Vexilar Blog Large Blob Signals for My Lure…what do I do?

Large Blob Signals for My Lure…what do I do?   Anglers who perceive their lure as a longer than normal “blob” of red color on their display are actually experiencing one of the biggest advantages Vexilar has over any other type or brand of sonar on the market today.  Historically, sonar displays “crop” the target’s information and decides what you will see. Sonar can “filter” the signal to be smaller or actually wipe it out completely from your display.  Vexilar gives you all the signal return data and the customer can decide how to use this information. For example, if you are fishing with a jigging spoon and a wire leader, you should expect to get a return from the spoon and the ball bearing swivel 12” up on the leader.  Larger more reflective lures WILL appear to be larger than smaller lures.  In turn, you are also able to identify larger fish from smaller fish.   To anglers not accustomed to this flood of information, it might seem like too much. The intent of Vexilar is not to confuse our customers, but to give them the tools they need find and catch more fish.  Ultimately, understanding what the display is telling you will make you a better angler.   #1. Please do not compare a single line for a lure you might see on a liquid crystal display and expect to see a single line with a Vexilar Flasher.  For one, a Vexilar uses 525 lines of resolution for each depth range, so the signal of a lure three inches long with a 4” shiner will take up more than one line of resolution.  Technically a lure 3” long will take up just over 12 lines of resolution on your display in the 10-foot range, 6 lines in the 20 and so on… The shallower the range, the larger the lure will appear. With Vexilar, you will see the lure “core” as a red signal at best, but orange is OK too. In most cases, you will always be in the lowest gain setting when fishing.  Orange and green signals may surround the red “core” as it shows weaker signals like your sinkers, swivels, and even your minnow on the hook.  These all contribute to enlarge the overall lure target you see.  Round lures will appear stronger (more red in signal) than thin spoons, which might only be displayed in orange.  This would be normal if you understand that a less reflective lure like a vertical spoon will not give you the same red signal you had with a jig.  You SHOULD expect all lures to have a different signal on your display.    #2.  Too much power in shallow water often results in a big “blob” and displays your lure in red. To change that, you need to back down your gain. If the lowest gain setting is still making your lure “core” red, then low power mode should be used to cut the output power of the system by 50%. This will NOT affect resolution but reduces the amount of red you will see from a super strong return signal.   #3. Owners’ of the FLX-28 have an additional option of using the Weed Mode (WM) setting on their systems to cut transmit power by another 25%.   #4. Understanding the relationship between Range and Resolution:  Many customers using the FL-22 or the FLX-28 with a 10-foot range for the first time are blown away by how different everything looks. What you see on the display will be MUCH larger and appear to move faster. This is all due to the fact that you are dealing with a 10-foot range option that was not available before.   It’s the same reason the lure looks larger in the AZ or AUTO Zoom Mode. A 10-foot range is basically better than the 6 foot Auto Zoom for resolution since the entire display is dedicated to only 10 feet of water.  If you do not like the shallow range settings because your lures look too large, simply switch to a deeper range. This gives you less resolution and in turn, makes your lures look like smaller targets.   Conclusion: For decreasing the size of your lure targets, be sure to keep your gain as low as possible. If that is not showing you a sharper signal, then use the LP or Low Power mode.  Remember, the shallower range you use, the larger the lure targets will appear and the faster they will move on the display. If you do not like a large “blob” displayed, shift to a deeper range to reduce your perception of the lure’s size.