Vexilar FL-8 - Manual (Page 14)

14
HIGH SPEED OPERATION
The FL-8 can accurately read depths at almost any boat speed.
Here high speed is defined as any speed at or above the planning
speed of the boat. Once the boat starts to plane out, turbulence will
develop behind the transom. If you have the wrong type of trans-
ducer, or it is poorly mounted, the unit will lose the bottom at a cer-
tain boat speed. This is due to all of the air bubbles in the turbulent
water.
ICE FISHING
Ice fishing brings out the best in the FL-8. The stable platform of
ice lets you concentrate on your bait and the fish around it. The bot-
tom becomes less important because it never changes. The only
movement on the display is of your bait and fish.
Unlike open water use, the direction in which the transducer is
pointed is very critical. You want your bait to be located in the dead
center of the cone sound. This way you can see very small baits at low
gain settings and also see fish come in from all sides. If you are not
using the Ice-Ducer system, the transducer must be attached to an
adjustable arm so that it can be manually pointed directly at the bait.
Sometimes it helps to attach a bubble level to the transducer so that
you know when it's straight.
After your system is properly set up, adjust the gain until you see
your bait as a green target. You may need to readjust the gain control
to keep the bait green. This is due to the changing condition and posi-
tion of your bait. If you are using a swimming bait or a lure that darts
to the side as it's jigged, you will see the color change as the bait
moves. Sometimes it may even disappear if the bait goes out of the
cone of sound.
Fish will appear at the edge of the cone as a green target. If the
fish moves closer to the bait it will change from green to orange. If it
moves up, right next to the bait, it will change to red.