Hand Held Vexilars Work?

[jasonk]

I am considering buying one of those hand held Vexilars and I am wondering how well they work. Will they shoot through thick ice/snow/slush?

Thanks for any info

[charliepete2]

If you've got a regular vex don't bother. If you just need something to tell you the depth go ahead. I bring one to the BWCA every year. I don't bother bringing it ice fishing....I just use the vex.

[P.DONA]

do a search on here, I seem to remember a thread about them. I have the Strikemaster hand held depth finder. Splash some water on the ice and slide on there. Very convenient for finding depths, drop offs, and a place to start drilling..

You'll see it in my back pocket in almost all of my pictures

[schweady]

Having the LX-i along last night was incredibly handy. It was the first time I ever had it out on ice (got its first workout in the BWCA this summer) and very convenient to walk around with a water bottle in one hand and the LX-i in the other, marking depths and charting out the break. Instant, easy to read, digital display through 7-8 inches of good, clear ice last night. Even sounded the fish alarm a couple of times. Nice to have it ready in the parka pocket and leave the LX-3tc in the sled for when you're getting set up.

[fishingman93]

if u have a regular vex just squirt some water on the bare ice. thats the way i do it and works great

[huntnfish]

I have the strikemaster version and it works fine. I use the vexilar just about as much and wouldn't have the handheld if I hadn't gotten it for a gift. One thing to remember if you are using you flasher to check depths through the ice is to not slide the transducer around because it can get scatched and wreck it.

[Ray Esboldt]

I use the Marcum LX-i as much as I can. When you get into the late ice season, the ice gets too rough and the snow gets in the way of accurate readings. But, early ice it makes quick work of locating spots to cut. Plus, it cuts down on the beating your transducer takes from banging it on the ice. You can beat a transducer to its death. I've done it to a few.

[stick]

I use my LXi most valuable when finding breaks later on when shooting through isn't an option. I used to drill 6-10 holes looking for some structure, setting down the auger, going back to get the flasher, and then checking the holes. Most of the time, I would find I was off and had to re-start the routine. By having a hand-held, I can drill, check, adjust, drill again. It cuts down a whole lot on wasted searching time. Also, I don't need to open up the house to drag out the flasher, and I can just pull it out of my pocket.

[fishinmedic]

Just thought about that. Would this technique (putting water on the ice, then putting the sensor in the puddle) work for the all flashers? or just specific brands. I'm looking at the aqua vu VPG and was wondering.

FishinMedic

[huntnfish]

I would think it would work with any depth finder. I used to use a very old Lowrance flasher and it did just fine shooting through the ice.

[hugonian1]

I bought a vexilar hand held just for checking depths and had so so luck with it. Last year Marcum sent me a free LXi as a "peace offering" when I had trouble getting my 560 camera fixed. That was quite generous of them. The LXi works much better than the vexilar.