Live imaging electronics?

[Dutch]

I hope that I’m not being too much of a pain here guys but I have made a few unwise decisions concerning some “accessories” that were a waist of money.  I run Birds and am told when it becomes available it will set me back 1500 bones.  It will be worth that if I can use it to catch fish.  If I can’t then I already have enough toys.

[Ruger5555]

21 minutes ago, Dutch said:

I hope that I’m not being too much of a pain here guys but I have made a few unwise decisions concerning some “accessories” that were a waist of money.  I run Birds and am told when it becomes available it will set me back 1500 bones.  It will be worth that if I can use it to catch fish.  If I can’t then I already have enough toys.

Technological Angler has posted a few pics of Mega Live but hasn't elaborated much.

[aarchdale@coresleep.com]

I would bet anything that Lowrance, and Bird are using the same Garmin technology. If you already have Birds i would go that route. 

[Dutch]

8 hours ago, Ruger5555 said:

Technological Angler has posted a few pics of Mega Live but hasn't elaborated much.

Scott Robinson told me that Rick Fishback is one of the field testers and is still seeing some glitches.  I may need to contact him and set up a demonstration before I take the plunge.

[MrGiggles]

On 8/14/2021 at 11:01 AM, Dutch said:

Ok so do you mind giving us a little tutorial for how you are using it?

I will usually park on the tip of a point/hump, or along the sides on the slope. Usually you can see fish sliding up and down the drop off, or just off bottom not far away. 

I will usually drop my jig to within a few inches of the bottom. Walleyes will usually materialize off of the bottom and act very aggressively, sometimes hitting the jig on the drop. 

One thing that Livescope really works well at is getting the perspective of where you are along a piece of structure, you can easily see how far down you are in a drop off, where the tip of a point is, etc., where 2D only gives you a snapshot of the sonar cone and needs to be paired with maps to give you any perspective. Say that you are looking for a particular rock pile or a boulder (the spot on the spot) on a point, it is very easy to zero in on with Livescope, where you would otherwise be relying on a waypoint, which is not very accurate, or hovering right over the top of it.

Same goes for fishing brushpiles for crappie, use the waypoint to get you close, LS allows you to stay back a ways but still keep your perspective without using market buoys or any of that BS.

[LittleRedFisherman]

I’ve had it for 3 years and it is for sure a game changer for crappie!   I can work for bass to.  This time of year targeting suspending bass and chasing with a spoon is fun.   But for crappie is basically unfair at times for them how good it can work.  

[Dutch]

So how do you guys use it?  Do you have it on the trolling motor or on a separate mount?

Do you deploy it and cruise around looking or use it while fishing in general?

How deep does it work?

[BullShoalFisherman]

4 hours ago, Dutch said:

So how do you guys use it?  Do you have it on the trolling motor or on a separate mount?

Do you deploy it and cruise around looking or use it while fishing in general?

How deep does it work?

If you're fishing for crappie, and like using spotlock, I highly recommend a separate pole. 

Also, if you crappie fish brush piles, separate pole, if you fish standing timber i would consider on the trolling motor. 

If you fish for bass, I would say on the TM.

The difference is , bass never stop moving when suspending, however crappie stay attached to cover , making spotlock more useful. 

 

[Dutch]

I have an Ulterra.  Minn Kota said under no circumstance should I mount that much weight on it.

The only time I crappie fish is in late fall and early winter if they are on bluff ledges.  Would it do me any good for that technique?

 

[MrGiggles]

13 hours ago, Dutch said:

So how do you guys use it?  Do you have it on the trolling motor or on a separate mount?

Do you deploy it and cruise around looking or use it while fishing in general?

How deep does it work?

My 93SV is on the console, so I just have a pole rigged up that I can drop over the side of the boat and fish from the helm. Not the best, but I'm waiting for another deal on a 93SV so I can mount it up front. I have a Terrova, so I either just spot lock, or drive it with the remote. 

Generally I will pull up to a spot, drop the trolling motor and LIvescope, then start picking it apart. If I'm not seeing fish in the vicinity then I will start moving around, checking the whole area. If I was better at reading and setting up SI, I would scan it with that first, drop a waypoint on areas of interest, and come back to them with LS, but I'm not that good with it. 

I jigged up several walleyes out of 45 feet this spring on Stockton, right on the bottom.

The only time Livescope won't help you with crappie is in the spring when they're really shallow. 

I don't know about what Humminbird is coming up with, but the LS transducer is hardly any heavier than the big UHD SI transducers that people have been strapping on trolling motors for years, it's just a little bulkier. I don't see why they weight would be an issue. The bigger problem with that Ulterra is cable management, since the head can turn around and around. My Terrova will destroy a transducer cable in no time.