Live Scope Questions

[Phil S]

I’m finally about the bite the bullet and buy the livescope rig. I’ve said I’d never do it but here I am. I fish spring crappie on south end of the lake. Early summer smallmouth and then summer walleye around our place near pt 5.
 

questions: I am going back and forth between the tm mount and the separate stick mount. The thought of having to use my hand to move it around makes me iffy about it, but the thought of spot locking on fish with the TM twirling around makes me turned off on that. Would love to hear how your setup works for you. 
 

How big of a game changer is it having LS? Any personal stories or feedback?

 

what’s installation like? DIY or have someone else do it?

 

any other tidbits or something I am not thinking about please feel free to share. Thx!

[Quillback]

2 of my fishing buddies have FFS.  They both have the hand controlled stick mount.  They both are sitting down in the front of their bass boats with the stick mount on the side and it is pretty easy to manipulate when you are sitting.  They both have Spot Lock and don't mount it on the TM shaft for the reasons you mentioned.  

I don't have it, maybe someday I will, but for now, no desire to get it.  I also stand on the front deck when I am fishing, so I don't know that the stick mount would work for me.  Plus you've got be head down watching the screen from a standing position.  That may be fine for the youngsters, but dunno how that would work for me at age 66.  I'd probably look into one of those foot control deals for pointing the transducer.  

That's all I've got on the subject.  😃

[MrGiggles]

Having had it both ways, I think it's better on the trolling motor. 

I don't have enough hands to run it properly on a stick. Spot lock is not precise enough to keep the boat from moving so you end up adjusting it constantly. I find it easier to just run the trolling motor manually with the remote, point at what I want to fish and make my casts. 

It is great for crappie fishing. Walleye can be so-so since they're often on the bottom and you won't see them. At times, I wish I had it mounted on a stick so I could spin it backwards to watch my bottom bouncers.

It is not hard at all to hook up. Power, ground, and a communication wire. 

[grizwilson]

I have one of each, one on the river boat is hand due to Ulterra does not like transducer, on bass boat Ultrex works fine.  As @MrGiggles says the hand control might be fine if you just want to look, but having the remote in one hand, the pole in the other leaves no hand for a rod, it gets way too busy for me.  As @Quillback mentions if you can sit down (difficult for me) it allows you zero in on spot lock the Ultrex always, always moves away when I am targeting a fish.   All aboard marine makes one that allows you to do both....have not seen one in action but like the idea.

[Phil S]

Great info. I appreciate the feedback.

[Ron Burgundy]

I have my ducer on the TM shaft , as said earlier I ain’t got enough hands to be fiddling with a pole . Boat control is everything with FFS , it’s not easy as the haters make it out to be . 

[MarkG52]

I have mine on trolling motor shaft, Ultrex, installed myself. Several guys that frequent the tackle store have them on Rite Hite Turrets that have foot control switches. Rite Hite manufacturing is in Purdy so most of the guys have just gone to their shop to look at/buy/installation. 

[aarchdale@coresleep.com]

I have a pole that attaches to my troller that is hand controlled. I like it because it launches with the troller and you dont have an extra stick to dump in separately.  I found the pole is a pain if im bass fishing and actively looking around for fish. SO now i only use the pole when crappie fishing especially when they are on brush and not moving around much.  Mainly in the spring.  The rest of the year i mount it back on my troller