FL-18 & Gain for small lures

[Guest]

Ok, I have not made it out with the FL-18 Yet (I'm sick) but will get out sunday. My question is roughly how much gain do you end up using when fishing small lures 1/200th oz. to say 1/100 oz. when fishing shallow water 10-15 feet to see the jig? Its a given that the smaller the lure the more gain you will need. And is it helpfull to use normal power for these small lures? Thanks guys I can't wait. Unfortunately the water is so murky that you cannot see a foot so fishing will be slow.

[kslipsinker]

I have had a FL-18 since last year. Had it reprogramed and it is the one thing I would never leave home without. I can spot a very small Flirty Girty in 20' with the gain at 2. A small increase in gain really adds clutter in a hurry. I usually run the low AZ setting. The split screen with a lock on the bottom 5 is the only way to go. I caught a 2" perch last weekend because I could see him and tease him to come up and take a bait. An Aqua View would be the only thing better, but then you have cables. I covered water from 5 to 25 feet and hardly ever change any settings.

[Guest]

Thenks for the response. Wow that seems great. I did expect to get clutter easily when the gain is up for the small stuff. I guess I will find out soon. I am just worried anout all the particles in the water, but they should be clearing day by day and the lake probably just turned over also.

[Guest]

I usually end up around 2 also, at least when I'm that shallow. I usually turn it up a bit when I'm putting my jig down and setting the depth on my bobber stop, then turn down the gain until my jig and small splitshot are just visible as green marks. This insures that you've minimized the amount of clutter on your display, and just about anything else that pops up on the screen is a fish! It also helps to eliminate or minimize interference problems.

[Guest]

Most of the time I have my gain as low as it goes when I am in shallow water. Usually I keep it in the regular mode. If I go to LP then it is usually set on 2.

For deep water fishing I find that 2 is usually all I need. Obviously the lower you can have it the better. You have a good unit there. Scott Steil

[Matt D]

Did I read your question right ... 1/200th to 1/100th oz.? I know some panfish jigs are small, but are they really this light?

[Guest]

Easily. I have a few custom jigs and spins lures that are 1/100th and 1/200th. Also turner jones micro jigs come in 1/128th and 1/256th and he makes a little itty bitty lure called the scampi that is 1/500th. Now most of these will need a split shot to get them down but you still need to see the lure right. Until now I have only used 1/32 and light jigs for panfish and for me smaller has always been better.. In I believe it was last years ice guide the show lures By thunderhawk that are very small and light in the 1/100th to 1/200 range and also Mick thill supposidly has some small jigs called zoo jigs that are small, all of which I have been unable to find(TH and MT). I'm shure I have atleast 50 lures 1/100th or lighter.

[Matt D]

I suppose you're right. Egg on my face since I've got a box full of about 80+ of those jigs I grew up with fishing gills&slabs on the "Ole Miss" backwaters in SW WI. I just never thought about how much they weighed. I was always surprised how well a tiny little jig & waxie could catch a 1 1/2 lb crappie! Haven't fished much there in the last 10 yrs. and I guess being stuck with DL perch and walleyes made me forget the value of those little gems. (but I do still raid the box every once in awhile).

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Best FISHES,
Matt

[This message has been edited by Matt D (edited 12-15-2002).]

[Guest]

Good rule of thumb no matter what size jig, or how deep you are, you need just enough gain to see the jig in yellow or green like mentioned before.Iam colored blind so its all purple to me(not really). A common mistake alot of people make is they think they are sending more "power" down the hole with the gain turned up which is totally false. By increasing the gain, the unit simply makes the targets bigger or to better put it, adding more color to your targets. You always want to get away with the least amount of gain as possible. Having a good charged battery and good working transducer is needed.
Another point to remember especially when fishing in less then 20 feet, most lakes will generate natural moving current both summer and in winter. When fishing with light tackle, its common for this current to push your line outside of your locator's signal cone. This can also happen if your using too thick of a mono with smaller baits. Mono wants to float causing your line to bow thus kicking your jig out of the signal cone. This usually is a problem in deep water. You can tell right away and probably have seen this before. You lower your jig to the depth you want to fish, you see the jig or bait on the screen, and then its gone. You crank the gain up thinking more "power" is needed. You jig your bait which pulls the line back into the cone and it appears again. Not all lakes have current, trial and error with the right diameter line and the right amount of weight will solve this problem.

Good Luck

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[Guest]

Thanks for the input guys. I did expect to have current problems if there is any wind because the lake I fish is windy. I have been considering going with I think it is power pro braided line for my heavier tackle 8# test with 1# diam. I am still sick so I will have to wait and try to make it out wed or so. I plan on trying the mornins first to try and stay away from the wind. If its windy at all I will be switching over to a buckshot spoon or genz worm for bass. I still can't wait. I will post a report. I would really like to get some lures from Thunderhawk tackle if anybody knows how to get in touch with them or who sells their lures. Thanks again guys!