Getting ready for ice fishing

[CaptSpike]

Well I have done some searching and found that Vexilar now has a digital depth indicator that can be added to the fl- series flashers. I just ordered one...... I also checked out the new flx-28 and since I was contemplating another flasher last yr so I'd have a back up I decided to pull the trigger on one of these units. I had been eyeballing the Marcum digitals (nephew has one) but decided to stay with Vex.I can't wait to try this unit out on open water crappie.

As Tim Moore reported we too have been hitting the crappie this time of yr as well. Lots of fun. I just hope we don't educate them too much. LOL. Plenty in the lake we're fishing and taking some out will actually help increase their size as there will be less fish to compete for food.

Good luck to all out there still fishing. We still have a few more weeks left, but I also have a long list of stuff to get done before winter. I'll be lucky to sneak in a day on the weekends from here on out.

I'd also like to go on record and say I have no other ice fishing gear purchases planned (but don't hold me to it). LOL.

Spike

[Tim Moore]

I have a few things to get out of storage and that's it. I wish I could say that I would be ready for ice once that's done, but I can't lol. I have a bunch of stuff on order that will require a few hours, or more, of assembly. Not a bad problem to have though. I'll take it. I am loving this fall crappie bite. It does get a little tougher every day to get out at sunrise in a kayak. I could wear my ice armor but the dripping from paddles tends to settle on the bottom of the kayak, leaving me with sopping wet pant legs when I'm through. I can't imagine that being very comfortable. I also can't imagine letting that stop me, haha.

That DD-100 is a great add on. I'm looking forward to that and the FLX-28 myself. Here is a video on installing the DD-100 on an ultra pack. It also gives a tip of what is different about installing it on a pro pack.

[CaptSpike]

Yeah it got pretty cold fast Wed. evening when the sun got low. Fishing was not good either. Made it easy to decide to go home, lol.

I got my flx-28 yesterday and read thru the manual last night. It is too bad Vexilar didn't have the manual posted on line cause after reading it some people might not opt for this flasher over another. The reason I am referring to is the auto range feature is not designed to work in open water situations????? So in open water you only have a 50' range (for some that may be OK but others that may not work). Myself I only use the unit ice fishing and in the fall when I target crappie and other pan fish. The 50' range should suit most of my applications for open water. If I was looking for a unit to do full time double duty I'd probably look at something else. Again this is just my opinion. I hope to get out soon to test it out. I thought about tomorrow but the weather isn't looking to good.

I will let you know how the test in open water goes.

Another note is reading thru the user guide I actually learned a bit about flashers. For instance when fishing next to someone and trying to get rid of interference only one person should be hitting the IR setting change. Usually we are like dueling setting changes until we obviously stumbled on one that worked, lol. This yr we'll approach it differently. I also learned (which I knew) to keep your gain at it's lowest setting to fish. Many times guys in my group have their gain cranked.Which adds to interference..... You can also crank your gain momentarily and it may show you fish near your presentation. I didn't know that but it makes perfect sense. If a fish is just on the edge of the cone they wont give you a strong signal and with the gain turned down may not show on the screen at all. Turn up the gain for a second and these fish will show. I also learned that LP uses more battery life than normal power. You should only use low power when you can't turn your gain low enough on normal power to get a good picture (kind of knew that too but it was nice to see in writing). Another thing was that when in AZ mode if you remove the transducer from the water and put it back in the AZ feature will not always show the correct bottom line (scale shifts, bottom shows higher on the scale so zoom range is smaller). I knew this was happening when I hole hopped but didn't know if was my unit or everyone had this issue. To fix either turn unit off and on or switch out then back into AZ mode, quick fix. I think there was a couple other points in the manual as well but I forget what they were. I'll add them if I revisit the guide and remember them....

Spike

[Dylan8351]

I'm looking forward to getting my 28! Going to need to play around with it for a while before heading to Minnesota in December!

[CaptSpike]

I used the 28 yesterday and I am in love! I can't wait to use it on the ice. The auto range feature will be awesome for that (maximum view).

I think my buddy Dana is now going to buy one as well. He used it the second half of our trip and he loved it as well.

Spike

[Dylan8351]

Jealous! My Clam and Vexilar packages should be here late next week or the beginning of the week after.

[Tim Moore]

My Clam and Vexilar orders have arrived. I am waiting for a few more pieces from Clam which is fine because it is taking me days to make room for everything. The only thing I dislike about this time of year is the mess I have to clean up from a busy kayak fishing season. My basement is trashed!

I'm looking forward to this season. I am picking up an older used sled thanks to one of my sponsors. Nothing special, but it will make me more mobile and allow me to tow my new Nanook thermal for guided trips. I should have it sometime next week. I want to fish lake trout more this year and the sled will be key. There is a kid who works at Suds part time who is a welding genius. He is going to make me a rack to put a one-man fish house on. I also bought a Lowrance elite 4 that will use for the lake map/gps function.

I'm really excited to try my new Vexilar FLX-28. I had a chance to really check it out at pro day. Tom Zenenko was nice enough to give me a guided tour of the new unit. If I get time I may have to make one last kayak fishing trip just to use the new unit. I don't think I'll be able to wait for first ice.

I love me Scout TC, but I think I am going to buy the new Legend Thermal. That is one nice shelter. It is the same tub that the Scout uses only turned sideways. Man, it feels so much bigger and since it has the RPSX system, you have a ton of fishable area.

Well, I have a half-million new jigs to put in jig boxes. See you in about three weeks, lol.

[Dylan8351]

I got my Clam order yesterday. Sorted most of the stuff but need to put jigs and rods in my rod locker still. Exciting times! I will update my shack in the future but as for now the Pro TC is just fine! It is killing me not to have my 28 yet, I just need to make time to go pick it up! Along with it is my Maki order.... Maybe I can make the run Monday.