a vex?what is that.

[icebigboy]

you guys always talk about vex.what is that?.i know that's a fishfinder but i don't see why it's so usefull???I'm a walleye fisher for the most so convince me!!!

[PIKEGUY]

It's a flasher and shows the depth, your bait and any fish that may (or may not) be there. I don't actually have one, but everyone swears by them. Pretty convincing eh? I'll bet you run right out and buy one 

[MN_transplant]

That's actually fairly accurate.

Usually, you don't need to have a hole drilled in the ice to see what's below. The unit can shoot right through it. You will need to scrape away the snow and get down to the ice. Set the transducer onto the ice, turn the unit on to the appropriate range, and pour a small amount of water onto the transducer. This forces any air between the transducer and the ice out, giving you the necessary connection to the water below. If you don't have any water handy, sometimes a healthy wad of spit will do the trick. Just make sure to not use any liquid that will harm the environment. If you haven't a clue as to how deep it is, simply start shallow and switch to deeper ranges until you find the bottom. It will appear as the most definite mark clockwise from the top mark. If the water seeps away from the transducer you'll need to pour on more. Although you can shoot through the ice to find your spot quickly, when it comes time to see if the fish are around, you will need to drill some holes. Also, ice that is layered with slush and snow within can be difficult or impossible to shoot through. This is because there is air trapped in the layers. In this case, drilling is the only way to see what's below.

Once your hole is drilled, drop the Ice-Ducer down into it. The hole doesn't need to be slush free, but the transducer needs to be below the debris. Now pull it out again. Rub the bottom of the transducer with your hand. No, it's not for luck. This "wets" your transducer, giving it a good couple, or connection, with the water. OK, put it back in the water again. Use the float or suspend your transducer over the hole. Do what ever works best for you. Adjust the depth by sliding the stop along the cord. Stick your finger into the slot in the stopper when you slide it. It slides much better. Try to keep the bottom of the Ice-Ducer about the same level as the bottom of the ice. The deeper you go with it the clearer the reading, but the more likely a fish will tangle in it. Setting it shallower can put more noise on your screen, but the tangling problem isn't as much of a concern. You need to find the best spot for you. Remember, make sure that it is hanging by itself in the water, and is not resting against the side of the hole. Keep the gain low. You can turn it up in deeper water, say beyond 40' or so, or to see multiple echoes, but for the most part keep it under 3. The bottom will appear as a wide mark of all colors. The width of the bottom and the color content depend upon what type of bottom you are over. Hey, does your bottom appear to be dancing? Maybe colors are coming and going? It could be Fish!

FL8 Flasher DisplayDrop your favorite lure down the hole and watch it go down on the depth finder. Oh yeah, make sure it's tied on your line. Drop it down until it hits the bottom. If the depth finder lost sight of your lure on the way down, it's because it either went out of the cone angle or the reflection wasn't adequate to give a return mark. Now, reel it up until you feel the lure come off of the bottom. Raise it up about a foot and then drop it down again until you feel bottom. Watch for it to rise away from the bottom mark on your unit. If you can't see it, bounce it a bit and slowly increase the gain. Watch for your lure movement on the screen. Once it's in view, adjust the gain so your lure mark reads green, maybe flickering into orange. Now you're set. Let's get one thing straight, though. Just because there are fish down there doesn't mean they will bite, well, unless you're a Pro.

The above is from the Vexilar site...
 Basically it helps you locate fish, and see within 1-3 inch's what depth they are at, as well as how deep the water is where you are fishing.
 You are able to see your bait also, so you can then raise or lower it to the exact depth the fish are at.
 You can use it without drilling any holes, which comes in especially handy on new waters. No need to fire up the auger, just shoot thru the ice until you find(mark) fish.
 I will not go ice fishing without a vex, or other flasher unit. Simple as that

[crappie66]

What is a Vexilar?

That reminds me of the guy working in the fishing department at Dick's Sporting Goods Store.  I went in there about a month ago to see if they carried any of the accessories for Vexilars.  He told me he had never heard of a Vexilar, and wasn't sure what they were.  Needless to say I won't be shopping there for fishing gear again.

[Cook078]

The biggest thing about the Vexilar, or any flasher, is that it is real-time.  You can watch your jig, and see how fish react to it instantly...To see what their mood is, and what they want...

Mike

[Polar]

I know if walleyes are game a flasher will make a big differencece.check here for your information.http://www.vexilar.com/products/flashers.html

[TroutFishingBear]

vexilars are great for all the above reasons and more. Fishing without one is like fishing blind; I have learned that in my first two trips this year with my new fl-18.

Basically, they can turn a day where you get 0 fish into 1 or 2 fish, 1 or 2 fish into 3 or 4 fish, 3 or 4 fish into 10 fish... you get the picture. They can almost double your catch rate.

The fl-18 is best for walleye and other bottom hugging fish like lake trout because it has autozoom and you can see the last 5 ft. of the water column if you are on a higher scale in the same scale as if you were in shallow. They help you know what a fish is reacting to when it is looking at your bait, also where most fish are coming in and when to do the necessary twitches or what not to trigger them. They also help a lot for crappies and rainbows which are nortorious suspenders and can be anywhere from a foot under the ice to the
Just two days ago fishing in 18 ft. of water, I caught a 3 lb. rainbow at 3 ft. under the ice. Never would of saw him without the vex. The next fish I caught was a 4 lb. rainbow in 12 ft. of water. I proceeded to get a 13" almost 1 lb. rainbow that was right off bottom. The only fish I would've got out of those 3 would have been the last one, the smallest. Total, I caught 8 trout, most of them really good size. I would have caught maybe 3 without the vex. Is a 5 fish increase in a fairly slow day enough for you?

[LoveIce]

I called dicks to and the guy was like AAAHHHH we dont have them then I said ok smart guy what is it, there was a long AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HHHHH a fly .$#$$$#$$#$$#@$#@#@#$#   AAHHHH its a &$%$&% FLASHER and you do have them go to isle 3 top shelf whats the price  GEEEEE 

[Fat Boy]

I called dicks to and the guy was like AAAHHHH we dont have them then I said ok smart guy what is it, there was a long AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HHHHH a fly .$#$$$#$$#$$#@$#@#@#$#   AAHHHH its a &$%$&% FLASHER and you do have them go to isle 3 top shelf whats the price  GEEEEE 

Too funny!!!

[icebigboy]

just some questions more.what is the maximum depht range?the price?you say i can see
my bait?we change fishing a hole in 5 to 10 min do the vex is easy to carry from hole to hole?
special thank MN transplant to take the time to write your post i appreciate
thank you guys

[bigredonice]

I will tell you guys whats funny about the fish finders...

i regularly fished with a handfull of people last year, and most of them didn't have vex's - by the end of the ice fishing season, every single person that i fished with regularly had bought one that didnt already have one - EVERY SINGLE PERSON!! - 6 of them

[blue mule]

my .02 worth .got one last year for christmas. only used it a couple times. like someone said earlier, it won't make fish bite, but you know when you're on fish, and you can see how they react to your bait. i fish a lake for crappies at night, and  looking back the times i did well was mostly by accident. now that i have a vex, i won' be fishing a foot under the fish. i can see how they react to my jig , make any adjustments, and (hopefully) catch more fish. to put it in a nutshell, if i don't have my vex, i'd rather go to w***.the're pricey, but well worth the money. get one and you'll never fish without it again.

[MN_transplant]

just some questions more.what is the maximum depht range?the price?you say i can see
my bait?we change fishing a hole in 5 to 10 min do the vex is easy to carry from hole to hole?
special thank MN transplant to take the time to write your post i appreciate
thank you guys

there are Six Depth Scales: 20', 30', 40', 60', 80', and 120' or 240'
 it is so easy to carry, they weigh next to nothing, 1.1 pound for the fl-8.
 You "see" your bait, from the minute it gets in the water till the fish swallows it. What you see is a colored mark on the screen of the vexilar that represents your bait.
 literally you grab the handle, pick it up and move to the next hole.
 here is the link to the vex website, read thru all of it and you will be the wiser for it.
http://www.vexilar.com/index.html

[Fat Boy]

I forgot to answer the question in the topic title of this thread...

IMO, a flasher style sonar (like a Vexilar, Marcum, Zercom and the new LDC Lowrance version) is the most important piece of equipment other than your rods, reels, line and lures that you can carry out there with you on the ice.

The least expensive ice package of the Vexilars is the FL8 Genz Pack that goes for about $280.  The FL18 runs between $380 and $480 depending on what ice package you get.  The Vexilar web site will explain the difference between the two types of units.  Do you have to spend that much for a flasher on the ice?  Nope, there are other older units still available on e-bay and similar sites.  Last year, some guys posted buying Zercom RTS (for real time sonar) units for less than $100 (including the materials that they used to get it ready to use on the ice).  Those units are excellent also, you can see your lure, the fish, all in real time as well.  The major difference is that the Vexilar units have controls that can block or reduce intereference from other sonar unit signals, and also the older Zercom units read in one color, black (weak signals outside of the cone show up as gray) where Vexilars show in three colors, weak signals show green, then to orange and red being strongest.  I've used a Zercom for years and caught many a fish with it, it's a great unit.  I just purchased the Vexilar and will suit me, my reasons are many.  Will my Zercom still get use?  Yep, I've got buddies that don't have sonar that will be able to use it and it will be my backup unit.

Now, for walleye, these do work well when locating and jigging for them, same as for panfish.  You can also see what is down there like any other fish finder as far as structure, etc. for using tip ups, etc.

What can you see?  As many have said before on this thread and on others, you can see the fish, your lure, how they react, if the fish are on the bottom or suspended, bottom structure and material, weeds.  And, in time, you'll also see yourself catching more fish.

[swantucky]

  I bought a vexlar last year at the end of the season and can't wait to get on the ice with it this year.  As stated above it is probably my most important piece of equipment.  For example last year on the last day of safe ice I went to our spot and marked fish and caught 1, then they shut off in that spot.  I took my auger and vex and drilled about 10-15 more holes in other areas.  I took my rod and the vex and hole jumped I picked up 5 more fish that I would never have known were there.  Of the 6 I caught only 1 was on the bottom where most guys without eleectronics fish.  I would see a fish 5 feet off the bottom crank my jig up to where it was and bam I'm hooked up.  I would have sat over that "good" spot all afternoon and not caught jack without the vex.  I am a believer!!!!!  Well worth the money!!!!

[fozsey]

When I first bought my FL18 I took it to a local walleye lake and spent the afternoon playing with the knobs, buttons and such. I wasn't fishing as much as I was trying to figure out what all the hubub was all about. The first time you see one run, I swear you will stare at it and ask yourself how in the @#$#$#@ this thing could possibly find the bottom let alone find fish. You will literatly start to wonder how your fellow IS brothern could possibly have steered you into spending 400 crackers on something this silly. About the time the "I just spent 400 bucks on nothing" knot started to develop in my stomache I found the bottom and checked to be sure against my depth weight. When I was convinced that was right, I dropped a jig down my hole and watched it fall from 0 all the way to the bottom. I pulled it up and it followed on the VEX. Up and down, up and down...  Hey, this is pretty cool. I am easily entertained. About this time my partner said the fish weren't biting and put his rods away. Too bad for him, bc I wasn't done playing. While I was fiddling and keeping myself entertained, I saw a mark about 6' off the bottom that was green on the screen. I lifted my jig so it was at the 6' mark and watched the green mark turn orange, then red and then, my rod got slammed by a 17" walleye. I pulled him up and my partner, who was sitting behind me on our sled pouting asked if I got something and I told him, "Yup, just a walleye." We caught our walleye limit that day, the very first day I had ever fished with a VEX. I would have probably given up and went home like my buddy wanted to do. Two of were made into believers that day. Money well spent? You betcha! 

[CNY_Tim]

yellow???  You sure that wasn't a Colorpoint or MarCum?

[fozsey]

OOPS, sorry its fixd now. Old age is hell.

[Tholl]

Well, As a fellow walleye fishermen, I kno that the walleye most of the time sit fairly near to the bottom of the water. Now with the VEX you can pick em up easily, It can go down REALLY DEEP. You can see the walleye come up and smack your jig man, its INSANE! Great tool and a must have for the hardcore icefishermen.
-Tholl

[Fat Boy]

OOPS, sorry its fixd now. Old age is hell.

I did the same friggin thing Foz!  I guess we'll never be Ice Teemers   Hopefully the newbies to sonar that have already read this thread won't be confused and cost them fish!

[fozsey]

Every once in a while everyone else sees what I have to live with daily....I am human...

[NAD42]

A VEX...What is that? PRICELESS!

[icebigboy]

I'd like to see it live how does it work but I'm pretty convince guys.i check the price at Le baron(same as cabelas)and its expensive 489$can for the f8 and 689$can for the f18.
that hurt a wallet
i just bought a digital cam so maybe next year for the vex

[sturgeon]

Ice bigboy

you can buy the FL18 genz pack for 499$ here in ontario at a store I know and the the FL18 pro pack for 519$. Le barons is way overpriced, i check around and bought mine for way cheaper. I just can't wait to use it.

Sturgeon