Hate Livescope??

If you hate Livescope and vow to never use it I’ve got some wisdom for you. I’ve seen a lot of things I didn’t know was happening. And surely some of you have seen things I haven’t seen. I’ll start with a couple, and hopefully y’all can enlighten me on some stuff. (1)When I had traditional sonar I’d idle over brush trying to drop a marker. I never realized how many fish I spooked off the brush. Especially bigger fish. (2) Never knew they know you’re there even at 40 feet. I’ve seen them never let me get any closer. I’ve seen them move over 100 feet when I would jog in 5 foot increments never getting any closer. They were not moving, if I didn’t come closer they would sit still. I see this a lot. (3) When the bite is slow and they won’t even follow a bait, a big jerk and fall will trigger a bite, sometimes you need to abandon the subtle twitches. (4) If you’re waiting on the THUMP you’re missing half the bites. I have a super fast tip rod, I see my tip bend and never feel anything. I like to line watch but sometimes it’s tuff to see so I watch the tip. I still have a lot to learn but Livescope is definitely speeding up the process.


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Only thing I hate is that it's so far out of my budget that I'll never be able to afford one.

Heck, I had to scrimp to afford a Striker 7CV....

It is a great piece of gear.

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Originally Posted by tackleboat

If you hate Livescope and vow to never use it I’ve got some wisdom for you. I’ve seen a lot of things I didn’t know was happening. And surely some of you have seen things I haven’t seen. I’ll start with a couple, and hopefully y’all can enlighten me on some stuff. (1)When I had traditional sonar I’d idle over brush trying to drop a marker. I never realized how many fish I spooked off the brush. Especially bigger fish. (2) Never knew they know you’re there even at 40 feet. I’ve seen them never let me get any closer. I’ve seen them move over 100 feet when I would jog in 5 foot increments never getting any closer. They were not moving, if I didn’t come closer they would sit still. I see this a lot. (3) When the bite is slow and they won’t even follow a bait, a big jerk and fall will trigger a bite, sometimes you need to abandon the subtle twitches. (4) If you’re waiting on the THUMP you’re missing half the bites. I have a super fast tip rod, I see my tip bend and never feel anything. I like to line watch but sometimes it’s tuff to see so I watch the tip. I still have a lot to learn but Livescope is definitely speeding up the process.


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you need to take me crappie fishing one day.....

It’s amazing the education the whole crappie community is getting from livescope. I think it’s opened some eyes to lots of things and broken some believes we had.

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Originally Posted by Countryboy N.C.

you need to take me crappie fishing one day.....

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Wait a minute! Tell everyone how many times I’ve invited you!! You make fun of me. I think you’re afraid someone will see you onboard with a LS.


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I'd love having live scope but I know it would change the way I fish. See, I'm a lazy fisherman and like throwing out my lines and then sitting back and relaxing. HA! ;):)

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Originally Posted by gabowman

I'd love having live scope but I know it would change the way I fish. See, I'm a lazy fisherman and like throwing out my lines and then sitting back and relaxing. HA! ;):)

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I used to troll a lot and enjoyed it. Last spring I had my lines out and had trolled about 30 minutes with no success I went passed a brush pile and scanned with LS and it was loaded. Reeled in my longline’s turned backed and scoped the pile with good success. Went home and removed my rodholders. My wife is retiring in about a month. I may put them back on for her.


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Originally Posted by tackleboat

Wait a minute! Tell everyone how many times I’ve invited you!! You make fun of me. I think you’re afraid someone will see you onboard with a LS.


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If I still crappie fished 3 times a week.....I would probably have one, but I can't get away from the cats now days...

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Originally Posted by tackleboat

I used to troll a lot and enjoyed it. Last spring I had my lines out and had trolled about 30 minutes with no success I went passed a brush pile and scanned with LS and it was loaded. Reeled in my longline’s turned backed and scoped the pile with good success. Went home and removed my rodholders. My wife is retiring in about a month. I may put them back on for her.


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Do you get above the brush and drop, or do you cast and retrieve with a 10-12' rod? If neither, what is your favorite technique when you find them with LS under a dock or over brush? Jig or minnows?

spot on! Same thing happened to me when I was trolling. Caught a few in one spot. When back and scoped it, they were tucked down in some rocks on a point. Reeled up, started jigging on it and loaded the livewell.

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Originally Posted by KHNC

Do you get above the brush and drop, or do you cast and retrieve with a 10-12' rod? If neither, what is your favorite technique when you find them with LS under a dock or over brush? Jig or minnows?

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Not the OP but personally I'll stop about 40ft from the brush pile. I fish 11 and 13ft ACC rods. I pitch to the pile and catch all I can or want to catch until they turn off, and then ease up and vertical jig them often times dissecting the pile fora bigger fish I may see buried in it. Jigs. I've caught 2 fish out of the last 600-700, on jigs. I dont have minnows in the boat unless Im in a tourny and I see a fish I can't get to hit a jig. One of the two I caught on a minnow I missed twice on a jig and lip hooked a minnow on the jig and pitched back at it and caught. Funny thing with a Livescope, it's absolutely unreal at how many fish come up to a minnow and turn around and swim off, but you can pester with a jig and get them to bite.

don't hate or love it cause don't have one, but sure enjoy your reports about using it. Living the life man:cheers2

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Originally Posted by TreednNC

Not the OP but personally I'll stop about 40ft from the brush pile. I fish 11 and 13ft ACC rods. I pitch to the pile and catch all I can or want to catch until they turn off, and then ease up and vertical jig them often times dissecting the pile fora bigger fish I may see buried in it. Jigs. I've caught 2 fish out of the last 600-700, on jigs. I dont have minnows in the boat unless Im in a tourny and I see a fish I can't get to hit a jig. One of the two I caught on a minnow I missed twice on a jig and lip hooked a minnow on the jig and pitched back at it and caught. Funny thing with a Livescope, it's absolutely unreal at how many fish come up to a minnow and turn around and swim off, but you can pester with a jig and get them to bite.

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I fish exactly like that only I use a 7 foot rod. Sometimes I’ll use a 10 but the 7 is so light the 10 feel funny. Always use jigs. Today the fish were 25-35 deep. I used a 1/8 with a split shot. Most were in open water. Caught 51 but only had 14 over 10 inches. Fished Norman today.


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I have a love/hate feeling with livescope. I don't personally own one, but I fish with friends that have it on their boats. It's an unbelievable tool and it definitely gives an angler an advantage (if they know how to use it) over traditional fishing methods. It doesn't make them bite, but day in and day out an angler that knows what they are doing will catch more fish with a livescope. I've seen it time and time again where someone livescoping will catch fish in an area that folks tightlining or trolling won't catch. I can't explain why in some cases, but I have been amazed at how spooky and finicky crappie are. I've caught thousands upon thousands of fish tightlining and now I wonder how I've ever caught one LOL

It's fun to catch them with livescope, but to me it does take some of the fun of "fishing" away. It's a different kind of fun with livescope. To see a fish react to your bait and run it down is a rush. But, the uncertainty of fishing without a livescope is what I've enjoyed about fishing for years. You never know what's on the end of your line when you get bit and you never know when the next bite will come. The anticipation of that next bite or that next big fish is exciting. You lose a lot of that with livescope IMO. You know when you're going to get bit and you can normally tell how big the fish is. In many cases you can distinguish between species. The educational value that livescope provides is unbelievable though. If you haven't fished with one I'd recommend everyone give it a try before knocking it. Get in the boat with a friend or even book a guide trip just to see it first hand. It's not for everyone and I get that 100%. There's still plenty of fish to be caught "old timey" fishing as I call it now.

I will probably own one before it's all said and done. Just to add that tool to my toolbox. Initially, I was borderline anti-livescope and I'm still unsure whether it should be allowed in competition. I understand everyone can get one, but the reality is not everyone can afford to buy it. As people figure out how to use it, the days of winning a tournament without livescope are becoming few and far between. With livescope in the mix I firmly believe the "best" fisherman doesn't necessarily win these days. It has leveled the playing field in that regard IMO. Technology is a crazy thing and most either love or hate it. Livescope has turned the fishing world upside down and especially the crappie world. But, its not been too long ago that Side Imaging did the same. If you don't believe it makes a huge difference, take a look at tournament weights these days in comparison to pre-livescope days. Not necessarily the winning weights in all cases, but the numbers of big weights throughout the year. More people are figuring out how to catch BIG fish 12 months out of the year and a lot of times those big fish can't be effectively targeted without livescope.

Love it or hate it, its here to stay. I'm still somewhere in the middle with my feelings, but like I said, I will probably own one before long. It's fun and it's extremely effective, but old timey fishing still has a place in my boat and always will.

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Originally Posted by Crappie Buster

I have a love/hate feeling with livescope. You lose a lot of that with livescope IMO.

Love it or hate it, its here to stay. I'm still somewhere in the middle with my feelings

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Kinda where I am but I'm perhaps a bit more negative toward it, though I've never used one. Admittedly, some days I wish I could have one if only to figure out why the crappie were kicking my butt! If I had one I'd have to use it constantly just to justify the cost. I'm sure I'd think it was great at the start but I believe in time, it would take something out of it for me.
Yesterday, I saw a YouTube of some guy at probably 700-1000 yards looking at a feral goat through his rifle scope. His buddy was next to him with an iPhone app, plugging in bullet weight, muzzle velocity, distance, angle, wind speed and direction, etc, etc. and the app was telling what adjustments to make with the scope settings to insure point of aim impact. The whole time I'm thinking, if it's hunting, what happened to fair chase and stalking?
You know, I'm not judging. If that's your thing go for it.
Bottom line for me, I think eventually I'd feel I had lost something.

What kind of surprised me was that I thought the bait had to be in pretty close proximity to get bit( especially in the dark tannin rivers in the eastern part of the state). This is not the case, those fish either see it or feel the bait long before it gets to them. I went with a very experineced LS fisherman to Kerr, and he would shoot that jig to the brush and those fish would come several feet up to get it, when it began to fall.

I enjoy all the myths being busted, like jack said about how far a bait cant be detected, or a crappie feeding DOWN, or that some days colors are for us and not them. Here's one I witnessed saturday and not the first time, fish turning, and seemingly spooking from a minnow on a plain aberdeen hook.

Tackleboat …. Where do you fish tourneys ? We always looking for some to fish ! I have livescope but still spider rig and use LS to get depth right on jigs


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Originally Posted by Pchop

Tackleboat …. Where do you fish tourneys ? We always looking for some to fish ! I have livescope but still spider rig and use LS to get depth right on jigs


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I’ve never fished a Tournament, just not my thing.


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Originally Posted by Pchop

Tackleboat …. Where do you fish tourneys ? We always looking for some to fish ! I have livescope but still spider rig and use LS to get depth right on jigs


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Fish Central Carolina Crappie. Gobbler (member handle here) runs it. It's fun, light hearted and a good group of guys. Yadkin River Trail is a good time as well. Gold Hill Hookers is having a trail on the Yadkin lakes in the spring. South Carolina Crappie Association has a solid following, though I've never fished them.

Our "local" trails all seem to be a decent group of guys and gals and a good time. I'm new to the tourny scene but have fun at them.

I’ve been helping a friend with crappie fishing for about 6 months. It’s been interesting and sometimes frustrating. I started by taking him and he could catch them pretty good. Then he bought a boat that wasn’t the greatest and he struggled. He was frustrated so I’d take him again, then he decided LS was the answer to his problems so he got one and he struggled even tho he has waypoints to all my brush. Then he decided Spot Lock was the answer. He got set up about the time the fish left the brush so he’s still struggling. He has all the pieces of the puzzle to be successful except one. TIME ON THE WATER. He thinks I have a Golden Horseshoe up my Butt. I fish when conditions are terrible and odds of success are low, he is starting to see that time on the water is key to adapt to changing conditions. He didn’t get a single bite yesterday and found very few fish. He told me something today that made me proud and he’s paying attention and improving. He said, I didn’t catch anything but I improved my boat control!! That was time well spent. His experience is showing that even with great equipment you can still struggle. Just shows Livescope is not the magic bullet some think it is.


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CANT DO LIVE SCOPE IAM OLD SCHOOL AND LAZY FISHING IS MY RELIEF FROM WORRY AND WORK
SO WHAT I DONT KNOW WONT HURT ME

:fish:fish:fish:fish:fish

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Originally Posted by TreednNC

Fish Central Carolina Crappie. Gobbler (member handle here) runs it. It's fun, light hearted and a good group of guys. Yadkin River Trail is a good time as well. Gold Hill Hookers is having a trail on the Yadkin lakes in the spring. South Carolina Crappie Association has a solid following, though I've never fished them.

Our "local" trails all seem to be a decent group of guys and gals and a good time. I'm new to the tourny scene but have fun at them.

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Thanks , we are doing the South Carolina crappie association now but yes they are fun ! Great guys !


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Originally Posted by tackleboat

I’ve been helping a friend with crappie fishing for about 6 months. It’s been interesting and sometimes frustrating. I started by taking him and he could catch them pretty good. Then he bought a boat that wasn’t the greatest and he struggled. He was frustrated so I’d take him again, then he decided LS was the answer to his problems so he got one and he struggled even tho he has waypoints to all my brush. Then he decided Spot Lock was the answer. He got set up about the time the fish left the brush so he’s still struggling. He has all the pieces of the puzzle to be successful except one. TIME ON THE WATER. He thinks I have a Golden Horseshoe up my Butt. I fish when conditions are terrible and odds of success are low, he is starting to see that time on the water is key to adapt to changing conditions. He didn’t get a single bite yesterday and found very few fish. He told me something today that made me proud and he’s paying attention and improving. He said, I didn’t catch anything but I improved my boat control!! That was time well spent. His experience is showing that even with great equipment you can still struggle. Just shows Livescope is not the magic bullet some think it is.


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how well does the live scope work in muddy water? I mean muddy like GBM said when you can see mud swirls
the answer might have been on here but I don't remember seeing it

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Originally Posted by uncle remus

how well does the live scope work in muddy water? I mean muddy like GBM said when you can see mud swirls
the answer might have been on here but I don't remember seeing it

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It works fine as far as seeing the brush and fish.


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Originally Posted by tackleboat

I’ve been helping a friend with crappie fishing for about 6 months. It’s been interesting and sometimes frustrating. I started by taking him and he could catch them pretty good. Then he bought a boat that wasn’t the greatest and he struggled. He was frustrated so I’d take him again, then he decided LS was the answer to his problems so he got one and he struggled even tho he has waypoints to all my brush. Then he decided Spot Lock was the answer. He got set up about the time the fish left the brush so he’s still struggling. He has all the pieces of the puzzle to be successful except one. TIME ON THE WATER. He thinks I have a Golden Horseshoe up my Butt. I fish when conditions are terrible and odds of success are low, he is starting to see that time on the water is key to adapt to changing conditions. He didn’t get a single bite yesterday and found very few fish. He told me something today that made me proud and he’s paying attention and improving. He said, I didn’t catch anything but I improved my boat control!! That was time well spent. His experience is showing that even with great equipment you can still struggle. Just shows Livescope is not the magic bullet some think it is.


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My friend had a break thru moment today. Proud of him. He got 19 good ones today at Wylie sniping. Attachment 419249


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Im planning to try some Hartwell sniping Sunday. I have used LS extensively for two years now. Just not for crappie that much.

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Originally Posted by KHNC

Im planning to try some Hartwell sniping Sunday. I have used LS extensively for two years now. Just not for crappie that much.

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I didn’t snipe much the first year. I would see big marks in open water and wouldn’t cast to them thinking it was bass. Biggest mistake I’ve made with LS. You didn’t ask for any tips but thing that helped me the most was practice casting and seeing what my range and accuracy was before actually stalking a fish. Then I try to catch the fish just inside my range. I never risk spooking a good fish by trying to get too close. Good Luck! Sniping a Biggun is addictive.


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TB, did you install your live-scope yourself? if so any tips?

thanks

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Originally Posted by tackleboat

I didn’t snipe much the first year. I would see big marks in open water and wouldn’t cast to them thinking it was bass. Biggest mistake I’ve made with LS. You didn’t ask for any tips but thing that helped me the most was practice casting and seeing what my range and accuracy was before actually stalking a fish. Then I try to catch the fish just inside my range. I never risk spooking a good fish by trying to get too close. Good Luck! Sniping a Biggun is addictive.


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Heck yeah i bet so! i have targeted perch in deeper water with a berry spoon quite a bit. Just bouncing it around all their face. What do you set your forward range to? Mostly i see guys using 20-25' ranges. Thats probably one thing ive done wrong on trying to see fish with more detail. I keep the range on 40 when im closer and 90 when im searching. Probably need to close it in some.

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Originally Posted by KHNC

Heck yeah i bet so! i have targeted perch in deeper water with a berry spoon quite a bit. Just bouncing it around all their face. What do you set your forward range to? Mostly i see guys using 20-25' ranges. Thats probably one thing ive done wrong on trying to see fish with more detail. I keep the range on 40 when im closer and 90 when im searching. Probably need to close it in some.

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95 feet when searching and adjust it as I close the distance. I’ve actually sniped a few at 69 feet but usually get the fish at 40-45 and range set on 60. I like my range about 10 feet more than I’m likely to cast. I use to zoom way in and I’d cast past my range and wonder why I couldn’t see my jig. Big Dummy. Even when vertical jigging I like the range on about 35. I’ve seen schools come close to brush I’d miss if zoomed way in.


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Originally Posted by Foxy Jig

TB, did you install your live-scope yourself? if so any tips?

thanks

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I did on my last boat but not on my current boat. I knew everything how it was wire in case I had to trouble shoot. With this boat I don’t have a clue how it’s wired and it worries me. The only tip I have is if you’re mount on a separate pole, that what I prefer though I know the pros of have on the trolling motor is I like my pole mounted where I’m just in front of it when seated but can reach easy. I mounted my ram mount on a board so I could slide it back and forth to decide where to mount permanent. Take your time deciding.


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