General Flasher question

[missedoneagain]

Right now I own a vx-1 and I have always had an issue with it not being able to consistantly read my small panfish jigs in water deeper than 20ft.(unless the gain is way up, but then I get interference with other flashers nearby) I'm not talking walleye jigs or even small jigs with a minnow on, I'm talking about number 8 to 12 jigs with two or three eurolarve on. Is this an issue with all the flashers or will an upgrade to a higher end model fix this issue?

If this is fixed with a higher end model, which one would do the best job with this? LX-3, LX-5, or FL18, FL20.

Please don't turn this into another Marcum vs Vexilar discussion.

Thanks, Shawn

[BoxMN]

My guess is that you might need some work done our your locator, as all of them should pick up even a small jig. We used and LX5, FL20 and even an old Zercom and all were picking up jigs fine at about the 25 foot level last weekend. I know the FL20 and LX5 work fine even on small tiny stuff at levels deeper than that. On my LX5 if I recall the gain was at about the 2 or just under last weekend, and I had tiny jig and only plastic body (thin). Same with the FL20 my bro was using.

I'd contact Marcum support before getting a different one, they could probably fix you up quickly. Good luck.

[Craig Plummer]

I own a VX-1 and I know what you are talking about...I think alot has to do with what types of jig you are using. try heavier jigs like marmooskas and fiskas see if that helps...

Im sure others with chime in with more of the information that you are looking for

[slipperybob]

It's about sonar and the return signal. Some jigs when positioned in a manner where there's less surface area for a return signal to bounce off of, there's less chance of the transducer reading it. You'll be surprised that when you change jig profile from verticle to horizontal, that often the signal return nearly doubles.

[missedoneagain]

Yes, I do notice that the heavier jigs and the horizontal jigs throw a better signal. Also when I jig a vertical jig I can see it flutter back down. I don't want to fish a certain kind of jig just because it is the only one my flasher will see.

[Reservoir Dawg]

The ice is a little thicker now make sure your transducer is beloe the ice level. I had this happen a while back and I just lowered the transducer and could see the small jigs much better.

[Deitz Dittrich]

A lot of great advice so far..

1-make sure your ducer is at the bottom of the ice.

2- turn your gain up as high as you can without causing troubles.

3-make sure your ducer is facing dorectly down(kink in the line)

4- a horizontle lure will read better as it has more surface area facing up.

[CNY Tim]

Just wanted to add to Dietz's post because of my experience with the VX-1 the transducer is fairly light compared to the LX-5, depending on how it was sent from the factory you may have to manipulate the cord by hand until you have fished it enough till it's completely plum. My first VX-1 the spare cord was wrapped a bit tight (twist tie) and when I dropped the transducer you could see plainly a slight kink in the transducer cable that caused the bottom of the ducer to not completely point straight down. What I find is the more you use it the straighter it gets.

[missedoneagain]

Here's where I'm at. This is my second season with the vx-1 and I'm a twice per week ice fisherman, so it has seen a fair amount of time on the ice. My cord seems to be plum to me and is always below the ice. The points that you all have made are definetly things that I have ruled out. So from the responses that I am seeing here, I am leaning towand a faulty flasher? On the other hand I'm thinking that maybe I'm asking for too much out of my cheaper flasher and a higher end flasher would get me the sensitivity that I am looking for?

[slipperybob]

Perhaps...there's a target ID size and a target separation size. All I know is that my LX5 has a target separation size of down to .75" Not sure what the target ID size is, but I know I can pick up a SPRO size 10 ball bearing.

[Steve Foss]

Shawn, given all that's been said here, I think it's a problem with your flasher in particular, not that model in general.

I'm using an 11-year-old Vex FL8-SLT, which has gotten a ton of use and has plenty of nicks in the ducer and I still can read my inline ball-bearing swivel tied above my jigging lure in 50 FOW with a gain of about 4.

Your VX-1 (or any on-ice flasher regardless of brand and price) should have no trouble reading a small jig with eurolarvae on it at 20-plus feet. I'd contact the manufacturer on the phone and see if they can troubleshoot it with you or, if not, how they'd like you to proceed.

I've never dealt with Marcum (although Marcum will be my next flasher), but I'm told their customer service is excellent.

[Sandmannd]

I would agree with stfcatfish. I have an older FL8 that I've been using for two years. It should be able to pick up your jig.

[jtillman]

I have a similar problem with my LX-3 right now. This is the fourth year I've had it, and now this year, I usually have to have the gain set between 3-6 to see my lure. I emailed Marcum and they said 0-3 is normal, but needing it set to 6 might be an issue. So they sending me instructions on how to send it back to them and they will see what's up and will call me with what they find out. If it needs to be fixed and is out of warranty (which I know it is out of warranty), it'll cost me $45.

[missedoneagain]

Thanks for all your comments. I'll give Marcum a call.

[crazyeye]

Something else to consider is if the lakes your fishing has a current . It may be pushing your lighter jigs to to outside of the cone.I've had this happen to me on some lakes.

[NCLaker]

I was looking to upgrade from my FL-18, I tried a Marcum LX-3tc it had similar problems with the gain. Brought it in to Marcum and they fixed it within a couple days (great customer service).

I have read many posts (at least on the LX-3's, none on the VX-1) about people having similar complaints. Some even having to have it fixed multiple times on the same unit.

For this reason, I sold the LX-3tc and went back to Vexilar (rarely read about reliabilty complaints). Have a new FL-20 and love it. I lost the ability to zoom anywhere on the water column, but didn't use it much anyway - the Vex in full screen is more than sufficient to work the suspending fish (imho).

You may pay a little more for a Vex, but it is better than being out on the ice frustrated with your flasher not working right, or paying $45+shipping to fix it after it is out of warrenty.

[Steve Foss]

Since Shawn specifically asked that this not turn into another Vex vs Marcum thread, we'll avoid going there.