Are you turning it the right way? lol

From my experience it pays to turn it slowly to start. Once it starts to bite then it’ll take off.

Good fishing,

Corey Bechtold

I picked one up for my son for Christmas! Last year he ran the Kluge drill bit on a cordless drill and had a hard time with the torque and his holes tended to go off at an angle.

2 weekends ago we got to use our friends drill with the plate and it rocked! At times Cole would rather drill than fish…

Good fishing,

Corey Bechtold

Are there good weeds in either lake?

I’d definitely get the 18 at least! That unit has a Low Power setting that helps out greatly in weeds or in situations when there might be a lot of baitfish coming out of the bottom.

If the Low Power feature interests you Vexilar has it offered in the FL-12. FL-18. FL-20. FL-22 and the new FLX-28.

Good fishing,

Corey Bechtold

The hottest item this ice season so far has been the new Clam drill plate! Not sure if any will be available at the show. If there is I hope you beat me to it…

My buddy has one and bought a DeWalt 20volt 4ah drill and outfitted it with the drill plate. We drilled over 200 holes with the 2 batteries on Sunday. We had 6-8″ of ice and were using a 5″ Strikemaster bit.

Good fishing,

Corey Bechtold

I was told that it works with all hand auger bits. They even have extensions that will help when ice gets thicker.

This ice season should be interesting! Just want to see a long Fall fishing season…

Good fishing,

Corey Bechtold

Most of my posting is done at a site that isn’t run by sponsorship or advertising dollars. It’s a fishing store called Thorne Bros. The postings aren’t combative because they sell all brands. If you want to see my pictures or fishing reports feel free to stop in over there and have a peek.

The reason I replied to this individual on this site is because he had a question about Vexilar and I thought that since I’ve owned them for the better part of 17 years I’d offer some help.

Hopefully everyone had a Merry Christmas!

Good fishing,

Corey Bechtold

BranK. Underwater cameras don’t have anything to do with this thread.

I tried Marcum LX-3’s and LX-5’s. Both didn’t work for me. One thing that annoyed me was having to move a zoom window around. If Marcum was smart they would have made it start from the bottom and move up from there. Having to make that annoying “beep, beep, beep, beep bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbeeep” drove me nuts.

As for the Crappies 10′ down in 30′ of water is a no brainer. Just turn the locator on the 20′ scale and it’s going to show up better that way. If there isn’t anythig you want to target down below them then there’s no reason to look there.

It’s funny how this thread was about Vexilar and Humminbird and turns onto a Marcum one. That’s what’s funny about the internet. Or should I say the “sponsored” internet sites. I was dupped into believing Marcum was a better product but after using them I know the truth. Vexilar for me. I love the features and that’s my opinion. I like fishing and not advertising so I stick with what works for me.

Sorry about the rant. This is too good of a site to have dragged down into the “advertising” avenue. Look at what the different companies have to offer and pick the one that best suits your needs. It was an easy option for me and that’s why I am a Vexilar guy.

Good fishing,

Corey Bechtold

I’d have to throw a huge one of these… for Vexilar.

The reason(s) for the FL-20 are as follows…

1) Night View. Amazing in low light conditions or after dark. This feature rocked tonight when I was fishing.

2) Low Power setting. I find myself fishing in shallow water (less than 20′) a lot. There are fish in the weeds and this feature makes chasing those fish possible.

3) Durability. I am on my 5th Ice season with my FL-20 and it gets used in the boat as well. This is a great unit to have right next to my Lowrance. I trust my Vexilar to help me find fish year round!

4) Zoom at the bottom. I like to be able to turn a knob and have the bottom 6′ or 12′ zoomed. Having to move around a zoom is a pain. Most often the fish that need a zoom are at the bottom anyways.

Hope this helps you.

Good fishing,

Corey Bechtold

From what I heard Strikemaster is starting to take care of the recoil issue right away before it sells. I have a friend that bought one that wasn’t updated and it was a simple fix. It’s smooth as silk now and cuts holes like mad. I also have a buddy that was crazy enough to put a 6″ Lazer bit on a 3hp solo. Needless to say I think this should be illegal! It’s scarry how fast it cuts.

Later,

Corey Bechtold

Too bad about your experience. I tried switching to Marcum a long time ago. I had similar experiences as you. I exchanged 6 LX-5’s to Cabelas and when #7 went down I went right back to Vexilar. The thing that really burned me was how the internet and websites really had me believe that Marcum’s were better. I now know not to trust the internet from now on. Simply buy a unit that has the features you want. Sorry I’m a Vexilar guy and this might sound commercial but I love everything Vexilar has to offer. The Low Power feature is amazing for fishing in weeds or in areas where there are tons of small fish around. The Flat Screen kicks butt as well when it comes to fishing outside or when I’m pounding fish and they splach around the hole filling the old cone style flashers. The Night View is another fantastic feature that kicks tail when it gets closer to evening and well into the dark hours. The lights don’t blow my eyes away. I also have had excellent performance with my Vexilar(s) which is why I’m sticking with what works.

Good luck and I hope Marcum’s customer service takes care of you.

Good luck,

Corey Bechtold

I was disappointed to hear he didn’t try a the Vexilar FL-20. It was snowing and blowing like a bugger and having the flat screen would have been nice. They should have fished after dark as well so they could see the Night View modes that Vexilar has. That option is simply AWESOME!. Shallow water fishing and using the Low Power mode would have also been a good test. I guess the only bad thing is people would see all the bonuses that Vexilar has to offer.

Good fishing,

Corey Bechtold

I sometimes wonder what the purpose of those beads was in the first place? I noticed on some of my jigs that they seem like random colors anyway.

Either way I really like the jigs and will continue banging fish with them.

Good fishing,

Corey Bechtold

Did you get an assortment? They make some great stuff! I really like their Diamond jigs but like to break off the little plastic bead.

Good fishing,

Corey Bechtold

This may seem a bit spendy for some but my dad has found a great light. It’s an underhood light for working on cars. It’s rechargable and lasts up to 4 hours.

http://www.trueblueicefishing.net/for2/index.php?option=com_fireboard&Itemid=2&func=view&catid=25&id=1607

He added some pictures of how it’s hooked up to his house. I was in there that night and it is really bright. I just wish I could find a smaller version for my Scout.

Good fishing,

Corey Bechtold

Interesting stuff!

I found this for your new avitar…

Good luck,

Corey Bechtold

Last fall I had caught some Walleye’s that I took home for dinner. When I cleaned the Walleye I noticed some fish in their stomachs. I opened one of them up and it was loaded with tiny Bluegills. A few of them started kicking around a bit so I would think that insects would do the same thing.

Nothing to worry about but interesting ovservation.

Good fishing,

Corey Bechtold

I’d have to guess that the fish had just went on a feeding frenzy. I have watched these small insect like larvae inching around the water coulmn on my underwater camera.

Did you catch your fish before or shortly after dark?

Later,

Corey Bechtold

Tom is right. Sometimes Gills will be able to find those darker baits even in dark water. I had some great luck with Custom Jigs and Spins Ratso’s in Black in stained water.

Good fishing,

Corey Bechtold

I recently had a chance to search out some Crappies. I fished a lake that had just turned over so the fish weren’t in their typical Fall spots. The fish were suspended over deeper water adjacent to a mid-lake hump. The way we targeted the fish was by using the Lowrance in the back of the boat and the Vexilar on the bow mount motor. This way we could cover more area searching for the scattered fish.

Once we were on the fish they were willing to bite. The baits of choice were Berkley Power Tubes on a 1/16oz jighead and another presentation was drop shotting the fish along the bottom. The new look Power Tubes are great and I can’t wait to see how they perform on the Ice.

Good fishing,

Corey Bechtold

Let me know, I’d be interested in making a trip.

Later,

Corey Bechtold

You think that’s happy? Check out Cole’s face with a couple nice Perch he caught last weekend. The bite was teriffic as long as you used the right baits .

Cooler temperatures are here so time will tell what happens with the fish. Hopefully there will be a lot of opportunities to get the kids out on the water.

Good fishing,

Corey Bechtold

That looks like a blast!!! Way to go getting the kids started early .

Good fishing,

Corey Bechtold

I had a multi-species trip the other day and I started fishing for Crappies. There were tons of them grouped together near some flowing water but the size wasn’t too impressive. Every once in a while there was a good one. The best part was you could watch then take the Power Minnow!

Good luck,

Corey Bechtold

Fishin movie, I shoulda thunked about that! I think it was some kind of Disney movie.

How’s the bite been for you lately?

Later,

Corey Bechtold

My kids enjoy the Fall bite as long as it isn’t too cold. One time I brought out the portable DVD player and they all bundled up on the floor under the blankets and watched a movie. Cole came up a few times to catch some Panfish but after he got cold he went back to the movie.

Now Bailey and Brooke are getting older and have a lot of friends they like to hang out with instead of Dad. I really have to be on a good bite for them to want to come fishing with me.

It’s time!!!

Corey Bechtold

It was 50″ but we didn’t have a way to measure the girth. It was definately a thick fish. He caught it on a Cowgirl.

Later,

Corey Bechtold

I fished with a good friend of mine the other day and he caught this beast…

50″ caught on the magical “Cowgirl”

Congratulations Josh!!!

Corey Bechtold

Cole caught this nice Walleye the other night on a deep diving Berkley Frenzy with leadcore line.

Good fishing,

Corey Bechtold

I took my 5 year old out yesterday after work to fish for some Pannies. We found the Bluegills to be almost everywhere. Floating rafts and docks were a great place to find the Sunfish as they were seening some shaded areas. We had a blast catching these eager Sunfish. We were able to watch the fish race in and hit our baits as soon as they hit the water. Cole even caught a few fish without getting a hook in them. The fish just wouldn’t let go of the tails of our Power Tubes!

The Summer patterns are definatly setting up As the sun was setting the fish were on the weedlines snapping at whatever you put in their faces.

Good fishing,

Corey Bechtold