vexilar experts

[woodie slayer]

i have a fl-18 and would like to ask a few questions ..

i mainly fish in 10 foot or less.
what gain setting do you use most of the time?
9 or 19 degree transducer setting?
which mode setting bl,az ,or lp


i also have a hard time seeing my little tear drop am i doing something wrong?? i can see the fish

[JJ Mac]

i have a fl-18 and would like to ask a few questions ..

i mainly fish in 10 foot or less.
what gain setting do you use most of the time?
9 or 19 degree transducer setting?
which mode setting bl,az ,or lp


i also have a hard time seeing my little tear drop am i doing something wrong?? i can see the fish


In shallow water you want to go with the 19 degree cone.

Mode settings: Bl= Bottom Lock (you only need this while moving ie: open water)

AZ=Auto Zoom

LP=Low power

I would recommend running your unit on AZ in the low power mode. Start on a low gain setting and ease it up til it marks bottom. Then drop down your tear drop and adjust the gain so you get at least 2 or 3 green bars. It should not take much more than a 1 to 3 setting on the gain.

[1fish]

have a fl-18 and would like to ask a few questions ..

i mainly fish in 10 foot or less.
what gain setting do you use most of the time?

Depends on the size and style of jig you're using. Bigger jigs, horizontal jigs, or jigs with flat surfaces on top show up better on sonar so the gain can be lower than thin, small, or vertical jigs of comparable size. Also depends on the weeds. If it's seriously weedy and using regular power mode, very low, using low power mode, might be 3/4's of the way up.

9 or 19 degree transducer setting?

Also depends. Typically you'll want the 19 degree turned on. However, if you're on a steep break or in weeds, the 9 degree can really shine, even in shallow water.

which mode setting bl,az ,or lp

bl = Bottom Lock, this is a setting for using in a boat, really no application for ice fishing
az = Auto Zoom, this turns the left half of your screen into a picture of the bottom 6' and the right half the entire water column. You get increased detail on the left (bottom 6') and decreased clarity on the right (whole water column). I almost always have mine set to auto zoom, unless fish are suspended more than a few feet off bottom, then I switch to regular mode. One note on Auto Zoom. When you switch holes, turn it back to regular mode, then back to AZ once you get to the new hole. This allows the unit to determine where the new bottom is.


i also have a hard time seeing my little tear drop am i doing something wrong?? i can see the fish

Not neccessarily. Certain jigs show up better than others. Some of the smaller traditional style vertical jigs are tough to pick up w/out having the gain turned way up. Reason being, take a look at it from the top, not much there to bounce sonar signals off of. Now take a look at a horizontal jig and notice how much more surface area there is when looking straight down. And if you really really want to get some strong signals, file the top of a horizontal jig flat on top.

[9mmruger1]

have a fl-18 and would like to ask a few questions ..

i mainly fish in 10 foot or less.
what gain setting do you use most of the time?

Depends on the size and style of jig you're using. Bigger jigs, horizontal jigs, or jigs with flat surfaces on top show up better on sonar so the gain can be lower than thin, small, or vertical jigs of comparable size. Also depends on the weeds. If it's seriously weedy and using regular power mode, very low, using low power mode, might be 3/4's of the way up.

9 or 19 degree transducer setting?

Also depends. Typically you'll want the 19 degree turned on. However, if you're on a steep break or in weeds, the 9 degree can really shine, even in shallow water.

which mode setting bl,az ,or lp

bl = Bottom Lock, this is a setting for using in a boat, really no application for ice fishing
az = Auto Zoom, this turns the left half of your screen into a picture of the bottom 6' and the right half the entire water column. You get increased detail on the left (bottom 6') and decreased clarity on the right (whole water column). I almost always have mine set to auto zoom, unless fish are suspended more than a few feet off bottom, then I switch to regular mode. One note on Auto Zoom. When you switch holes, turn it back to regular mode, then back to AZ once you get to the new hole. This allows the unit to determine where the new bottom is.


i also have a hard time seeing my little tear drop am i doing something wrong?? i can see the fish

Not neccessarily. Certain jigs show up better than others. Some of the smaller traditional style vertical jigs are tough to pick up w/out having the gain turned way up. Reason being, take a look at it from the top, not much there to bounce sonar signals off of. Now take a look at a horizontal jig and notice how much more surface area there is when looking straight down. And if you really really want to get some strong signals, file the top of a horizontal jig flat on top.

yeah that! ;)