Vex 22, false signals?

[jmillsp]

I got a new 22 a couple of years ago. I had problems then and still seem to be. What I notice the most, when I get a bite and miss the fish as I jerk up, it leaves a kind of trail of green and yellow lines on my screen throughout the water column. Sometimes it is so bad I have a hard time making out my jig. I have tried adjusting the settings so I can barely see my jig in 15 to 20 feet of water or so. I just don't get it. Never had this issue with my 18 or 8 before that. Any ideas? Anyone else have a similar issue?

[3300]

thinking its not a brand problem at all. it is your bait stirring things up that the sonar is marking. just turn down the gain until your jig is just noticeable. sounds like you have it up too high.

happens on both of mine and they are bird and marcum.

[jmillsp]

thinking its not a brand problem at all. it is your bait stirring things up that the sonar is marking. just turn down the gain until your jig is just noticeable. sounds like you have it up too high.

happens on both of mine and they are bird and marcum.

Turning it down helps but doesn't resolve the issue.

[DR.SPECKLER]

air bubbles from setting the hook to hard.my marcums,vexilars and showdown troller all do this sometimes when im ripping lips real hard.the only other thing is if you have the old style tribeam connected to your fl22.check it for cracks.they were prone to cracking.but all my flashers do  what you mention once in awhile.

[matzilla]

that happens all the time no mater what sonar you're using...Its easier to deal with on a graph than a flasher imo

[jmillsp]

Interesting. I don't think my old 8 or 18 did this.
Yesterday, I noticed I was constantly losing my signal in shallow water. Under 10 feet! I switched away from the TriBeam last year and go the ProDucer. I would have to turn my gain up so high that it would show all the little bubbles and whatever else that looks like interference in order to try to find my jig. Then, sometimes, I could put it down and my tungsten jig would show up just like it is suppose to. I used to be able to just turn up the gain far enough to see my jig and that is where I wanted it. In shallow, 10 foot water, there is absolutely no way you can use it in regular mode as the whole screen lights up even with the gain all the way down. You have to fish in LOW mode and then play with the gain. Usually bringing the gain up at least 1/4 to 1/2 strength to see your jig. I don't know but think it is going back to Vexilar after I am done with it for the season. This will be at least the second time I am sending it in!

[hardwater diehard]

Kicked up debris from the bottom caused by the fish strike ...but never enough to really clutter my screen

[jmillsp]

Kicked up debris from the bottom caused by the fish strike ...but never enough to really clutter my screen

Ya, that line clutter can be a problem and I completely went away from power lines this year because of it. I only use mono or fluorocarbon now. Still get the line being noticed by the Vex though.  Has anyone noticed a line that is better than the rest for this problem?
Today, I was again frustrated as it seems my ice jig is not always being seen, even in the 10 foot mode. Fishin in only 8 foot of water! Often times I have to turn the gain way up to try to see it and when you do that you get so much line interference along with everything else, it is impossible to see your jig. Then, within a few minutes, it seems and for no reason I can figure out, I will start seeing my jig in green and even sometimes bright red and all is good again. Just getting totally frustrated with it. Once you have the gain set, you shouldn't have to continually try to adjust it to see your jig!

[Fry Flier]

Something tells me you are fishing in an area that has enough current that it is taking your jig out of the transducer cone and then it comes back. 8-10 feet of water only gives you . This is a copy from Walleye Central.


If you know the cone angle and the depth, you can calculate it using the following equation:

Sonar Cone Diameter = 2*depth*Tan(cone angle/2)

Note: "Tan" is short for Tangent. Most scientific calculators have a "Tan" key.

For example, if you have a 19 degree cone and you're in 10 feet of water,

Sonar Cone Diameter = 2*10*Tan(19/2) = 2*10*.1673 = 3.3 feet

I'm not sure if that is how the sonar companies calculate cone diameter but that is how you would do it Geometrically.

Hope this helps.

Eric
(Engineer with too much spare time)

[jmillsp]

Something tells me you are fishing in an area that has enough current that it is taking your jig out of the transducer cone and then it comes back. 8-10 feet of water only gives you . This is a copy from Walleye Central.


If you know the cone angle and the depth, you can calculate it using the following equation:

Sonar Cone Diameter = 2*depth*Tan(cone angle/2)

Note: "Tan" is short for Tangent. Most scientific calculators have a "Tan" key.

For example, if you have a 19 degree cone and you're in 10 feet of water,

Sonar Cone Diameter = 2*10*Tan(19/2) = 2*10*.1673 = 3.3 feet

I'm not sure if that is how the sonar companies calculate cone diameter but that is how you would do it Geometrically.

Hope this helps.

Eric
(Engineer with too much spare time)

I wondered about that some too. I am fishing in a farm pond where there should be no current though and trying to put the fishing line as close to the ducer as possible so the jig is as directly below it as I can get it.

[Fry Flier]

Try drilling two holes one for the Transducer and one for the lure go 2-3 feet apart and fish one hole. If your Transducer does not pick up the lure or bait tade the holes around and see what happens. Try to put the holes in the current line, current can be found by watching the lure or bait normally 3-4 feet below the ice. Hang line in center of hole and see what side the lure or bait moves to. May not seem like much but by the time you times it the depth and possibly fast current below you can lose track of your lure bait or jig. small jigs on light line will move a lot more so when not tungsten.

[jmillsp]

Try drilling two holes one for the Transducer and one for the lure go 2-3 feet apart and fish one hole. If your Transducer does not pick up the lure or bait tade the holes around and see what happens. Try to put the holes in the current line, current can be found by watching the lure or bait normally 3-4 feet below the ice. Hang line in center of hole and see what side the lure or bait moves to. May not seem like much but by the time you times it the depth and possibly fast current below you can lose track of your lure bait or jig. small jigs on light line will move a lot more so when not tungsten.

THERE IS NO CURRENT!!! I am fishin tungsten jigs!

[jmillsp]

OK, now I am wondering if it may just be a ducer problem and nothing to do with the unit itself. I just got the following from Pat at Vex. This makes some sense to me but still seems I should be able to see my jig when I have it right under the transducer!! Anyway, wondering what you guys think and which Ducer you would go with. Generally, I don't fish any deeper than 25 feet and can be as shallow as 6 or 8. They originally sent me the Proview to replace 2 different tri beams that I didn't like. Thanks for your help.

[DR.SPECKLER]

OK, now I am wondering if it may just be a ducer problem and nothing to do with the unit itself. I just got the following from Pat at Vex. This makes some sense to me but still seems I should be able to see my jig when I have it right under the transducer!! Anyway, wondering what you guys think and which Ducer you would go with. Generally, I don't fish any deeper than 25 feet and can be as shallow as 6 or 8. They originally sent me the Proview to replace 2 different tri beams that I didn't like. Thanks for your help.

19 or 12 degree.if your not into the proview.

[jmillsp]

19 or 12 degree.if your not into the proview.

Well, this is why I asked as I got the following from Vexilar:
John, This is a shallow water unit. The Pro View is a very narrow cone angle and is usually used in deep water applications, waters over 60 feet. In 10 feet of water, the Pro view only has a 1.8 foot viewing diameter at bottom. For shallow water fishing I would have suggested a 12 degree if you fish in 15 to 40 feet of water and a 19 degree if all your fishing was in 30 feet or less. A wider cone angle would probably be more beneficial for the shallow water fishing you probably do.

If you wish, send me the Pro View you have and I will be happy to swap out the transducer for a wider cone angle. Choose either the 12 degree or 19 degree as described above and state that on a note that also contains your name, address, daytime phone number and a brief description of the issue or a copy of this e-mail. Thanks

[DR.SPECKLER]

I used my flx28/proview ducer for 3 days straight in 11 ft on lp mode and manual 20 ft setting/gain on around 2 which is a little wider cone angle than 9 with no problems it wasn't blobby or cluttered.caught a bunch of bluegills.i have the proview on my fl20 also and have never fished over 30ft.i have no problems with the proview and really don't want to see fish 4ft away from me im only interested what directly underneath me and my jig.

[Cantgetenough]

Well, this is why I asked as I got the following from Vexilar:
John, This is a shallow water unit. The Pro View is a very narrow cone angle and is usually used in deep water applications, waters over 60 feet. In 10 feet of water, the Pro view only has a 1.8 foot viewing diameter at bottom. For shallow water fishing I would have suggested a 12 degree if you fish in 15 to 40 feet of water and a 19 degree if all your fishing was in 30 feet or less. A wider cone angle would probably be more beneficial for the shallow water fishing you probably do.

If you wish, send me the Pro View you have and I will be happy to swap out the transducer for a wider cone angle. Choose either the 12 degree or 19 degree as described above and state that on a note that also contains your name, address, daytime phone number and a brief description of the issue or a copy of this e-mail. Thanks

Got to love great customer service and knowledgeable people behind it. I'm also impressed with the knowledge base  and those willing to share it-Thank you all.  Fry Flier thanks for the math lesson I now have a laminated tag to go with my Marcum as I believe it helps me with what I'm seeing down the hole. It just a little late here in Illinois as ice is on the way out but I'm all ready preparing for the next ice season.

[jmillsp]

And to follow up a little more relative to GREAT customer service. I had a phone call today from Greg with Vexilar. He and I spoke a good half hour about what might be the issue with mine etc. I have about concluded I will try the Proview yet again this next year and use some of his advice. One of the things he told me was to make sure the ducer is shooting straight down. I thought I was doing this but with the 9 degree cone it has in shallow water you are really only getting about 8 inches to look at in 10 foot..So, if you are off a little you won't see your jig. He advised going away from using the float and go with the support arm to hold the ducer in the middle of the hole. He also said when he uses his, he doesn't put it down as deep as most of us think it should be. He keeps it within the hole and not below the hole. He said he can still see his jig fine this way and has less fish tangle up around the ducer. Guess I will give it a go again next year. I also thought it was telling that Tom, at Vex, was still using an 18 and that Greg uses the 22. Neither are using the new 28! Don't really know why other than it is hard to teach an old dog new tricks but if they thought they really needed the 28, I would guess they could get a pretty good deal on one, to say the least! I am wondering about the weed mode on the 28. Neither of them have been able to tell me whether or not they thought it would help when fishing in structure, like trees. Anyone have any experience with the weed mode and fishing trees? Thanks everyone for the help!

[DR.SPECKLER]

I don't have experience with trees but I fished my pond which is about 8 ft deep and choked with weeds all the time and weed mode cleared a lot of the clutter to reveal  fish in the heavy cover.i can barely fish my pond with all the weeds most of the time.i also don't put the ducer below the ice   because I get to many fish wrapped in the ducer cord.probably around 3/4 of the way down the hole.

[jmillsp]

I don't have experience with trees but I fished my pond which is about 8 ft deep and choked with weeds all the time and weed mode cleared a lot of the clutter to reveal  fish in the heavy cover.i can barely fish my pond with all the weeds most of the time.i also don't put the ducer below the ice   because I get to many fish wrapped in the ducer cord.probably around 3/4 of the way down the hole.

I am going to try the idea of not down the hole so far next year. Season is officially over here now. Still thinking about going to the 28 but not sure it would be worth the coins to switch. As frustrated as I was getting though, I would have bought one out on the ice to try in a heartbeat!