouver this year I think my flasher selection is more important the spoon or hoochie colour.
 
The water colour, light conditions, depth fishing, location and time of year will help me pull from the range of flashers I’ll want to have down. I try to keep some diversity within those choices on the small variations within those “pallets”. Lures will be more or less be dependant on those flasher colours. Then there are some outliers that I use that produce at times I think they shouldn’t (like why does a blue glow flasher produce off the Fraser mouth)

part of the mystery and fun in my opinion of fishing is sorting through this!
 
Brett83 said:
On a hot bright day the glow will be washed out by the sun, do UV only especially up top /QUOTE]
Click to expand...

Cool, this makes sense. I have a chartreuse UV flasher that I've had some good success with on coho along the WVan shoreline in 30-45ft on hot sunny days. I guess this is why...
 
el.Pereh said:
The water colour, light conditions, depth fishing, location and time of year will help me pull from the range of flashers I’ll want to have down. I try to keep some diversity within those choices on the small variations within those “pallets”. Lures will be more or less be dependant on those flasher colours. Then there are some outliers that I use that produce at times I think they shouldn’t (like why does a blue glow flasher produce off the Fraser mouth)

part of the mystery and fun in my opinion of fishing is sorting through this!
Click to expand...
How do you know about the blue footloose flasher??? ;);)
 
WCVI i use glow flashers in the am and then switch to UV/ normal flash in the afternoon. i try and match the base color if the flasher to the fish. ie. if the fish all appear to be greenish or bronze i will use gold betzy
ECVI i usually am around 250’ or more so i always have a glow flasher down
 
I think UV/Moonjelly/Reflective tapes work best when possible but are only effective shallow (up to 60'?). Once you get deeper it's all about the glow or even double glow (black is the last color fish can see in low light). In REAL ****** water Betsy's work well up high too. When I'm fishing deep I'm chartreuse and black that's it. Once I get shallower and I'm targetting coho I'll go purple and blue and pink and gold and whatever the hell I can get out there. Sockeye I now like all blue with tons of bling.
 
el.Pereh said:
The water colour, light conditions, depth fishing, location and time of year will help me pull from the range of flashers I’ll want to have down. I try to keep some diversity within those choices on the small variations within those “pallets”. Lures will be more or less be dependant on those flasher colours. Then there are some outliers that I use that produce at times I think they shouldn’t (like why does a blue glow flasher produce off the Fraser mouth)

part of the mystery and fun in my opinion of fishing is sorting through this!
Click to expand...
Nailed it...I have a series of different flasher colours to match the water, depth I'm fishing, clarity etc. Of course the lure is another critical component, but flasher choice is the second factor.
 
I must say yearly for many many years I bought the "in" flasher that was reported as catching salmon in the area and depth I planned on fishing. Some worked and some did not (for me). Now my tackle room has a drawer with 100 flashers, some not even opened. Now I choose my flasher by my confidence based on historical catch rates for ME. That makes an original glow green the one that will always be on at least one side no matter where, depth or conditions. The other side is changed out over the day unless the green gets a hit. Only time glow green is not on a side is when after sockeye or pinks, then its glow red and another red type. Remember the old days of 2 choices, red or green hotspots or oki's?

My days of buying the annual in flasher are over. It is like a disease walking the isles and seeing all the pretty fisherman catching flashers. When my 3 spare glow green get old I will definitely replace them. Don't let that disease get hold of you???

HM
 
Pineapple Express said:
Thanks for the pic showing the combos. I wanna know why/how you paired the lures with the flashers. Like for example why did you pair the red blade flasher with the white hootchy and the green flashy hootchy?
Click to expand...
We don't actually 'pick' combos. I don't think that the flasher is as important as the lure and the leader length. My advantage is being a guide on a private channel.
One of the boys will hit a particular colour or flasher combo and we change up.
WCVI: Flash fly is a steady choice the green FF is just a little different and got hot for awhile.
I do have a few favorite combos for different situations and conditions depending on where we are fishing but, am always quick to make any changes. gl
 
The one that has the best swivels. I chop most of the stock ones off and add my own from pnt. I do have a pretty sexy all black with a wicked stripe of flash that I call the Number 5 which seems pretty deadly. Otherwise its whatever flashy green or yellow one I grab first.
 
ab1752 said:
The one that has the best swivels. I chop most of the stock ones off and add my own from pnt. I do have a pretty sexy all black with a wicked stripe of flash that I call the Number 5 which seems pretty deadly. Otherwise its whatever flashy green or yellow one I grab first.
Click to expand...

That's a good reminder, I've gotta service some of my flashers with new snaps and swivels. Does Highwater carry the good swivels?
 
Pineapple Express said:
That's a good reminder, I've gotta service some of my flashers with new snaps and swivels. Does Highwater carry the good swivels?
Click to expand...

Not in my experience, I had to go to pnt and now I own a lifetime supply of clips and good swivels. The swivels pnt sells are wicked, they will work for an entire season and beyond whereas the junk included with cheaper flashers or from CT are scratchy after a single soa .
 
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