vexilar question

[tracker 1]

I just read someones post about marking small fish on his vex. How can you tell how big the fish is by looking at a Vexilar ? 

[Chainsaw]

I can 'See' Smelt  on my old FL8SE easily. They are identifiable as light return, (green) signals in large groups. I often see larger, (orange) fish cruising through turning to Smelt being eaten, when they go Red on the screen, as well as my lure, so I know where to keep it in the water column. You really need to study the water, fish species, and a few other things on each body of water to feel more sure of what you're seeing, but it works, and very well.

I'm sure it will be even better with the new FL20 my Dear Sweet Other, (Sherry), got me for Christmas. It has the bottom zoom feature which expands the 'Picture' of the bottom six or twelve feet of water so you can see fish coming right off the bottom.

I'm keeping the old Vex though, as it has served me well for over ten years. I'm hoping the new one will help me 'Read' the old one better. If you get an FL8SE be sure to get the S-cable for it. It cuts the signal DOWN to better differentiate betwwen weeds and the fish hiding in thm. I was amazed at the fish I've jigged and baited in, and up through, dense vegetation.

I have had the 'Mixed' fortune of owning both the Vexilar's, FL8SE and the FL20 as well as the Marcum LX-5. The Marcum LX-5 got sent back and my money returned after several weeks of shipping the unit back and forth to fix things that shouldn't have been wrong with it.

In all fairness to the folks at Marcum they tried very hard and were responsive to my needs. They even let me keep the two batteries to help defray my loss of a second flasher on the ice for as long as it was. It may be that I just happened to get the 'Bad LX=5' and two good Vexilars but I'll leave it to youo to be happy with whichever flasher you buy.

You will still have to learn how to 'Read' it and there's nothing like PRACTICE-PRACTICE-PRACTICE !!! Good luck safe ice.

[tracker 1]

Thanks for the reply. I don't think thats an accurate statement. I went to Vexilar site and they explained that the strength of the signal was determined by where the fish was in the cone of the signal.If the fish was on the outer edges of the signal it was a green blimp. As the fish went closer to the center of the signal the color went to orange , then to red meaning the fish was in the center of the cone.
   Not trying to start an argument but trying to figure how some one can tell the size of the fish.

[cSpike]

Thanks for the reply. I don't think thats an accurate statement. I went to Vexilar site and they explained that the strength of the signal was determined by where the fish was in the cone of the signal.If the fish was on the outer edges of the signal it was a green blimp. As the fish went closer to the center of the signal the color went to orange , then to red meaning the fish was in the center of the cone.
   Not trying to start an argument but trying to figure how some one can tell the size of the fish.

If the fish is small and he is directly below the transducer you will only see green. The more mass a fish has the thicker mark you will see. IE thin red is smaller fish than a thick red line and so on. No red means low mass fish. We mark small white perch that show up as light green flashes on the vex. When one stops to check out the jig you see a small red blip apear below the lure on the vex then bam you hoook him. Perch too small to hit your jig might show as thin green line and subsequently leave off the screen and you never get bit.
So esentially he is right.

Spike

[Lobes]

I wondered the same thing for many years. A flasher is very good at letting you know that there are fish down there. It also lets you figure out that they are or aren't interested in you presentation. The rest is up to you ... sort of. Now when I am really wondering about what I'm marking on that flasher I just look over at the trusty Aqua-Vu. It has taken me several decades of building my arsenal but now I can at least say I know the value of some of these tools that were'nt even available when I was first getting into the sport.

Bottom line is there is always a lot of work involved no matter how much technology you bring along.

                                               
NBG

[djkruszewski]

i believe also you can't tell the size of fish with the flashers.  i have caught many walleye in my time on the ice and everyone of them started as a green thin line, even though they were directly below me.  as i reeled him in, the color went from a thin green line to a massive red as he came up through the hole.  also like a earlier post, depends on where the fish is under your hole.  i have caught small crappie that was suspending at 12 feet, and he had a red line, because he was directly below me.  this crappie was no bigger than 8 inches!  but since he was in in my strong cone angle he was red.

[Chainsaw]

OK.

[tracker 1]

I think Capt Spike might have something. The thicker the line might mean the bigger the fish.If you look at your jig its a very small thin green line so why wouldn't a thick red line mean a bigger fish. Geez I don't know maybe I should get a Aqua View and be done with it.

[IceholeFisherman]

Thanks for the reply. I don't think thats an accurate statement. I went to Vexilar site and they explained that the strength of the signal was determined by where the fish was in the cone of the signal.If the fish was on the outer edges of the signal it was a green blimp. As the fish went closer to the center of the signal the color went to orange , then to red meaning the fish was in the center of the cone.
   Not trying to start an argument but trying to figure how some one can tell the size of the fish.

The colors do tell you where in the cone angle the fish is. BUT, its the width of those lines that give you a clue as to the size of the fish. For instance, a thin green line will show a small fish when it just enters your cone angle. A larger fish will show a thicker green line under the same circumstance. Also it depends on how high or low you have your gain set.

[BlueDuck]

It also has a lot to do with how you have the  gain set on your flasher.  I set mine so my lure shows as green. The more you use it the better youll get at knowing whats going on down there...

[johnnyboy8451234]

The colors do tell you where in the cone angle the fish is. BUT, its the width of those lines that give you a clue as to the size of the fish. For instance, a thin green line will show a small fish when it just enters your cone angle. A larger fish will show a thicker green line under the same circumstance. Also it depends on how high or low you have your gain set.

my zercom colorpoint shows larger fish as thicker lines and as the fish move into the cone they go from green to yellow to red. my little jig will be a small thin yellow or red line and a fish moving in will be thicker and as it approaches my bait it will be red also.. often I can see my thin faint line and then see a red larger line come off the bottom and eyeball my bait and if its gonna hit it its then when the lines are even

[Chris Raymond]

Thanks for the reply. I don't think thats an accurate statement. I went to Vexilar site and they explained that the strength of the signal was determined by where the fish was in the cone of the signal.If the fish was on the outer edges of the signal it was a green blimp. As the fish went closer to the center of the signal the color went to orange , then to red meaning the fish was in the center of the cone.
   Not trying to start an argument but trying to figure how some one can tell the size of the fish.

I don't think the angle of signal return is something the transducer/machine/software can figure out.  It has to be a "law of mass" or "law of density" issue...for a single fish.  What you describe may very well be true for a single fish, but when you're comparing a big fish to a small fish, it's not.  Practice and experience can help one figure it out, but in many respects, it still can be a crap shoot. 

Edit--Oops, I should have read the rest before chirping, a little bit redundant.  Sorry.