Vexilar Battery
Filed Under Ice Fishing Flashers | Leave a Comment
I was out fishing yesterday and a very concerning thing happened with my flasher. It wouldn't work. For those that have read this blog, it is quite evident that I have a mad love affair with my flasher. I won't ice fish without it. In the list of ice fishing gear that everyone should own, it is #1 with a bullet (ok, so you need an auger of some sort to make a hole in the ice, but you get my point). For those that don't want to read my entire story, suffice it to say it was a bad vexilar battery, but I didn't realize that until 8 hours later after I was completely done fishing and worrying about sending it in to be repaired.
12V 7AH 12 Volt 7 Amp Hour SLA Sealed Lead Acid Battery US $13.75 2d 19h 53m
12V 7AH SLA Sealed Lead Acid Fish Finder Battery US $11.50 15d 22h 29m
Sealed Lead Acid Battery SLA 12 Volt 7 Amp Hour 12V 7AH US $18.90 13d 5h 57m
So back to my story. To say I was disheartened would be an understatement. The unit would spin up, but no colors, no depth readout, nothing. Used my buddies unit to test out my transducer, it worked great on his flasher. The problem wasn't the transducer. Used his transducer which also worked fine on his unit, nothing on mine. Again, flasher would spin, no readout. Very upset I placed the unit back in my vehicle and went to fish that day without one. Which was painful for me as it is one of the main ways I ensure catching fish on the ice. My spring bobber was good that day and I managed a decent number of crappies, but not anywhere near what I normally catch. At this point I was resigned to the fact that I was going to have to call customer service and prepare to ship it in to be fixed. I didn't even want to know what it was going to cost at that point....
It wasn't until well after getting home, cleaning fish, relaxing on the couch with the family watching television that it hit me. In fact, I had even gone as far as laying down to fall asleep when something occurred to me. When I went to grab the flasher that morning to head out ice fishing I remembered noticing that the battery wasn't charging quite right the last time I charged it after fishing all day. Up from bed I got, ran downstairs and grabbed the unit. Luckily I have a ice fishing camera also which uses the exact same type of battery, so I simply swapped the battery to my Vexilar. Turned the power on and woolahh unit worked perfectly. This had me intrigued at this point, so I took my vexilar battery and used it to power the camera. It would kind of power up, but only display about half of the screen. It truly was a bad vexilar battery.
Where can you buy vexilar batteries online?
This question was the first one that came to mind. Sure I knew I could go to the local sporting goods store and pick up a new battery, but I remembered the price being upwards of $50 last time I was there. My brain started thinking that if I'm able to find a flash drive for half to one quarter the price of what I can find at Best Buy online, why would a Vexilar battery be any different? Luckily it wasn't. Going to the usual suspects was quite rewarding. If you go to Ebay you can find a wide range of vexilar batteries, just understand they won't call them "vexilar batteries". They will simply be called by their generic name, which is a 7 amp hour 12 volt sealed lead acid battery. The beauty is they will ship right to your door for less than $15. That is crazy cheap. It made the fact that my battery was toast much easier to swallow. It should be mentioned that these are the same batteries that are used in Marcum flashers (VX-1, LX3, LX5), Vexilar flashers (FL-8, FL-18, FL-20), as well as Humminbird flashers (Ice-35, Ice-45, and Ice-55).
No need to break the bank when buying that new Vexilar battery, simply go online and find a great deal!
Ice Fishing Reels
Filed Under Ice Fishing Gear | 1 Comment
When it comes to ice fishing reels there is a great amount of product available on the market today. Navigating the waters to find the perfect reel for your hard water fishing can be a challenge at times. Keeping the correct balance, yet having enough power to bring those large fish with shoulders to the surface can be a challenge to combine. This post will attempt to boil down the important, salient points to consider when attempting to add that perfect reel to your ice fishing gear.
Size Of Ice Fishing Reels
The first thing I consider when looking for an ice fishing reel is normally the size of the reel. When it comes to ice fishing rods you are going to be using a relatively short and therefore light rod so keeping the reel small is important. If you don’t you are going to end up with a reel that is far too big for your rod and the balance is going to be way off. Normally the smallest reel size each manufacturer makes it the correct choice. This is often considered the ultra light reel. You want a reel that weighs less than 8 ounces most likely as it will then be well balanced with your rod. That bass fishing reel that you use during the summer is likely too large to be an asset on the ice.
How Ball Bearings Affect Ice Fishing Reels
When it comes to fishing reels, ball bearings are an important aspect especially when it comes to how smooth the reel works. In general, the more ball bearings the better the reel. The low end reels almost all have only 2 ball bearings and with most of them you can really tell the difference. I would steer you towards at least 4 ball bearings and the higher up you go often means a better reel. To be sure, the quality of the bearings is quite important as 4 high end bearings is better than 10 standard or poor grade bearings, but you get my drift. When you look at the top brands of reels such as Shimano, Tica, Pflueger, Daiwa and so forth almost all of the reels have 4 – 10 ball bearings inside.
How Drag Affects Your Ice Fishing Reel
One of the most overlooked areas of fishing reels that really have a large impact on the reels quality is the drag. You want a drag that allows for a smooth release of line when that large fish with big shoulders takes your bait. If you have a reel that has a choppy release of line it can really cost you on the ice. Finding a reel that has a quality drag to go along with several ball bearings and in a small size is just the ticket for your ice fishing gear and will lead to great success on the hard water this winter.
Ice Fishing Reel Recommendations
If I were to suggest a group of reels that will suit you well on the ice I would likely start by saying to avoid the $20 reels that dominate your local sporting goods store. You often get what you pay for when it comes to ice fishing equipment. To that end, I would suggest the following three reels which have all served me well over the years:
Tica Cetus Series Ice Fishing Reels
It seems that few people outside of the ice fishing world know about these high quality reels, but this is my go to reel in my ice rod combos. A smooth reel with an excellent drag and an especially small size all work perfectly on the ice. I'm partial to the Tica Cetus SB500, but I've heard good things about the lower end Tica Cetus LF500 and the Tica Cetus GV500.
 |
TICA SB 500 SB500 CETUS MINI FISHING SPINNING REEL 6B |  |
 |
US $29.90 | 12d 17h 50m |
The Pflueger Trion Ice Fishing Reel
Coming fully equipped with a 4 ball bearing system, plus 1 roller ball bearing it is smooth with a great drag and comes in a small size. All with the quality Pflueger name.
| Pflueger 4520GXX Trion Spinning Reel, 105-Yard/4-Pound |
 |
Overall Rating: |
| Retail Price: $29.95 |
| Amazon Price: $29.95 |
Shimano Ice Fishing Reels
How can you go wrong with a great reel like the Shimano? A great name that is well known throughout the fishing world for its high quality workmanship and long lasting use, the Shimano is a great choice on the ice. For those willing to spend a good amount of money for a top of the line reel, the Shimano Stradic is hard to beat and will work as well or even better in the summer. For the small size you want to target the Shimano Stradic 1000 series.
| Shimano® Stradic® FI Spinning Reel, ST1000FI |
 |
Overall Rating: |
| Retail Price: $159.99 |
| Amazon Price: $132.45 |
When it comes to the perfect ice fishing rod setup, oftentimes people overlook finding a great reel to finish the combo. The reel has a great impact on your success out on the ice so it shouldn’t be overlooked. Finding a high quality ice fishing reel doesn’t have to be a pipe dream, just use the above tips to fine tune your selection.
keep looking »