Install a flasher at the bow AND the console. Reasons being, at the console a flasher works great at high speeds, they display “real time” data. They are also great for determining bottom hardness/softness or content. At the bow, I recommend one if you are fishing around heavy weedcover, flashers do a good job through the weeds. I use a LCF-40 Zercom on the bow, but would not hesitate to put a Vexilar FL-10 (in-dash unit) on the console. I’ve got a Vexilar FL-18 for ice fishing, one word – incredible. Three color display, bottom lock and auto zoom.
Ross
I agree. Having a flasher both at the console and up at the bow is a must! The real time display will save you a lot of time pushing off a sandbar or crying at the repair shop 
The advantages of the flasher really shine when trying to locate hard bottom. It makes finding the spot on the spot a little easier! Good Luck!
ok. Thanks for the tips guys. 
You bring up an interesting topic…
With the advancements in electronics, why would one choose a flaser over a graph? I could see a flasher at the bow with the trolly motor (for those who enjoy them and well-versed in intrepreting the flasher), but at the console? I prefer a graph/GPS like the Garmin GPS depth sounder combo… even if there is no GPS, a graph seems more useful, as it tracks your path and you can have a visual representation of the bottom contours over a designated time period, whereas the flasher only is real time. Besides, the Garmin units have a “flasher mode” which provides the benefits of instantaneous feedback for bottom hardness, etc, but also the time duration of plotted information.
My boat has 2 Garmins, bow and console, both with the flasher mode going continuously… Just my 2 cents. Other thoughts?
I run a Lowrance x-15mt at the console, and a x-51 on the bow, along with a flasher. I would say that I actually use a flasher maybe 10 or 20 percent of the time, but when I do use it, it’s worth its weight in gold. In my opinion, the flasher mode on the Garmin units is not what it’s cracked up to be, I sell both Lowrance and Garmin. When looking at features, most consumers could care less about the half-flasher that Garmin has, but lately, with the newest revolution in color, much attention has been brought to the Lowrance Flashgraph. This is the closest thing I have seen to an actual flasher.
Reel Guy I agree with you I have two flashers on my boat and with the advances in the color graphs I don t know if I will have to buy another flasher.
I agree with all of the above- I think a flasher is a better instrument for reading bottom contour and composition, and is the ideal instrument to have at the console becuase it shows real time depth. With that said though, I prefer to use a graph at the bow for one simple reason: it shows me where I’ve been. It may just be that I have a short attention span, but I find it easier to stay on a weed- or break-line when I can follow the trend on a graph rather than just looking at a single point in time on a flasher.
I also am one with a flasher at the console, and a graph
at the trolling motor. The FL-8 three color flasher tells
me a bunch about bottom hardness, cover density, and rapid
changes in depth. It has saved my hull, and prop, from
damage more than once. On the bow, I prefer pretty
pictures of a high resolution graph, and when my Lowrance
dies(Please Die!), I will put a color high resolution graph
up there. If I had a way to mount two transducers on the
trolling motor, I’d add a three color flasher up there,
for immediate feedback, too. But given one set of loose
wires is enough to keep from twisting off, I will just
stick with a graph up there.
Big Bass Bane
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