I have LiveScope and I also have recently started spider rigging. I fish because I love to fish and I love for my wife and kids and grand kids to catch fish. I keep fish for us to enjoy and don’t think a thing about it, I typically don’t even keep close to a single limit. I’ve caught plenty of fish, I don’t typically fish hard myself but I fish hard for whomever is with me. I don’t begrudge anyone using technology to fish and hope that everyone has enough respect to not abuse our resources.
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.
We are all born ignorant but one must work really hard to remain stupid. -Ben Franklin
PROUD MEMBER OF TEAM GEEZER
Any day I'm fishing is a good day, regardless of what I catch.
CrappiePappy, Roy thanked you for this post
Livescope is cool , destroy a big lake, never ,a small lake with enough folks good with it maybe on average fish size yes
Last edited by Ketchn; 08-10-2020 at 03:25 PM.
sum kawl me tha outlaw ketchn whales
We are all born ignorant but one must work really hard to remain stupid. -Ben Franklin
PROUD MEMBER OF TEAM GEEZER
Any day I'm fishing is a good day, regardless of what I catch.
Billbob LIKED above post
here in lies the problem with devices like this and mankind . as an apex predator we are the worst case scenario . we dont take the weak ,the injured ,the young and the old as a general rule out of any population of fish and or game we harvest in equal proportions .
we instead take out the prime specimens and this is NOT how a predator /prey relationship is optimal .
mind you livescope is good stuff in the right hands and it can actually eliminate "fair" chase if you will . a large older specimen that could survive due to it's being wary and avoiding predators by fleeing is now subject to being hunted down when it flees .
this in turn is not good for the general population of any species and could possibly change the average age class population numbers on smaller water bodies . mind you its a stretch but to be sure from what i have seen and how good some folks use it , if a number of them descend on a small lake for lets say a tournament , it might takes years for the lake to recover its missing age class .
but in the end until it becomes as affordable as SI and or lots of used ones hit the market at prices the "average" guys can attain i think we are very likely not going to see it effect most populations very much . i was once told only mother nature can effect crappie populations by a fisheries biologist and from what i have seen so far in my pursuits of them i tend to think its pretty accurate .
sum kawl me tha outlaw ketchn whales
In my not so humble opinion, tournaments and tournament fishermen should be barred from small lakes.
No, I'll be honest, based on the behavior of bass tournament fishermen, I believe tournaments and tournament fishermen should be barred from ALL lakes.
Never been on a lake with a crappie tournament, so this comment may not apply to them.
We are all born ignorant but one must work really hard to remain stupid. -Ben Franklin
PROUD MEMBER OF TEAM GEEZER
Any day I'm fishing is a good day, regardless of what I catch.
jackie53, gunwhatgun LIKED above post
Say all you want..on our clear Mountain
Hard to fish..Dead seas..
If it wasn't for Basstourmants..
We wouldn't have the Boat Ramps..,Fish structure..Trolling motors,electronics, lures,Ect..
Ever heard of a Crappie Pro shop...
No..
Crappiemasters classic...not..
Bass pro Shops......Largest in The World...
Bassmasters Classic, FLW...Biggest Payouts in the World....
With out Bassfishermen and their next new
Equipment coming out..
Would be anything for the Cheap,
Sent from my SM-J337A using Crappie.com Fishing mobile app
John 3:16
Blessed to have as many friends as fingers on your hand is a blessing!!!
"Gone fish'n not wish'n"
In God We Trust.
Can God trust us.Lawnmowerman43 LIKED above post
Crappie Master
crappiemasters.net
Everything that you said may be true. But that does not give bass tournament fishermen the right to ran roughshod over the rights of the other users of the lake during their tournaments. Which is exactly what a very large percentage of them do.
I have been told by some when I questioned their behavior that they paid xxx dollars to be in the tournament and they needed to win. I have told by some that tournaments are not held every day and other users should get off the lake or stay out of the way of tournament fishermen during a tournament.
Well, I don't care how much a person paid to enter that tournament. I don't care how much a person paid for that boat or their expenses to be on the lake for that tournament. I don't care how bad that person needs to win or how bad that person wants to win.
I expect all fishermen to show good manners and respect the rights of other lake users. Especially while that person is fishing a tournament, as their behavior reflects on the tournaments. It's a tournament fisherman's choice to spend that money on and for tournament fishing, don't use it as a justification for rude and obnoxious boating or fishing behavior.
Being in a tournament is a matter of choice. It does not give a tournament fisherman the right to rush into a fishing area on plane and throttle down just as the tournament fisherman comes upon other boats that were fishing the area before the tournament fisherman arrived, rocking them all over the place with the waves the tournament fisherman generated by throttling down too close to the fishing boats.
It does not give the tournament fisherman the right to fish over the ones who were fishing the area before the tournament fisherman came into the area to fish it. Nor does it give the tournament fisherman the right to go full throttle to get back on plane as fast as possible the instant the tournament fisherman finishes fishing an area, generating more waves that rock the boats that were fishing the area before the tournament fisherman arrived at the area and are fishing the area as the tournament fisherman leaves the area.
Not every tournament fisherman does these things. But more do than don't in my experience. So I stand by what I said.
Don't mind Ez yawl he gets waked to death even on purpose on his home lake ,them folks are the worst case of non boat operators I ever seen . It's no wonder they have several police boats out there . Its pretty much a big ole water vessel circus daily
sum kawl me tha outlaw ketchn whalesezgoing LIKED above post