Home made(DIY) flasher float

    I found that paying $40-$50 dollars for a flasher float commercially WAYYYY ridiculous so I made my own cheaply and simply.


    Get any pot or net float/buoy(online or at your closest fishing shop), bullet shape is easiest but not important( I found 10 inch float ideal size) and in the center outside of float start cutting away material to the depth you want, not to deep as there is a hole through the center and you could ruin the float.






    Next tie line to groove and spool cheep cord or fishing line as it isn't a load bearing line and only meant to hang your flashers.




    Next get a shock cord with hooks on each end, cheep and easy to find at hardware stores or automotive stores, bend it double and insert into and through the center hole of the float till it is out the other side.




    Now simply grasp the bent double cord on one side of float and one shock cord hook on the other side of float and pull them till the hook catches the cord loop.



    You know have a way to let out only the amount of line you want to set the depth of flasher and also the second hook in the bungee/shock cord now provides a way to hang rig or to link multiple floats together to form a flasher line.



    Cheep simple and fast way to make flasher floats

    A bad day at sea is better than a good day in the boatyard
    George Steele

    Edited once, last by Dude george ().

    Very nice work. I am going to pick one of these up and do the same for my flashers. Thanks for posting this little guide. :thumbsup2:

    Nice.
    The end of those type of bungees will rust out really fast though. They didn't last on my boat. Maybe manufacture your own with dyneema line and a black surgical tube with pigtails instead of the hooks?


    I made a float for my flashers using an inflatable Omer buoy.

    Edited once, last by hank: spelling ().

    Hank those shock cords are a few $$ for a bag full when I bought them and no it is not a good idea to leave them on the boat :nono: but to go out for a day of fishing and a wash off afterwards it will last several months and then on to the next shock cord...Hummmmmm... But would be easy for me to take off those ends I guess and simple whip on each end some heavy grade Stainless Steel wire for hooks as there is not load on the bungee....
    Dont have a grinder in Antigua where I am Dan so just whipped it together with what I had at hand ;) but I think I will go for a more finished one next flasher float using all the helpful tips and ideas you guys come up with. It was caveman style with just a leatherman as a tool :laughing:

    A bad day at sea is better than a good day in the boatyard
    George Steele

    Also, bungee is available online with uv resistant sheathing you can cut it to length and tie it off. Makes great retainers that outlast store available ones by hundreds of times over.

    i like to spear fish

    Thats awesome. I think im actually going to look into getting a few of these. along with making flasher floats they can be used on the boat for marking a site in current or low viz.

    Dans is way better than my own but I made mine with a knife and a bungee cord...lol... I think the PVC is unnecessary for a no load application but I am going to use all the refinements I see on his :thumbsup2:
    Following the link i realized I even commented on Dans rig some time ago, if I had remembered I would have posted it as a variation of Dan's idea but I did not remember, sorry Dan this is completely your design I see now, probably just a residual memory of mine having seen yours... So thanks for the idea and a very cheep useful float for me.

    A bad day at sea is better than a good day in the boatyard
    George Steele

    Edited once, last by Dude george ().

    Have a question for guys who use flashers. How do you keep the float from drifting away from you? With no anchor how do you keep from losing it?
    Clearly i see why there is no anchor as it is mostly a bluewater thing and there is no way to anchor

    i like to spear fish

    Your in blue water, you drift about the same as the float so basically the idea is to stay below the flasher depth or at least level on your dives, flashers are weighted to keep the flashers down and active... There is no structure to follow, just your chum line and flashers... If there is a bait ball or action or a FAD then you stay with that but if not the flashers are to get you a shot by bringing the fish close to them so ergo you stay with them, don't forget in this type of diving you have a chase boat that stays with ya or picks up your floats if you get separated from them.
    So simple answer is your drift diving.



    Quote from LunkerBuster

    Have a question for guys who use flashers. How do you keep the float from drifting away from you? With no anchor how do you keep from losing it?
    Clearly i see why there is no anchor as it is mostly a bluewater thing and there is no way to anchor

    A bad day at sea is better than a good day in the boatyard
    George Steele

    Quote from Dude george

    Your in blue water, you drift about the same as the float so basically the idea is to stay below the flasher depth or at least level on your dives, flashers are weighted to keep the flashers down and active... There is no structure to follow, just your chum line and flashers... If there is a bait ball or action or a FAD then you stay with that but if not the flashers are to get you a shot by bringing the fish close to them so ergo you stay with them, don't forget in this type of diving you have a chase boat that stays with ya or picks up your floats if you get separated from them.
    So simple answer is your drift diving.


    Thanks

    i like to spear fish

    Quote from LunkerBuster

    You can drew but then you need a weight. Where is Dans build. His were designed as surface markers like you describe.


    Dude you need to come up next time you stop by me and nates place... freakin lead everywhere in here :laughing:

    Quote from LunkerBuster

    Have a question for guys who use flashers. How do you keep the float from drifting away from you? With no anchor how do you keep from losing it?
    Clearly i see why there is no anchor as it is mostly a bluewater thing and there is no way to anchor


    Judah, when i went up to WPB and used nates flashers I had them hooked up to the mako flasher float, like the RA chicken float... weighted the bottom of the flashers with 7 oz of lead and it hangs straight and stayed on a drift with me pretty well. I think as long as the flashers are weighted properly they wont drift too far.

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