2-26-22

[R22]

Recently added livescope and I am still gathering parts to make it work best for me. In the meantime, I have improvised with a setup that allows me to use it somewhat effectively.

We did not leave my dock until mid-morning. I know the water may still be a little too cold but jigging is not my forte. That is an area I wish I was better. Catching bait was a little tricky. The back of the creeks was a little muddy and bait was not schooled up at all, so I was mostly throwing on decent marks when there seemed to be more than a few within striking distance. Bait was fast. The one thing that the new electronics showed was how easily the bait swam away as the net got close. Trying to determine which Livescope view to use was challenging, but in the end, I had a tank of bait that anyone (except Yam) would be proud of.

We saw water temperatures that ranged from 44-48 degrees. Never had a bite or even a run. We searched for fish to jig on, mostly finding singles or doubles but we were unable to catch anything. It was pretty neat to watch the fish come to the jig, or even hit the jig while darting by.

In the end, no fish caught on Saturday but it was a few good hours getting out on the water and learning more about the new electronics.

[cmstower]

I added the lowrance version last year and it was crazy watching the bait swim away from under the net, I always would get upset to say the least when the finder was blacked out and not catch any! It’s definitely an eye opener after watching that mess. I also had the same thing happen two weeks ago on the bait but got there at first light this Saturday and loaded up quickly this time. Hope this helps

[johnr]

I’m almost fully convinced that bait is highly sensitive to the livescope frequency and scatters as the beam sweeps across them.

[piper]

Feb 28, 2022 19:25:14 GMT -5 johnr said:

I’m almost fully convinced that bait is highly sensitive to the livescope frequency and scatters as the beam sweeps across them.

Super interesting, can you provide insight on this?

[johnr]

I’ve sat in giant schools of gizzards with the boat stationary, no trolling motor running and panned the livescope through them, and watched as they swam away from the beam.

Also have struggled to catch bait, chasing them with the livescope. Turn the livescope off and my catch rate goes up immediately.

I’ve also seen several occasions where livescope will seemingly clear bass off a brush pile that is 50-60’ from the boat.

Could be coincidence and not cause, I’ll probably never know. But I do know that sometimes it’s best to find the spot with livescope and fish it blind. Either turn it off completely or point it away from the spot.