Another Vex......which one would you get?

[Uncle Grump]

My best partner - my 15 y.o. son Alex - has been making noise about a 2nd Vex coming to live in our fish house, and it looks like I may have the funds needed to swing the purchase of another one.

But which model? I know what we can do w/ the FL8. But I haven't seen nor touched a FL18. So - all of you who have both a 8 and a 18 - is the 18 worth the extra money?

UG

[Guest]

I've been using an FL-8 for the last four years and I've caught my share of fish. I haven't upgraded to the FL-18 yet mainly because I don't have the extra $400 and I've put some money into fixing up my FL-8 (Hand-built box, electrical switching, light, different indicators, etc...). Once I get the extra money I'll probably pick up an FL-18 but for now I'll stick with my FL-8. I'm not saying that the FL-18 is bad, if I was going to by a Vexilar for the first time today I'd pay an extra hundred and get the FL-18. Either way though I don't think you'll be disappointed, and I do believe that Vexilar is the way to go.

Good Fishin, Matt.

[Guest]

You will never hear anyone with an FL-18 say it wasn't worth the money. In fact, it is so worth the money I bought one for my wife also. No, I couldn't afford two at the time I did but it makes a HUGE difference. I don't think you should rely on info from those that haven't fished with an FL-18 yet.

Two years ago I said I wasn't going to upgrade, but after 10 minutes of watching Dave Genz catch Finicky Monster Gills in SD with his Fl-18, I was sold. I will say again, there is no comparison. If you are serious about ice fishing, the FL-18 is the only way to go!Scott Steil

[Bigred70]

The FL-18 is an excellent all-around unit, and includes the Low Power mode for fishing shallow, no need to buy an S-Cable. I used to have an Fl-8SLT, and have a little bit of advice; if you own a FL-8, and dont feel life forking over $350 anytime soon, DONT use a buddy's FL-18 for a day...there simply is NO comparison. Not only is the Auto Zoom feature very nice, but also the display is much brighter and crisper. If you buy a Vexilar, this is the way to go. Sure, it is more expensive, but you are already forking over the cash, might as well spend the extra $100 and get the top of the line. Of course these are just my opinions, but I have a new FL-18 just waiting for the ice, and my FL-8 is long gone. Take care!

[Guest]

I want some scenarios where the 18 out performs the 8. All right the zoom is nice. To compensate for my lack of zoom, I have to do a little more jigging. I have an extra couple hundred to spend on beer because I decided to live without a zoom option. As for your clear display, thats just from new brushes. The brushes get old and give you a fuzzy display. OK, its great, tell me why. I'll get one soon but for now I have to make myself feel better. Just get your priorities straight FL 18 or four new rods and reels, FL18 or steaks for dinner, FL18 or miller light instead of busch, FL18 or that new house on wheels you always wanted, FL18 or a set of new augers. And Scott "If your serious about ice fishing, the FL18 is the way to go" Sounds like an infomercial similar to that stupid boflex exercise thing on TV that takes up all the time for the good shows. " If your serious about excercise, boflex is the way to go" I hate that thing. Just messing with ya. So what I'm not serious enough?

[fiskyknut]

I'm serious and I'm still using my old Zercoms. Till something truly better is availiable anyways.

Fisky

[Kidd]

Uncle Grump, To me the answer is rather simple. If you have the money buy the 18, if you don't buy the 8. I'm in the technology field and staying on the bleeding edge of technology is a priority. I also agree with bigguns. I have a very old FL8, So old in fact that it's brand is SI-TEX. When I wiggle it I can here something rattling around in there. However, it still works great after about 17 yrs of use and I'll be ****ed if I'm going to drink Busch beer as oppose to Miller just to look at the new 18.

[hawgTime]

grump

The 18 is a superior unit. I suggest that if you can afford it, buy the 18. The way I look at it is, "I'm already spending the bulk of the cost, $300, so another $100 isn't all that much more." It's not like you're spending an extra $400. If you do buy the 8, take bigreds advice, NEVER use or even look at an 18 in action, because then you will be spending an extra $400.

fiskynut
Something truly better is availiable.

Just my POV.

vexTime

[minneman]

Hey all, I own an 18, wondering if the 19 deg ducer,would be better than the 12deg. that comes with it?? to get a bit bigger pic of the bottom, what ya think?

[Bigred70]

From my experience last year with the FL-18, the distinct advantage over the FL-8, by far, is the Auto Zoom mode. In fact, I forked over the money this summer JUST for that feature. My reasoning is this: I used a buddy's FL-18 on a long-weekend ice-fishing trip up to Lake of the Woods out of River Bend Resort.

On the way up, we decided to swing past Winnibigoshish to try for some jumbo perch. A cold front had just blown through, and the perch were finicky to say the least. With the an FL-8, my partner was drilling hole after hole attempting to find a school of active perch, jigging about 1 foot off the bottom in an attempt to see that famous red line rise from the bottom echo, only to give up, concluding that there were no fish, and move to a new location to try again. Since he was using my auger, I just simply followed him, and used his old holes that he had given up on. Much to my suprise, in almost every hole, I graphed perch on the FL-18. It turns out that the fish were sitting with their bellies so close to the bottom that the FL-8 could not pick them up, but when I flipped my buddy's 18 to AZ mode, they stuck out like a sore thumb. At first, we were both using the same presentation (jig and a fathead), and using the 18, I was able to conclude that the fish simply did not prefer that presentation. I switched to a chartruse Angel Eye, using just the head of the minnow, and BAM! Those perch lit up the screen like christmas time. By the time I caught up to my partner, I had almost my limit, and he had only 3. This is the advantage of the 18: it allows you to more precisely determine the way that fish react to your respective presentations, allowing you to adjust accordingly. This especially holds true for bottom-hugging species like perch and walleye.

We continued on our way to Lake of the Woods to fish the next morning. When we started, we were put into permanent houses, with VERY cold conditions outside, limiting our mobility to nothing. We were forced to fish solely out of the permanent house. It was kind of depressing due the fact that I could tell that there were very few walleyes in the area, thanks to the 18. Every time a straggler would wander within the flasher's cone, I would immediately know. On the right side of the screen, (normal zoom of the entire water column) I would see nothing, but on the left side (Zoom of the bottom 6 feet of the water column), there was the unmistakable red band, indicating a walleye nearby. Just for fun once, I marked a walleye close to the bottom with the 18, quickly shut it off, put the ducer of the FL-8 in the same hole, and it showed nothing. I again switched back to the 18, and sure enough, the fish was still there. I jigged my angel eye a few quick times, and she hit...a nice eater walleye.

In conclusion, it is my OPINION that the FL-18 is a far superior fishing tool compared to the FL-8. I owned a FL-8SLT for 2 years (bought brand new), and was dissapointed to find out that only 1 year after I bought it, Vexilar had come out with a newer model. I stuck it out for one year, believing that the FL-8 was good enough, and the AZ mode wouldnt make that big a difference; I was wrong. The weekend at Winni and LOW proved to me why my buddy (owner of the FL-18) had been outfishing me the entire winter. The FL-18 simply allows you to become a better fisherman; it's just that good. If you only fish for suspended crappies, then by all means, an FL-8 is a fine unit, and the 18 isnt much better in that respect. BUT, if you love to chase after sumo perch and walleye, I consider an 18 almost essential. One closing note: in case you didnt know, I am currently a college student in my sophomore year, pursuing an engineering degree. Needless to say, I dont have much money at all. I had a construction job this summer to pay for school, so I didnt have much money to spend on toys. Problem is this: I am horribly addicted to ice fishing, and when I come home for breaks in the winter, I wanted THE BEST flasher on the market. I found the money to spend on the FL-18, even though it was not easy to come by. I think that if I was able to afford to spend the extra money for the 18, anyone can. Like I said, these obviously are all my opinions, but you simply cannot go wrong with the FL-18.

[Rick]

For those of you not familiar with the Angel Eye Click here.

Angel Eye JR Click here

[jimBo]

A friend is in the market for a FL8 and is not sure what transducer to get the 19* or the 9* mostly fish 30ft or less.any help would be great.Is the one with the float a
9* or a 19* longer style not the puck.
jimBo

[This message has been edited by jimBo (edited 10-07-2002).]

[Guest]

bigred70,
Where do you go to college? I'm just curious because I'm also in college. I'm also addicted to ice fishing and every chance I get to come home in the winter and ice fish I take advantage. Maybe we can meet up sometime. I'm from the Twin Cities. Drop me an e-mail or something.

matty045@hotmail

Good Fishin, Matt.

[Guest]

do the fl18 interfear with the fl8

[Guest]

both the 8 and 18 have the interference rejection option I have fished 5 feet away from an 18 and under the right settings, the will not interfere with eachother

[nunzio]

YES! -nunzio

[Guest]

I was in a recent arguement with myself about upgrading to an 18. TO make a very long story short. I ended up deciding to stick with my 8. To me its just not worth the extra couple hundred. Yeah yeah, you guys love your 18's, Iknow. But I had to ask myself, "will I really catch that many more fish?" For me, the answer was no. Put me next to someone with an 18 and they'll catch 20 fish to my 18.(maybe) If there wasn't such a difference in price, I too would have an 18. Now don't go calling me a hypocrite. when the prices between the two start to even out, I'll get one. I wanted one just because its top of the line. The 8 gets the job done quite nicely. I have an lms 350a in my boat, I would love to have an X15, But once again the 350 does just fine, and if i had an X15, It wouldn't make much of a difference anyway. But hey, If you got it spend it. But in my situation, tuition is more important than being able to magnify the bottom with an FL 18. And for the guys who own FL 18's, yes I'm jealous, No i'm not a hypoctite, and what is the percent increase in catch rate after using the FL 18?

[This message has been edited by Bigguns3 (edited 10-07-2002).]

[Guest]

Fisky, there are much better options. I too was a Zercom man for a few years. Wow how things have changed! There are too many advantages to start mentioning them.

As for the 9, 19 or 12 question. I have owned two Fl-8's and two Fl-18's and I have never had a problem with the transducer that comes with the unit. In the case of the Fl-8 I think it was the 12. I never had a problem with that transducer or felt like I needed a bigger or smaller cone.

Bigguns, I would argue not only will you catch more fish but in some instances you will get a lot more fish with the FL-18. I have a lot of examples of this if you really want to talk about it email me, I will give you specifics. I am still waiting for the guys who used my second unit instead of their units to post.

Gills tight to the bottem, appear to be part of the bottom on the FL-8

Crappies coming through 3-5 ft under the ice are part or the (0) interfernce on the Fl-8

A finicky walleye suspended a foot off the bottom appears to be looking right at your bait, but in reality you are holding your bait a foot over his head.

Crappies coming through suspended, you appear to be fishing them but with and FL-18 you can tell your bait is a foot below them.

You are perch fishing and you are getting a lot of little fish. Using the AZ mode on the Fl-18 you can tell when you have a little guy down there. Couple jigs and start again.

I will say this again, you don't hear the guys with FL-18's saying they are not worth it. The only ones saying keep your FL-8 are the ones not using the Fl-18. Seems pretty simple to me. By the way Bigguns, you aren't old enough to drink so you should have no trouble saving the money. Scott Steil

[Guest]

I got into another arguement with myself, turns out you guys irritated me enough to get me to break down and buy an 18. All right you won. Now i'm officially broke. I guess you only live once.

[Bigred70]

Atta way! Your going to LOVE it!

[Guest]

Bigguns, good move! You will be glad you did when you hit the ice running in the Ice Series this winter. Scott Steil

[Crappieman]

I have been following this conversation and now that you brought a 18 you will not be disappointed. I ran both a 8 and 18 up at LOW last year and the difference was huge. I would not go ice fishing without it. You will be very happy with it .

[Surface Tension]

This proves what an over Priced Piece of Crap the fl 8 (buz box)is. Any good sounder will give you separation. The only reason I bought a Vex is because I had too. It interfers with most other sounders. So if someone moves in on you with a Vex and your useing a superior sounder your screwed. I bought the FL 8 under protest, I dont even want to think about buying a 18 !!!

[This message has been edited by Surface Tension (edited 10-08-2002).]

[Uncle Grump]

Ok - the consensus seems to be get the FL18 - and I'd like to get my mitts on one - funds permitting.

So...... now for the next question: Which
tranducer? My FL8 has the 19 degree one.

How about 18 owners?

a) 19 degree
12 degree
C) dual beam (9,19)

My own prefrence is the dual beam unit a/
pro pack, but at $419 - that might exceed the funds I have.

Would I really need the dual beam w/ the 18 already having the zoom feature and bottom lock?

UG

[Bigred70]

The 12-degree is the best overall transducer (almost exactly between 9 and 19). You dont need the dual angle with the FL-18, but I had it on my old FL-8, because I heard that it is a huge asset for that model. The 12 degree will be perfect for all but VERY deep (over 100ft.) fishing, in which case the 9 degree, or dual angle is better.