Vexilar FL-18 in open water

[scoutn]

Anybody tried the power cord and puck open water kit for your FL-18 in open water? Would you recommend it...why or why not? I tried to use a LMS 332 color with my X-17 on the same boat and got too much interference...even when I change ping speeds.

[REW]

The fl-18 will work fine with its puck and cord.
The one question that you have to ask yourself; are you happy with the bright sun viewing of the fl-18.

With the fl-8, and its screen; I was certainly NOT happy with the sun light viewing of the screen.

The fl-18 is much brighter, but it is up to you to judge if it is BRIGHT enough for you to be happy. It doesn't matter how good the depth finder is; if you can't see its display in the bright - direct sunlight.

That is one of the big advantages of the lcd screens. Most lcd's are easier to view as the light gets brighter. This is the opposite of the bulb type displays as used by the fl-18.

You may or may not have interference problems with your other unit.
Before making any rash decisions, I would simply do some fishing with the fl-18 in open water. Drop the transducer over the stern of the boat on the side opposite from your other transduers. Tie it off so that it won't drop any lower than the bottom of the transom. Then use the fl-18 in bright sun light - along with any other units turned on in the boat. See if you are happy with its operation. You can certainly do this is you are drifting or anchored. Obviously, it won't work if you are driving fast. The transducer will kick out and bounce along the top of the water.

Let us know what you decide.
REW

Rew is right on the money concerning direct sunlight viewing. I never thought there was a huge difference between marcum and vex until I used a marcum in direct sunlight. The marcum is significantly brighter.

That said, I still use my FL8 as my main depthfinder in my boat. I made a sunshade and it works just fine. For my forward depthfinder, I have a Zercom LCF40. Mucho easier to see in bright sun and I like a flasher ALOT more than any LCD on the market.

Tom B

"I like a flasher ALOT more than any LCD on the market."




Tom,...Why do you say that? I hear that a lot by icefishermen but I still can't get a good reason as to "why".
I hear old saws that its "real time" but really so are NEW and most LCD's,..at least faster than anyone's reflexes that I know.
I hear that LCD screens freeze in the cold but the ones I have are good to -20 which is cold enough for any time I'm going to be out. Re on ice, I DO HAVE a flasher but I really don't use it much as I feel I can tell more in watching the LCD screen.
Really,... not trying to start an argument but I really don't understand the stanch feelings about flashers,..I wonder if Genz and the other champion ice guys aren't just trying to keep up sales for their sponsers.
I also have wondered if (I'm serious here) if the colors are just,..well "neat",..not there is anything wrong with that. I've heard guys say how they seldom see anything exciting as that red line "comming up" to their bait.
The fact that the "fish coming up" is an allusion of it coming from the side into the cone also tells me that a lot of guys misinterpret what they see.
Anyway I think I get a better idea of whats down there with my LCD. A much wider cone coverage, I can see a tiny jig that shows up at an exact level as a heart monitorlike screen projection and bring it up or down to a fish comming into the wide cone. (ever watch a fish on a underwater cam?) Sure has changed my presentation...anyway,..I'm willing to learn,..maybe I need someone to show me on the water cause I really don't understand it.

I have an FL-18 ultra pack. How difficult/expensive is it to set up a Vexilar FL-18 for a more permanent mounting in a boat? I would like to mount it on the bow and have a transducer that I don't have to deal with or remove (it sounds like the "puck" transducer would be kind of a hassle). I would also like to be able to remove the unit after the open water season and put it back in its normal ice fishing setup. Is this difficult to set up?

How effective is the FL-18 in open water? I absolutely love it for ice fishing, but I recognize that fishing in open water brings into play a lot more variables (rocking, moving boat).

I don't know if I agree with the assessments regarding the ability to read the FL-18. I have used the FL-18 on some bright days on the ice and I don't have much trouble reading it. Then again, I usually have the zoom feature on, which makes the bottom 6' readings pretty easy to read.

I have the FL-18 mounted in my boat and love it. The high speed conversion kit cost around $70 at Cabelas and came with a transom-type transducer (other options, such as trolling motor and thru hull mounts, are also available).

Swapping it out from my Genz pack was simple. Wiring it to the boat's electrics and mounting the transducer were straightforward.

I have used it in a variety of sunlight conditions and haven't had any problems seeing the dial. The top edges of the dial provide an effective sunshade. I might want to add the magnifying cover to help keep water from collecting on the dial face.

The bottom lock feature is invaluable for seeing softwater walleyes lying along the bottom. My Eagle sonar has become secondary as I have much more faith in the Vexilar to find fish. Also the Vex can, with proper gain adjustment, give you insight into bottom hardness/composition and the ability to detect fish buried into weeds/cover, that no other fishfinder I have seen can provide.

Tight Lines.

I have had LCD graphs on my boat. I didn't like them.

The reason that I like a graph better is the easier tunability. If I need more power to cut through clutter or determine bottom type, I reach down and turn the power knob. To do that with most of the LCD's (the Vex Edge is one exception) you have to go through menus.

Some have told me that they need the "history" that an LCD provides. I don't have ADD, so a flasher with no history works just fine.

A zercom LCF 40 is an LCD flasher, so I would imagine that one of the newer LCD flashers would work fine in my boat, but they really don't do anything that my current flashers aren't already doing.

Tom B

[Chuckles]

I have my 18 rigged in my boat by having a puck tranducer on the trolling motor - works great for me as didthe 8 before it... I do have a juice can spray painted flat black and have it slid over the face of the read out... works great as a sunshade and can't beat the price - plus if you buy some vodka and you buy a can of tomato juice it can be a tasty deal - wash thoroughly when empty - use a can opener to open both top and bottom - paitn and walla. If you want to mount it permanently I'm sure you could buy an extra mount for the unit itself and screw it into the boat where you want it - attachment shouldn't take a minute once the power cable is in place and the tranducer line is in place. Shows me what I need in most cases - the depth and it's changes - occasionally a fish too!
Chuckles

[Meat Hunter]

Ilove my FL-18, I mostly use it in open water fishing very early in the year and late in the season when the fish quit chasing and want the baits straight up and down.

What I don't love is the Minn-Kota Universal Sonar. Basically, universal sonar doesn't work. Period. So now I'm going to buy the Vexilar kit that I saw with the puck and mount included for the FL-18 and use it on the front of my boat. I was on the horn yesterday with Minn-Kota and they told me to write a letter to the manager. I told him how silly it's going to look with a puck on their Universal Sonar motor.

I've been looking for an old issue of Walleye Insider that had the guy called "Spoon Dadddy", or something like "All Spoons, All the time." I wanted to look at his setup again. If any of you guys have that issue, I'd like to buy it, maybe trade a few old Hot N' Tot's new in box for it.

Meat Hunter.

I run my FL18 off my bow mount and it works fine. I got the puck kit and just needed to get power to the unit and I was set. If you do use the puck it is a good idea to put an extra layer or two of tape or some foam in between the puck and where you mount it on the bow mount. Otherwise you could get sporadic interference from the bow mount showing up on your Vex.

As far as the screen being read in sunlight, I haven't had any issues with that at all. If you don't want to buy juice to make a sun sheild, a small section of 4" stove pipe works well too.