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I have been viewing youtube videos on the Garmin PanOptics units and am blown away at the technology. Any members here running these? I would be interested in getting some first hand knowledge on these units. If possible I would like to see the units work on the water. Any info or help would be appreciated.
Thanks
Yes "slabeye" has one.... I have been with him and seen it in action.. Incredibile. I don't know how to tag him into the thread, you can PM him or he is on here pretty often and should see your Subject
It is just like the videos on youtube. They are nice but one thing about it. Just cause you see them down there dont mean they will bite.....colyan and crappiepappy have seen that first hand...
I have one, absolutely love it. Changes a lot of what you think you knew about fish. And it's crazy the amount of fish around you most the time. And like what was said, doesn't mean you're going to catch them. I had no idea the amount of fish that spook.
Sent from my SM-A105G using Crappie.com Fishing mobile app
:Rofl ... yep, indeed I did !! Fascinating to watch fish come up to the bait, then go right back to where they were without so much as a tic in the line ... and also frustrating :Doh: knowing that your bait got them interested enough to come have a closer look, but not interesting enough for them to consider biting it. And that was when we were Pushing jigs !!Quote:
Originally Posted by slabeye
The biggest plus I see with having one is being able to scan an area and see if there are any fish .... saving time by not fishing a spot that looks good (surface view) or one that you know has cover (and you may have caught them there, before) and there not be any fish on it. I can just imagine scanning a stand of trees, a row of docks, or a area full of brushpiles and picking out the ones with more or larger fish ... and not have to spend 15-30mins at each spot to determine if there are "any" fish there. Then, if they reject my initial offerings, I can keep changing things up until I present them with something they will bite. :ThumbsUp
Everything above! I see more fish than I thought and when they are in a negative mood it’s amazing how much they look and leave. The best for eliminating dead water! Detail of structure is very good and makes marking waypoints easier.
Fellas, thanks for all the input. From what I gather you purchase the transducer and mount it on the shaft of the trolling motor. You can adjust the Ducer and make a screen change to go from forward looking or down looking. The transducer looks to be around 1500.00. Then you pair that with a compatible Garmin screen. The you tube videos I have viewed on the package really look nice. Of course, most of the videos they are running the big 10 inch screens. I guess if you are going this route you may as well go big or go home. Was hoping that a Garmin pro staffer lurking on the site would offer a hands on water demo.
They are incredible, to say the least.
I've watched a handful of videos on this new technology and it is quite amazing. I am going to wait and see what Lowrance and Humminbird respond with because I would think they would naturally have similar technology to take to the market.
There's been a few game changing moments in fishing electronics and this certainly qualifies as one, IMO. This has the ability to make a poor crappie fisherman at least average, and that's a good thing!!!
I believe Rodney (Slabeye) has the 9" screen Garmin ... and it was plenty big enough to see what was going on.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rockhitter
The Livescope system is more than just a transducer :
https://cdn11.bigcommerce.com/s-ktou...427633.jpg?c=2
you need a place to mount the "command unit", too. (big black box in picture)
There's also a thread in the Electronics Forum about the extra battery draw of the Livescope system ... and what some users have done to get longer hours of use.
redearhoosier: I'm with ya, surely Lowrance and Humminbird will bring something out equal or better. I have gone back and forth over the years regarding brands for my personal use. Was a diehard numminbird user for well over 20 years, then made the switch to Lowrance. Pros and cons to each. Once you commit to a brand I like to keep things in the same family. Currently running a Lowrance ti9 off the trolling motor using DI. On the back I have the Ti9 with total scan. I hate to start mixing and matching. Garmin is involved in many different categories, cycling, aviation, gps, running, etc, Lowrance and Humminbird are more of a focused market, one would think they would be leading the pack in technology. It's possible they got lax. For sure the Garmin LiveScope is revolutionary.
BTW, lived in suburb of Indy Southside [Homecroft] for 25 years before job moved me to Bowling Green. If I had to do it again I would have moved 35 years ago. Kentucky sure is a fine state.
Lowrance has already licensed technology from Garmin and attempting to bring it to market. The early impressions are Lowrance has a lot of work to do if they are going to get even close to the Garmin.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rockhitter
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk
I run 3 depth finders garmin and lowrance up front and lowrance in back. The lowrance for enter link so I pretty much only use the lowrance in the front for spot marking and so I can only use the garmin on the livescope...Another down side to the livescope is if you mount the box in a compartment you will have to drill 1 and 1/4" or 1 1/2" holes for the transducer plug and with a plug that size can make it real hard to run the cable...That is why I mounted the box on the deck behind the 2 depth finders.....
I would suggest that you take a look on youtube at Greg Fenn of CamoRiver Guide Service in Texas. Greg uses his livescope to help his clients catch crappie. His unique mlunt and the way Livescope is helping him is amazing. One of his videos is an introduction to how he uses Livescope. It is well worth watching.
That's supppse to say "unique mount
"
When using livescope and fishing jigs and the crappie come up then turn away has anyone dropped a minnow down to see if they have the same reaction on the same school of fish?
The few times we have tried a minnow they didn't out fish the jigs....Something that might surprise you is with a minnow is a lot of the bites they was hitting the sinker and not looking at the minnow. That is on green river it might be different somewhere else....
Thanks and that is interesting.
Agreed with all that was stated above. I'd like to add that they are great for vertical fishing but very limited for casting. The viewing cone (width) is small and if it's not pointed directly at an object it will blur or not show up on the screen. I also highly recommend mounting the transducer independent of the trolling motor shaft if you have a 'spot lock' trolling motor. Otherwise your view will be moving with the motor as it's making adjustments to keep you in position. One other note is I did some night fishing with it and noticed a reduction in the clarity of the images. Not sure if it was my screen settings or why that would make a difference but it was very difficult to detect know brush pile. During the day it's very clear and you can literally see a 1/32oz. jig. Overall a very amazing technology. Hard to think what will be out in a few years.