Thanks for the info guys. I’m not sure of the whole story with the guide yet but I’m assuming the rest of the group canceled because of the virus so they canceled on my brother and brother in law.

As for fishing, I’ll be headed out there tomorrow night and will be staying at a camp on creel bay or at the casino if they are still open. I didn’t fish there last year and the waypoints from a few years ago didn’t pan out for the guys the past two days. I’ll look into the fishing reports guy and see if that might help get a place to start and work from. I don’t have trouble cutting holes and putting in the work but just knowing where to start looking is more than half the battle on a lake that big.

Phil

Hey, any chance I can still get in on this buy? I need 2-3 new batteries and these are the best around.

When I decided to upgrade I fished with an Ice 55, Flx 28, and an Lx9. I purchased the LX9. My advice is to find people who own different units and actually fish with them. Then buy the one you like the best.

Bass thumb, when will be out there? Unless plans change, I’ll be out there the week of March 5th.

I have owned, currently own, or have fished with these units: VX1, LX5, LX9, FL8, FL20, FL28, ICE35, and ICE55. I would rate the target separation of those units in this order: (worst) FL8, ICE35, FL20, VX1, FL28, ICE55, LX5, LX9 (best). The gain adjustment on the LX5 is amazing and almost pushes it past the 9 but the 5 colors on the 9 definitely puts it on top even if it struggles somewhat in shallow water. The gain adjustment on the Vex’s, in my opinion, is absolute garbage. If I can’t get my tungsten jig to show up smaller than a 1/2″ red blob than I’m not using that flasher.

My Marcum charger seems to charge it perfectly. The battery website even says that you can use a SLA battery charger.

I also have an Eskimo HC40 and love it.

And when I say heavy, I mean it. 90% of the time I use #7 (5/8oz) jigging raps and 3/8 to 1/2oz buckshots when targeting walleye. I use #5 if perch are mixed in but if they are aggressive, even perch and small eyes will hit a #7.

In my experience, I find heavier baits do well with the walleyes in devils. Buckshot spoons and jigging raps tipped with minnow heads (preferably) or waxies seem to always produce. I have been using jigging raps a ton lately and once you learn how to jig them well, you should get bit by close to 75% of fish that come in to look. Hallie’s have worked well on perch and walleye when you need to downsize do to inactive fish. As a last resort, I’ll go to my biggest gold tungsten but that’s quite rare.

March is the best in my opinion. I’ve been going out there either the second or third week in March for the past five years. You run the risk of an early ice out but the fishing is stupid good. Walleye are easy to find and you can catch more pike in the 8-12 lb range in one afternoon than you can count. Plus, if you are lucky, you can fish in 40° to 50° weather instead of 0° to 10°. The perch in my profile pic were caught there March 2015.

Hey Randy, thanks for the post. Have you found that the walleye follow traditional walleye contours on the reefs, ie humps or slopes, or should I focus on the flats just off the reefs? Thanks

Any chance I can get that code? Hopefully I can still get the deal. Thanks

Phil

No, I didn’t touch the unit in between holes. After fishing a hole I would pick up the unit to move without touching any buttons and when I got to the new hole the zoom was off. It reset itself when I picked the unit up to move.

Propane is my choice. I picked up an Eskimo last year and love it. Started on the second pull out of the box and first pull this season. No gas/oil mix to spill. No choke. No warm up time before you start cutting. I love it.

What do you mean by “junk on the screen”? Also if the bottom or if fish start to bounce around then it could be a bad motor in the unit. Marcums are great products but there’s always a chance of a defective unit. If you think it’s defective than I’d suggest taking it back and swapping it for the same model and see how that one works. I bought mine used five years ago and it’s still going strong.

I have used my vx-1 for the past five years without a problem. I finally upgraded to an lx-5 only because I’m doing more perch fishing in 60’+ fow and the vx-1 is terrible over 60′. You have to turn the gain up to 8-9 to find your jig but then it’s just a big red blob near bottom with no target separation. That being said, if you only plan to fish 30′ and under, the vx-1 will work great for you. I’ve never had a problem and routinely out fish my buddy with his fl-22.

I am also wanting to get up to Gogebic but am wondering about getting around on the lake. Where you on foot or driving an ATV/Snowmobile/truck? Is it possible to drive a truck on the ice or are the conditions usually too nasty?

Also, without trying to hijack the thread, are there any guys who are from WI who want to carpool up there in the next few weeks? I’m in southern WI.