# Vexilar FL18 tips?



## Steve (Jan 15, 2000)

Just got one with a Gentz kit. Any tips on using it? Cant wait to test it on something.


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## hardwaterfan (Feb 13, 2004)

congratulations.....you can test it in your garage if you want, it will read the floor but the readings will be off because sound waves travel at a different speed in air then they do in water. or you could take it to a dock and test it in the water. 

my biggest tip for using one would be to make sure your jig is a green band. If it shows up as red at the depth youre fishing, then turn the gain down.

and another important tip is: be aware of water currents under the ice, or the horizontal swimming motion of many jigs....they can take your lure out of the cone angle and it will seem like your lure isnt showing up or is showing up intermittently....turn your gain up a bit if this becomes a problem.

another one: the "bottom" reading on the dial of a vex is the "sum" of all the bottom features that the vex is picking up. Every feature on the bottom is shown. Plus the way the sound waves travel, the outer areas of the cone take longer to echo a signal than directly under the transducer.

So what im saying is, dont be suprised if "bottom" looks quite thick.

A hard bottom looks redder and thinner than a soft bottom.

A weedy or uneven bottom might look quite thick and colored (orange/green)

You may even see your lure sinking "below" bottom. This is just from the way the vex reads uneven bottoms. If you get into a situation like this, you may want to switch to your 9 deg. from 19. if you have the dual cone. 

it becomes very easy and intuitive to use one.....you will never want to ice fish without one after you try it.

its like having a 6th sense or something. they are amazing instruments.


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## hardwaterfan (Feb 13, 2004)

if youre fishing for bottom huggers like perch or walleye, try the zoom mode.

if youre in a shallow, weedy area try the LP mode (low power)

weeds are probably the most confusing thing ive seen on a vex. they look like fish swimming about, but they never leave the area. they can be very frustrating because they look like fish.

so give the lp a shot and/or turn the gain down in weedy areas.


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## ih772 (Jan 28, 2003)

Drill a separate hole for the transducer next to the hole you're line is in. That way you don't have to pull it out each time you get a fish on. this makes it a lot easier when the crappies are biting one right after the other. I use this setup when I'm fishing over one of my favorite spots.

Carry a small water bottle with you when you're out exploring for a new spot. Just squirt a little water on the ice and set the transducer in the puddle to see the depth and structure below.


It takes a while but you will begin to be able to distinguish between weeds that are moving and fish.


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## patcheroo (Jan 3, 2003)

Congrats Steve!! You'll love it! All I can say is to just get out and use it. It's so simple that even I had it down in about 10 minutes :lol: .............Patch


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## Steve (Jan 15, 2000)

I only got the 9 degree cone with my Gentz kit. Are dual tranducers needed?


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## hardwaterfan (Feb 13, 2004)

not necessarily, that depends on what kind of ice fishing you do, and what you want the machine to be able to do.

For example, i dont have a dual ducer, i have a 19 deg. ducer which suits me perfectly, i fish mostly shallower waters. (anywhere from 5' to 30')

my fishing buddy has the 18 with the 9/19.

the 9 will do fine for most fishing situations. the only area where the 9 might be lacking is in very shallow water, the 9 deg. cone will not show much.

the 9 or 19 each has their advantages and disadvantages.

Thats why so many guys like the 18 with the 9/19....so that they will never have to "go without" in any ice fishing circumstance.


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## Sturgeon (Oct 27, 2004)

Thanks For the tips guys. Steve I just bought the 12 degree and I am excited to go out and try. From what I have read it seem that fishing is not just waiting for the fish to bit but know it will be easier to find out what kind of mood the fish are in and you can change your fishing strategy accordingly. I hope it starts getting cold soon to get out on the ice. Good luck.



Sturgeon


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## Steve (Jan 15, 2000)

Wow I see the dual cone iceducer sets you back another $90. Ouch.


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## ih772 (Jan 28, 2003)

I've found that the 19 degree transducer helps in the rivers where the current wants to pull your lure outside of the 9 degree cone. That way you don't have to crank the gain way up and start picking up debris in the water along with fish and your jig. Another nice thing about the 19 degree is it's also helpful when two people are fishing side by side in the shanty and the transducer is directly between the holes. Both of you will show up in shallow water.


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## skid (Feb 14, 2003)

I purchased the FL18 last year on the the advice of others here. Didn't get alot of use because of work, but loved it when I did. Waiting for ice this year. Have been working on a sled to pull behind new quad.


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## ozzgood2001 (Feb 15, 2003)

*the 9 will be great for the deeper water but any shallow water the fish will be hard to "spot" till there are in real tight . vexilar has a chart stating what you "see" with which angle at what depths. i have the 19 on mine and love it, unless you fish alot over 25 fow or more, the 19 works just fine. the 9 will really shine if you went up to higgins for some smelt in 60 fow. the dual is real nice but not a must in my opinion. and dont give up on it took me one season to really learn the machine and really knwo when your seeing fish or weeds or soft bottom or sharp dropoffs etc. etc.*


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## Steve (Jan 15, 2000)

I guess my Gentz version of the FL18 has the 12 degree transducer so hopefully this will work in fairly shallow water.


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## ozzgood2001 (Feb 15, 2003)

*12 is great!! they actually came out with that for the people not wanting the dual its great for both worlds!! im thinking of getting it myself! *

http://vexilar.com/help/tips/tip006.html *that graph at the bottom will answer all your questions give you an idea of your cone at most depths remember it or even print it out!!! really get to understand that deadzone stuff if you fish sharp inclines you'll miss a lot of bottom fish the smalle cone helps there especially to narrow the deadzone*


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## Banditto (Jun 9, 2000)

I have the dual cone and rarely switch it off 9. Also I pretty much only use the bottom zoom mode being 99% of activity is there and that is where I fish. I imagine panfisherman use the other mode. 

I drill holes and check the hole with bottom zoom. If you setup and can't get the gain adjusted to erase a big red mass on the bottom it is most likely a fish. Oh and a lot of times I fish weed beds for pike. I like to keep 1 line below the top of the weed bed, but one just an inch or two above the tops of the weeds.


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## hardwaterfan (Feb 13, 2004)

as ozzgood mentions above, vexilar.com has a bunch of articles that will teach you a lot about vexes.

they will be especially meaningful after you have fished a few times and begin to get a feel for your 18.


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## Rencoho (Oct 18, 2000)

How effective are these units in deep water? Has anyone tried their Vex in deep water?, say over 100ft, I was thinking how useful one of those would be, fishing Keweenaw bay for lake trout.


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