Quote Originally Posted by NIMROD View Post
If everyone that buys one learns how to use it , it will hurt the big fish numbers fast on smaller waters . It makes hunting open water fish with a single rod easy and can pick out big ones covering lots of water.
I am an old man, been chasing crappie for more years than I like to think about. I remember when flasher units came out, heard how the flasher unit was going to destroy crappie fishing from some of my fishing friends. Then 2 D came out and that was going to destroy crappie fishing. Somehow the crappie survived and there were plenty in the water to chase.

The next game killer was Side Imaging. This was going to destroy crappie fishing as it made it too easy to find the structure and brush piles where they hid. I remember drooling over the thought of side imaging and was extremely happy when I was able to buy a 998 unit. Only to discover that it was only another tool and did not make the crappie jump into my boat.

Now I keep reading the same thing about how Livescope is going to destroy crappie fishing.

I've owned Livescope for over a year now and it does not make the crappie jump into my boat. It does show me when fish are in a brush pile, on a submerged stump or swimming or suspended in open water. It does not tell me the species of individual fish on a stump or swimming or is suspended in open water but it does allow me to make a very good guess when they are in a school.

Yes, Livescope can show you a big fish suspended on the bottom, near a brush pile or submerged stump. It can not tell you it is crappie, only that it is a big fish. I've caught quite a few white bass and catfish I thought were crappie when I saw them suspended by themselves.

It does show me the crappie are down there on the days when I can only get a few of the smaller ones to bite so I can never blame lack of fish for my lack of catching.

It does not make the crappie bite on the negative days. It can be extremely frustrating to see fish on the display unit but not be able to get them to bite. It can be extremely frustrating to watch fish look your jig or minnow over and then swim away.

It can not make that fish bite. That takes fishing skill and a little bit of luck. As an example, I can catch a lot of crappie. But I often fish with Ketchn and SK. They both make me look like an amateur as they outfish me every trip. They have more skill at jig presentation and younger hands to feel a sensitive bite than I do. Having Livescope will never make me their equal.

I still have the occasional outstanding day when I catch 200 or more crappie in a day. I have had several days this year when I caught over 200 crappie and released 195 of them to catch on another day. I have had several days when I caught between 10-19 14 inch or larger crappie this year. But I also had similar days before I bought Livescope. I had those days when I was fishing without a fish finder, when I was fishing using a flasher unit, when I was fishing a 597 unit and when I was fishing a 998 unit.

So based on my experience Livescope is the same crappie fishing destroyer that the flasher unit, 2D sonar and side imaging were. All were good tools in the hands of experienced crappie fishermen but the crappie are still around for me to catch.