Video: Clever Way to Use a Vexilar Flasher on Open Water
Dave Maas 03.29.17
Spring – it’s time to put away the ice fishing gear, re-spool your open-water spinning and baitcasting reels, and get your boat ready to roll. And while it’s true you won’t need your ice auger for another 9 months, I suggest you give serious consideration as to whether it’s a good idea to store your flasher.
I love to target panfish all season, and one of my favorite times is during summer, when big sunfish and crappies move away from the shallows. Crappies will often roam and suspend, down anywhere from 5 to 20 feet in depths of 30-40 feet in my favorite natural lakes. Big sunfish will also move away from the shorelines, often hovering within 5 feet of the bottom in depths of 20-30 feet.
When ice fishing, it’s easy to place small jigs in front of deep-water panfish because you – and your gear/tackle – are stationary; you can spot fish and a tiny lure on your Vexilar. The system is deadly! During open water, however, it’s more difficult to do the same thing – unless you use the tip shown in the video below.
The key to the summertime system is placement of the transducer. Sure, you could use a puck-style transducer from Vexilar and attach it to your bow-mount trolling motor. Your flasher will work as beautifully in the summer as it does in the winter. The only problem is if you wish to see your deep-water panfish jig on your Vexilar, your line will be close to your trolling motor. Care must be taken to avoid cutting your line, or having your line get caught in the trolling motor propeller while you adjust boat position over sunfish and crappies spotted on your flasher.
And that’s where the simple tip shown in the video comes into play. You’ll use your Vexilar with its Ice-Ducer. Will it work well in high winds? No. But then again, you probably won’t target deep-water panfish with light lines and tiny jigs in whitecaps.
I’m excited to try this clever system with my FL-18 and FL-20. I’ll rig one flasher on each side of my Skeeter – and the summertime sunfish and crappies won’t stand a chance! Of course, the system will work just as well for targeting deep-water walleyes and smallmouth bass, too.
There’s no reason to store your Vexilar; it’s deadly during summer, too!
