Vexilar Fl-18 question

[Ihawkangler]

First time using the Fl-18 after having Fl-8's for the past few years.  I fished in 6-7 feet of water and had a very difficult finding my 1/16 slender spoon on the descent.  I adjusted the gain, went to low power mode, and ( I think) tried about every combination possible, but I only saw the slender spoon going down about 50% of the time.  It would also disappear at 5 feet unless I jigged it. 

I realize the cone angle is less than the Fl-8, but I can't imagine it would make this much of a difference.  Even when hand guiding the line down to keep it directly under the transducer, it did not consistently show up.  I am not  Vexilar guru, but have used Fl-8's for a few years and never had an issue that adjusting the gain did not clear up.

Something obvious I am not picking up on here?  This is shallower than I usually fish, so does that have something to do with it?  I have fished slender spoons using my Fl-8 and never had this issue.

Any suggestions?

[hardwater diehard]

Which transducer do you have on the FL18 ? Do you still have your FL8 ?

http://vexilar.com/blog/2014/08/28/choosing-a-transducer-beam-angle

On our newer 19º and 12º Iceducers this will be stamped in the top of the transducer.  If it has a blue bottom it is a Proview Iceducer.  If your transducer has a red bottom it is a Tri-Beam Iceducer.

If you have an older transducer it becomes harder to tell unless you are familiar with the difference in size.  Typically FL-8’s came standard with a 19º Iceducer.

[Big Lefty]

Slender Spoons can really swing out wide on the drop.  I was in 18-26' of water yesterday and had to turn the gain up on my Provide, still couldn't always see it on the way down until I pulled it off the bottom.  Could you follow it on the drop with hour FL8?

[Ihawkangler]

I just bought the Fl-18 ~ 2 weeks ago and the bottom of the transducer is black.  It is the Genz pack in the blue case, if that helps.  I fished Slender spoons a lot last year and do not recall ever having this problem.  I agree that the fall of the Slender spoon is more of a drift than a drop, but I can't imagine it would be enough to get outside of the cone angle in shallow water. 

I appreciate your responses. 

[hardwater diehard]

Not much of a cone in 6-7 fow ...a little bit of drift/fall can take it out of the cone ...if you pull your jig/spoon straight up does it register on your Vexilar all the way up ...I would think you have the 12 deg transducer ...but if you have the 9 deg transducer you will lose it in 5 fow for sure ...I have a tri beam and was fishing in 6-7 fow with a 9 deg setting by accident ...was frustrating till I figured/switched to my 19 degree.

[Ihawkangler]

I have the 12 degree transducer.  Even coming up it was 50-50.  I would retrieve and see it come out of the hole before it registered.   When researching units, the Fl-18 seemed like a good choice for shallow water fishing because of the zoom, but after yesterday, not so sure.  I love Vexilar products and their customer service is exceptional, but I am thinking I should have kept my Fl-8.  Fortunately I kept my newer Fl-8, so I have it to fall back on.  Definitely cost me fish yesterday because when the schools came in, I could not see my jig on the drop or find it on the lift to orient to the marks. 

Maybe this was a perfect storm application for the transducer.   I looked at the FL-20, but it has a a 12 degree cone angle also, so likely the same challenges.  I rarely fish shallow water, so maybe the 18 will do fine in my normal depths of 18-25. 

[trophyparadise]

I have the FL-18 Genz Pak as well. I have never had an issue like that. Although I have never fished with spoons in that shallow of water. I usually use small jigs that close to shore. I have not had any issue picking up spoons or chubby darters in 10 ft+ of water

[hardwater diehard]

I would suggest two things ....either low power no zoom or regular power no zoom ...in real shallow water it can be frustrating at times to get dialed it ..in 18-25 fow depths your FL18 will shine...that AZ works good for those bottom huggers ...if you loved your FL8.... your FL18 is all that and a bag of chips

I have had my FL18 since 2003 ...got it with a 12 deg ..in the original pro pack ...upgraded to a tri beam..ultra pack..DD100 and a flex light...rod/cup holder ...love my Vex.

[ralphy]

You could put your old transducer on the new unit and see what happens.
Go to Vexilars website to learning center.
Or call Vexilar
When I upgrade if the new unit doesn't seem to work correctly it's something I am goofing up

[DR.SPECKLER]

why would anybody ever use zoom in 7 ft of water anyways?you could see a  fish hugging bottom in reg mode in 5 to 10ft. in low power mode you may have to turn gain up pretty high even in real shallow water.halfway or more.

[Monticatgeek]

your FL-18 came with the 12 degree transducer. Your FL-8SE has a 19 degree transducer. so here is approx. break down of coverage area. the 12 degree only shows a 1 foot area for every 5 feet of water depth (so 1/5 of your depth) (example : 25 feet of water would show about a 5 foot area on the bottom of the lake. then half way up that is would be like 2.5 feet across)  the 19 degree shows about 1.65 feet of area in 5 feet of water depth (so 1/3 of your depth) (example : 24 feet of water would have a coverage area on the bottom of the lake that is about 8 feet across. then half way up would be 4 feet across.)  if you go to a 9 degree transducer then the cone shrinks down even more to 1/6 of your water depth. note this is not exact numbers as sound doesn't travel in a perfect cone shape but these numbers are close.  Vexilar has a good video on you tube about all their transducers they offer.

[Scheu]

To Ihawkangler  and other members - curious to know If you ever found an answer to this problem. I have the exact same FL 18 that you have. I bought mine 2 years ago. It has worked great in any depth of water. 2 weeks ago, I had the same problem. I was in 5 to 7 feet of water, and I could not see my tungsten jig. If I left the setting on normal with the interference dial set on 1, my screen would fill up with clutter (all the way around the circle). I changed it to low power and the clutter went away and I could see my bottom mark. But I could not see my jig on the way down or on the way up. My battery is registering 100% charged. I did the transducer test when I got home, that vexilar recommends, and it passed the test. Any help would be appreciated.

[hardwater diehard]

To Ihawkangler  and other members - curious to know If you ever found an answer to this problem. I have the exact same FL 18 that you have. I bought mine 2 years ago. It has worked great in any depth of water. 2 weeks ago, I had the same problem. I was in 5 to 7 feet of water, and I could not see my tungsten jig. If I left the setting on normal with the interference dial set on 1, my screen would fill up with clutter (all the way around the circle). I changed it to low power and the clutter went away and I could see my bottom mark. But I could not see my jig on the way down or on the way up. My battery is registering 100% charged. I did the transducer test when I got home, that vexilar recommends, and it passed the test. Any help would be appreciated.

Do you have the ProDucer ....many report frustration in water less then 10 feet . Should be using low power in less then 10 FOW...not much of a cone in 5-7 FOW...is the transducer hanging straight down and just below hole bottom ?

[DR.SPECKLER]

To Ihawkangler  and other members - curious to know If you ever found an answer to this problem. I have the exact same FL 18 that you have. I bought mine 2 years ago. It has worked great in any depth of water. 2 weeks ago, I had the same problem. I was in 5 to 7 feet of water, and I could not see my tungsten jig. If I left the setting on normal with the interference dial set on 1, my screen would fill up with clutter (all the way around the circle). I changed it to low power and the clutter went away and I could see my bottom mark. But I could not see my jig on the way down or on the way up. My battery is registering 100% charged. I did the transducer test when I got home, that vexilar recommends, and it passed the test. Any help would be appreciated.

when you put a vexilar in lp mode the clutter will be gone but your jig will disappear to.you have to crank gain to halfway or more to see your jig again.leaving gain at or near zero in lp mode you will never see your jig.it happens with every ducer ive ever had 19,tribeam or proview in lp mode.

[carcus1]

Love my vexilar's don't love the proview in under 15fow, just running a 12 degree on my fl18 and flx28, will probably purchase a 19 for lake winnipeg, the 12 is much better than the proview on lake winnipeg, mostly fishing 12-15

[hnd]

12 deg cone angle in 6' of water covers a 15 diameter of water at the bottom.  even less if you are jigging at like 4'.   slender spoons swing wiiiiide too.