Bwana's guide to building a flash teaser for gamefish

[Bwana]

Bwana’s Guide to building your own flasher teaser for gamefish

After some recent interest and debate on the forum on the topic of  flashers for gamefish I thought I’d do a quick tutorial on a fool-proof flasher  teaser that can be used for a variety of game-fishing applications including  drifting for dorado, tuna  and couta as  well as anchoring for couta and dorries. The materials are readily available at  craft and hardware stores and there are many ways to pimp your version to suit  your needs.

For the basic version you will need:

4m of 1mm multi-strand steel wire
I packet of 1.6mm double barrel crimps
1 x 1/0 power swivel
5 x glow beads or prismatic beads
2 x cheap plastic 30cm rulers
A 50cm x 50cm piece of silver reflective vinyl sticker (available from digital  printing shops)
1 x 6 inch plastic squid (colour of your choice but pink or glow are  good choices)
Side cutters
Power drill with 2mm drill bit
Heavy duty scissors
Lighter
Crimping tool
Ball point pen
Black marker pen

Optionals
A variety of glow beads, plastic dolls eyes, glow tape, scale pattern  stickers etc.

[Bwana]

Step 1:
Cut the 2 x 30cm rulers in half to give 4 x 15cm lengths
Next trim the square corners into a curved shape with the scissors
Use the lighter to neaten the cut edges
Take the reflective vinyl sticker and trace out two sticker sides per  length of ruler

[Bwana]

Step 2
Cut out all the marked sides from the reflective vinyl sheet
Placing two stickers per plastic shape, apply the stickers firmly with a  cloth to the plastic ruler section
Once the base reflective layer is applied you can add sticker eyes,  dolls eyes, glow tape or whatever else you feel like. It does not necessarily  enhance the effectiveness but it looks good and confidence is a big part of  fishing!

[Bwana]

Step 3
Now cut a 6ft section of wire and attach the 1/0 Power swivel to the end  with a Femish Eye and crimp
Next, measure 30cm intervals and mark with a black marker
Take the first disc, cut a 30cm piece of wire and crimp the wire to the  nose of the disc
Next slip on a glow bead or prismatic bead
Now slide a crimp up the mainline to your first 30cm marker
Insert the end of the wire attached to the disc into the other barrel of  the crimp and crimp together, forming a “branch” that holds the disc.
Now repeat until all your discs are attached to the mainline with  “branches”

[Bwana]

Step 4
Slide a prismatic bead or glow bead onto the main wire
Slip the plastic squid onto the main wire
Now crimp a 50mm loop onto the base of the main wire below the plastic  squid (this will become the attachment point for the interchangeable weight)
Next connect a suitable sinker (from 10oz to 500g depending on current  speed) to the loop and cover with the plastic squid

That completes the flasher chain. You can use it in a variety of ways,  either connected to 10m of 100lb mono and a float or just tied off on a cleat  on the transom of the boat. Depth can be varied from just below the boat to  around 10m down depending on water depth and current.

Once a fish is hooked it is important to remember to bring the flasher  in when you clear the lines as it can become a snagging hazard.

Give it a try and post your feedback here so we can see some new variety  and techniques!

[Happy Dog]

  For the time taken and awesome tutorial .

[Shaun17]

Awesome tut as always 
 
Going to be buying all the gear and making a few when i'm back in Aus... Quick question, where can i get the scale pattern stickers?? I'm looking for biggish sheets if possible...

[John F]

Great tut Mark! Was building one with a s/s sheet but this looks a lot easier! Thanks!

 

[southcoastspearo]

You have obviously seen a couple spearo's flashers cos those are very impressive !!
 
I buy that double sided mirror plastic from Midas,normally used for replacing your side mirror
It is very strong/doesnt lose mirror finish and is very light weight.Also quite cheap.
 
I also use a big bright kona for colour
I then have a Halco GT -Giant Trembler at the bottom.for noise in murky water
 
Flashers work very well,everything comes to investigate...
A shark has already claimed one my flashers and a turtle almost ate another...
 

[John F]

And oh yes... Nominated for post of the month!

[Fritz]

Great tut Mark!

[isivuba]

As always Mark you have out done yourself.....awesome tut  was going to say post of the month but John F has rightfully pointed that out. 

[Toppie]

Thanks Bwana, a great tut, and just another I will have to try replicate to have on the boat.
 
So much work - so little time.

[jaenswart]

THanks bud, looks nice. cred coming your way, it's been long since somebody did a nice tut for the gamefish folks

[FFF]

Thanks for a great idea. Think i shall have to try this one. for the effort.

[Fishaholic]

Awesome tut, thanks for the effort. 

[ST(d)]

Very nice tut, Thanks will put it to practice.
  to you bud.

[Bwana]

No prob guys, hoping you get some good fish using them. There are literally hundreds of combinations you can use to make the flash discs and extra bling you can add. Like Gerhard says, here are some other recommendations that work:

I buy that double sided mirror plastic from Midas,normally used for replacing your side mirror
It is very strong/doesnt lose mirror finish and is very light weight.Also quite cheap.
 
I also use a big bright kona for colour
I then have a Halco GT -Giant Trembler at the bottom.for noise in murky water
 

I like the plastic rulers because they are very light and move easily in the current. You can also use thin stainless steel plate, chromadek sheeting, old CD's (but they sometimes delaminate) etc. The multistrand wire is a must as you often get bite-offs if you use nylon!


The flash tape can either be the prismatic variety you find in tackle stores or you can source larger sheets of vinyl from graphic design and printing companies - they can even print scale patterns onto the vinyl for you if you want extra bling. Mainly you want something that gives off a lot of flash and can move easily in the current / swell action.

[dugong]

Lekka tut, seen spearos use them and I know guys targeting big tuna in the US use them but I have never thought of using them here.

[MichaelK]

Mark, please explain how you would fish a rig like this?
 
Would you anchor and let this drift?
 
Would you place bait on the hook like a dead mackerel or mozie?
 
Obviously this type of rig wont be trolled - right?????