vexilar for open water?

[hbomb49]

I bought my first used Vexilar this winter. It came with a open water transducer. Has anyone used one on the open water? It helped my ice fishing so much I want to apply it to open water too.

Thanks

[broken_line]

do you have a boat??? if you do mount it on the boat and jig under it..

[KTapper]

It works very very well for finding weedlines. Vexilar has the video on their website explaining how to us the vexilar on open water. I can't wait to try mine out.

[DonBo]

I use mine for fishing trout in deep water when they can be anywhere in the water column. Not sure how well it'll work when under power, but I'm sure you'll find many uses for it.

[longcaster]

if you have a boat with an exposed aluminum floor you can also just set the transducer on the floor and it will pick up the bottom but it will be tough to target fish. This is better then having the cord hang over the side while you are moving around trying to find a certain depth.

[TonkaBass]

I have an FL-10 mounted on my old boat and loved it! Very good flasher and easy to see and operate. They are really good for finding different bottom content.

[slurpie]

love my vexilar ice or open water. Always bring it with i put it over the side really only use when jig fishing. But lets me see where im at in the water column.

[Tyler23]

how do you guys use your vexilar in the summer. like mounting the tranducer so its not bobing in the water?

[tacklebox7FF]

I have one on my boat and I love it!! I have the high speed transducer.. it's easy to find the weedlines and when your still fishing you can use it vertically as u would when your Ice fishing.. I mounted the trasducer on the back side I normally fish off...

[tacklebox7FF]

plus you can use you same vexilar flasher from your ice fishing unit

[GRH]

they work great on boats. I had 2 on my old boat. One on the dash and one up front. I'm putting one on my new boat up front

[prov1900]

Mine is on the bow hooked into a universal sonar with my Minn Kota. Works great. Would not change it out for anything. If I did anything I would add an lcd to the front, but I would still use the Vex.

[Pickelfarmer]

Mine is on the bow hooked into a universal sonar with my Minn Kota. Works great. Would not change it out for anything. If I did anything I would add an lcd to the front, but I would still use the Vex.

Do they make a mount for the boat that you can put your transducer in?? Or did you have to make your own??? I have used my vex in the summer but only on a small boat and in calm water. I just hung it over the edge of the boat and used it that way. It worked great for depth and fish but I know when I moved the boat it went wacky. It would be great if they made a boat attachment that held it in place when the boat was in motion.

[Ed Carlson]

I have been running a Vex on my boats for 25 years or more. Started with the Hi-Speed ducers and graduated up to the Aluma-Ducer and shoot through the hull systems. We also use them on the bow via a universal sonar adapter with my Minn Kota.

The nice part is the kit will only run you $79.99 for most basic installations and all mounting hardware, the Alumaducer TK-Kit will run higher but preforms best on an aluminum hull when shooting through the hull. On most glass hulls a round trolling motor puck style secured with the ACE acoustic epoxy supplied in the TK-Kit will provide a solid clean signal at all speeds and depths.

Other valuable options one can utilize is a splitter to run 2 Vex's on 1 ducer, or 2 ducers in separate locations to one Vex. Simply flip the switch to make the change, very handy for many precision fishing situations.

As a river guy, I will not be without my Vex, it's indispensable in it's performance and reliability. I look at the $$$$ graph mounted next to my Vex...and then check the readings to my Vex to be sure the graphs readings are reliable...the Vex never lies to ya..never.

A $79.99 Vexilar TK-Kit's will put your Vex to use year around, a very solid investment and money well spent.

I find the FL-12 and FL-20's especially boat friendly with the flat display. The FL-20's Night/Day mode is very eye friendly for nigh fishing. The LP mode in both units is indispensable for most shallow water fishing and for clutter filled waters such as on rivers. Yet any Vexilar will perform well on open water when well rigged for the application.

[MNice]

I just picked up an open water kit in the bargin cave at the big "C" for $49. Brand new!!

[Drewski]

Once you learn how to effectively use them for open water they are dynamite! One thing I love is how great they are for locating bottom transitions.

[Woody61]

I plan on using my FL20 for the boat this year, my ? is should I get the dual beam ducer or a 9 or 19?

[caj99]

I have been running an fl-18 on my bow trollin motor for awhile. And would never change to a lcd graph. If your trolling motor has a trancducer built in the connection is easy. I did use the one with the clamb to mount to the motor and it worked well. As far as 9-19. I think they only make the 12 for the motor mount.

[katoguy]

Minn Kota US1 used a 14 degree cone.

US2 is a dual beam transducer, but Vexilar only uses 200 kHz so it uses a 20 beam. (Many LCDs have the option of switching the sonar over to 83 kHz and using the 60 degree cone on the US2 ducer.)

[EBass]

Fl-18 on the bow with built in ducer on the minnkota. It's the cat's meow!

[titelines]

Question -

If the trolling motor has a universal transducer built-in, and you had both an LCD unit and a Vex mounted in the bow, could you toggle between the two units by simply unplugging the cord from one and plugging it into the other?

Or, do you need to have the Vex's ducer and cord up there as well?

Thanks!

[katoguy]

You could, if the LCD unit is on the US compatibility list. You would need the adapter cable for both sonar units.

[Ed Carlson]

There are 9, 12 and 19 degree pucks available, if you contact Vex directly they can rig up a duel too. You can also use a Hi Speed mount and ducer on a trolling motor, some prefer it over pucks.

When using the Minn Kota US 1 or US 2 system, your stuck with 20 deg 200 KHZ, and that is a good option on average for bow mount ducer rigs.

[katoguy]

US1 used a 14 degree cone.

[slabchaser]

I use mine and I love it. I have the mount but might rig something up for just using the puck

[squeedunk]

I use my vex all season long and only have the "ice fishing" transducer. I found an old shaft of a trolling motor at my cabin with the stern mount bracket attached. I duct taped a piece of pvc pipe with a clear tupperware cup inside of it that I can set my transducer in and use while trolling. The vexilar gets a clear read through the cup when I drop it into the water. The trolling motor shaft can be raised out of the water while at high speeds and is stable enough to get a good signal while fishing. It is quite a strange looking set-up but it has worked great for me for the past 8 years. I found a lot of ways to make due with what I had while in college and it's still working great today!