This winter we have been busy moving fish houses, scouting new spots, and catching an awful lot of fish through the ice. When it comes to finding fish, reading structure, and figuring out what is below the ice I can honestly say we would be blind without our Vexilars. Many of us on Team LOA have been using the FL 22 HD and it has been an important tool in our ice fishing success and here is why....
With the evolution of the ice fishing industry in the last ten to twenty years, anglers across the country have become better and better at putting fish on the ice because of technology such as improved augers, GPS systems, ice shelters, lures, and the list goes on and on. But in order to separate yourself and become one of the “best” at what you do or what are you are chasing under the ice, it comes down to one piece of technology that has been tried and true since it first came out, and that is the flasher. It is a piece of technology that can simply tell you the story of what lies beneath that sheet of ice you are on. Let me explain why.
Vexilar flashers have been around since 1960 and since then have been pioneers in the flasher industry. Within the last year one of their flashers has emerged as a ice fishing tool that encompasses many of the features that can help you unlock the mystery under the ice and that is the FL-22HD.
The Zoom Feature:
The ability to utilize the unit’s zoom features, both in 6 and 12 foot options,and in combination with the ¼ inch separation has been a recipe for putting fish on the ice. The zoom feature is something that if you haven’t fished with it before you are missing out. Having the ¼ target separation literally allows you to see if that walleye has its lips near your jigging spoon or lure. Being someone who fished with an FL-8 for years, once I switched to this feature, I was blown away how much clearer of a picture it gives you of the fish’s mood and reactions towards your jigging cadence. Having the ability to also switch between 6’ and 12’ allows you to also be versatile and focus in on those suspended fish, whether they are walleyes cruising, crappies suspended, or even tullibees.
The Flat Screen and Depth Range Features:
The unit provides a flat screen three color LED display featuring red as strong targets, orange as medium, and green as weak targets. Because of the six ten foot increment display, you are able to effectively match your depth range, which increases the resolution resulting in a crisper image of your lure and the mood of the fish towards it.
Tri-Beam Transducer:
The feature that separates it from any other is its Tri-Beam transducer. This transducer has a toggle switch mounted to the Vexilar casing that allows you, the fisherman, to switch between an 8/12/20 degree cone angle. What this gives you is the option to be able to fish a wide array of water depths and yet adapting to what is beneath the ice giving you the best possible cone angle to fish within the water column. This unit really shines if you are shallow water angler. Having the ability to have a large cone radius in shallower water simply allows you to pick up schools of fish sooner.. As a group of ice anglers at Leisure Outdoor Adventures, we find ourselves hunting fish of all species in the winter from walleyes to crappies, and this often times means cutting holes throughout the water column. This simple tool allows us to hone in on schools of fish better and yet constantly adapt to the fishes movement and patterns.
Durability:
If there is one thing as an ice fisherman you need with any of your equipment that is durability and the confidence your equipment is going to hold up to what mother nature has to throw at you. The flashers produced by Vexilar come with various options for the flasher to be mounted on such as the Genz Pack, Pro Pack II, or Ultra Pack. All are made with plastic meant to hold up to the ice, slush, and wear and tear equipment takes through the winter. Another key feature is the amount of battery life you get when using these units. Under the right conditions and with proper care and maintenance a Vexilar battery can last up to 30 hours without a charge, which simply gives you the peace of mind to fish harder or to know you can sit in that fish house for a weekend and not have to worry about running out of juice.
This cutting edge technology has allowed our team now has the capability to adapt to any conditions and depth changes below the ice. You can’t go wrong with this product and what it offers. For more information, go to www.vexilar.com.
**Helpful Vexilar Advice**
If you are marking and working a fish on your Vexilar and it backs away and goes back towards what looks like the bottom, it is actually more than likely that fish backing away from the lure off to the side of your hole and leaving your cone angle. Take this into consideration when trying to trigger that fish into biting.
