So I am toying with the idea of seeing what it is going for at the show this weekend. For those that have it would you buy it again. What should I be aware of and those running it on the boat, do you just use the garmin on the console to use it or do you want it to be a dedicated unit for livescope. I have a 93uhd on my console and if using livescope I assume I would want the whole screen for it.
Garmin with Livescope was on the Demo boat I bought from The Boat Center. I’m not sure I would’ve made the purchase but now that I know what I know, I would definitely pull the trigger on it. I have a 12″ on the console and at the bow which are networked so not a screen dedicated to Livescope but works well. Going to add a 10″EchoMap with a GT56 at the console someday.
Yes, it is 100% worth it. You literally cannot beat it
Do you guys hook it to a battery already in the boat or did you add a small lithium battery so as not to run down the starting battery?
The question you need to ask yourself with Live Sonar is this? Do you want to spend most of your time in the boat staring at a screen? Because once you go down that rabbit hole, that’s what you’ll be doing.
Watching the Bassmaster Classic last week, most of them do that now. Just stare at their screens for the entire outing.
Watching the Bassmaster Classic last week, most of them do that now. Just stare at their screens for the entire outing.
Sorta like ice fishing. Its fun to watch how fish react to your presentation. I dont have one of these fancy new getups but would like to add one at some point. I hear electronics are very hard to come by right now. Some guys ordered stuff last summer/fall and still dont have them.
Yes. I would get it again. I bought the ice fishing package and got another pole mount for the boat that fits in the Sporttrack. I can put it anywhere in the boat depending on how I’m fishing. I run it off the battery in the package. If that runs down, I have a power wire coming from the fuse block I can use. My main graph for the boat is a Helix 12 at the tiller. I’m still learning not to use it too much if the fish I’m marking aren’t biting but it is sweeeeeet!!!
Yes-its awesome!
The question you need to ask yourself with Live Sonar is this? Do you want to spend most of your time in the boat staring at a screen? Because once you go down that rabbit hole, that’s what you’ll be doing.
This is what I am questioning right now. I already stare at my screen too much as is, not sure I want to focus on it even more. It’s obviously a superior fishing tool, but I am getting close to the point where I don’t want/need more tech.
If you want to use it to it’s potential you should get a pole mount so you can use it for ice. I had mine just mounted on the boat for 2 years and didn’t use it much. I have enough with SI and DI and it wasn’t mobile.
I pulled the unit out, bought another 93, and now I use it to it’s potential. The only problem is it’s clunky in the boat and it’s clunky moving around on the ice. However, it’s an extremely valuable tool. Plus, if it’s a dedicated unit on the boat just don’t turn it on.
I would invest again now that I see the value and I learned more how to use it but I’ll never mount it to the boat again.
I just purchased a Lowrance Active Target to pair with my Lowrance Elite FS9. Still have not figured out all the details, but I’m going down the rabbit hole.
I get where both of you guys are coming from, I wonder if it will take away from some of the enjoyment of just fishing. However it really sounds like a game changer. I really should get better at using my current electronics before making the next big leap. Keep the advise coming, I appreciate all of your perspectives.
This is what I am questioning right now. I already stare at my screen too much as is, not sure I want to focus on it even more. It’s obviously a superior fishing tool, but I am getting close to the point where I don’t want/need more tech.
I stare at a screen enough during my daily life at work and when I’m checking my phone. I don’t need another 5 hours of this when I’m fishing. If it means catching a few less fish, so be it. I’m specifically referring to it in a boat, not ice fishing.
If you fish in tournaments, there will be a day very soon when you will not be able to be competitive anymore without it.
Piece together a kit yourself, its much cheaper (there’s a dedicated thread about it)
Garmin just released an updated LVS34 transducer with improvements, if you dont need the very latest technology you’ll be able to find crazy good deals on the LVS32 transducer as guys will be upgrading and selling their old stuff cheap.
Joe if you don’t mind would you PM me some details on what you did. I will look through the thread also. Thanks
Here’s a couple of examples of my experience with LiveScope:
1. Fishing panfish in April last year in 10-12 feet of water with no fish on the Helix down-looking sonar while driving around. The LiveScope showed they were being spooked by the boat. About 20 feet around the boat the panfish were from 7 feet to the bottom. At 30+ feet they were near the surface to the bottom. So I casted 40-50 feet away and caught plenty.
2. On MilleLacs I saw a similar issue of boat shyness. Rigging the edge of a flat and marking fish with the Helix but no bites. The LiveScope showed fish on the top edge and 20-30 feet in. Switched to a slip bobber and caught almost everyone I targeted, only a few non-biters. But the fish right under the boat still wouldn’t bite. The coolest thing was I tracked a fish move from the base of the edge of the flat on one side of the boat, swing around the front of the boat (keeping a distance of 20-30 feet) and stop about 15 feet in from the top edge of the flat on the other side of the boat. It did not want to swim under the boat. Casted to it and caught it.
3. Opening week of walleye last spring. Had been catching eyes in 5-8 feet with clouds and some wind. It cleared off and calmed down. the bite died. Motored out and graphed the edge of the break and marked a few fish with the Helix. Spot-locked, fired up the LiveScope and looked for fish. Marked a cluster of 4 fish at the base of the drop. I caught 3 of them and my buddy caught the other one in 10 minutes. Continued to look with the LiveScope and caught 2 more in the next 30 minutes.
My advice: BUY IT!!!
That is very interesting netguy! Thanks for sharing. I will be investing in the lowrance variation at some point, but I need to upgrade a couple of my units first. My newest unit is a Gen3 Touch. I am thinking of going up to a carbon as I see no reason to justify the ridiculous cost of the live units.
“The question you need to ask yourself with Live Sonar is this? Do you want to spend most of your time in the boat staring at a screen? Because once you go down that rabbit hole, that’s what you’ll be doing.
Watching the Bassmaster Classic last week, most of them do that now. Just stare at their screens for the entire outing.”
Good point, but also realize the Top 5 in the Classic used Livescope so there is a reason to watch it.
I’m 5 years into using mine (2 years 1st generation Panoptix, 3 years Livescope) and will agree I stared at it too much the first year and relied less on intuitive instincts of how/where to fish. In the past 1-2 years I have changed now to only using it when I’m trying to find a weed edge, looking for bait balls, if fish are on structure/boulders, etc. If not, I don’t stare at it endlessly across expanses of water looking for “anything.” I probably did that a lot the first year and it didn’t yield very good results.
I’m learning to use it to verify where fish should be, or if I’m getting skunked to go “find them” which I used to do with my old traditional sonar, but Livescope is much better for that.
It isn’t perfect and you still have catch the fish – but it helps put you on and stay in high percentage areas that actually have fish – and just as important, eliminate dead water..
I’m still learning not to use it too much if the fish I’m marking aren’t biting
Here’s an example of this:
Mille Lacs last year. Rigging the edge of a flat. Catching a few. I had the LiveScope pointing into the flat (looking shallower). Marked a fish. Spot locked. Grabbed the slip bobber and casted to it. Fish came up, looked at it and went back down. I farted around for 30 minutes trying to get that fish to bite. I did eventually catch it, ~20 inches but my time would have been better spent to continue to rig the flat to present the bait to more fish. If the fish are going to bite when you’re power-corkin’, they’ll usually bite the first time.
I still say that after everyone has beat the bank, skipped the docks and tossed lures to the outside weed edge – and the fish aren’t there, or you’ve run out of spots – you have to move off-shore to find them. That’s where “forward facing sonar” excels: 360 Imaging if the fish are oriented to bottom structure/cover, or Livescope to spot fish when they are active/moving. Unfortunately, you might need both to find fish consistently throughout the yearly patterns… but I’m a believer ~
Worth it today in the -15 start of the morning.
20220312_080143-scaled.jpg
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
