9 or 12 degree transducer

[HC Eye Hunter]

I am converting my Vexilar FL-18 over to icefishing and was wondering on recomendations for the transducer. I can not afford the convertable transducer so it is between the 9 or the 12 degree. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks Much

HC

[Deitz Dittrich]

I myself woulg go with the largest field of view possible. Its easier to get your lure in the cone angle and will see fish further away from your lure. The only time I woudl want the smaller cone angle is if I was fishing quite deep water.. IE Lake Trout... then the smaller cone angle would help to narrow the area you were seeing and get rid of clutter...

Just my opinion~

[captainshane]

I HAVE THE VEX FL-8 SE NEW LAST YEAR, AND I BOUGHT IT WITH THE DUAL ANGLE. I WOULD SAVE YOUR PENNIES AND BUY THE DUAL ANGLE. IF YOU DO FISH DEEPER WATER IT IS NICE TO HAVE THE NARROWER ONE.

[efgh]

I have the dual beam on the fl-18, Iuse the wider angle in shallow water with the 2nd scale or the left side of the dial and the narrow beam in deep water on the 2nd scale, works great like this, can see more fish approch your lure.

[LocalGuide]

Sure the Dual Angle transducer is nice. I have one myself. But if you don't fish water deeper than 30' a 9º doesn't do much good b/c it doesnt cover enough area.

An all around good transducer, if you don't want the dual or cant afford it, is the 12º. Its right in-between both angles and is IMO the most versatile.

[andy j]

another thing you need to consider is if you ice fish on top of a lot of steep breaks. if so and you have a wider cone angle you will have a dead zone below you that you cant mark because the tranducer picks up the upward part of the break and marks it as bottom. If the break is steep enough it could look like your jig is right on the bottom but in reality it might be a few feet or more off the bottom. In this kind of situation a narrower transducer would be better. I hope I was able to make sence of this. AJ

[augernaut]

I would have to say that you should go with as narrow of a cone as you can - to a point. A 9 degree is really best for fishing over 30 FOW. But, the 19 degree, or 20 degree that the LX-3 has is too broad for mid-depth fishing. You lose alot of definition as to exactly where bottom lies directly beneath you, and it is more difficult to interpret fish location relative to you lure. For fishing under 10 FOW, sure, the 19 degree is great. I have the 12 degree on my FL-18, and I think it's a great compromise. Obviously, nothing is ever perfect, but most of my fishing is between 10-30 FOW, the 12 degree gives me a good combo of useable cone angle, and focused power that gives me reliable, accurate information about what is actually happening beneath me.

[HC Eye Hunter]

Thanks Guys for the input. I am leaning towards the 12 degree transducer.

I always figure it is better to ask the folks that use the equipment rather than the one who sells it.

HC