Patrick Walter's Livescope Technique

[cpaterso]

I know this has been a hot topic the past week in the fishing world.  But it does go to show that operating one of these units takes quite a bit of skill.

 

The first time out with mine, it was clear it is nowhere near as easy as it looks.  I am getting better, but Patrick has this nailed down so I want to learn from what he was doing, which he obviously doesn't explain.

 

I was wondering if anyone watched and can confirm what I saw.  For setting it appeared to be in forward mode on the amber color.  From what I could see, he obviously has it on the trolling motor, not a pole mount.  He then has spot lock keeping him in a spot, but when he casts, he shuts the TM off and then uses the foot pedal to keep his lure in the cone as he drifts a bit. Most of the time it looked like he was casting into the wind.  After hes done, he jogs back up to his spot.

 

Was this what you guys saw?  I've been using spot lock with a pole mount but with any light wind, I dont see my lure for more than a few seconds in the cone.  Shutting the TM off and just mounting it on the TM and using it as foot control sweep seems pretty good.  I just would like another's opinion before I rerig the dang thing.

[Sprocket]

You pretty much got what he was doing.  I do pretty much the same thing in cedar trees.  I've always had mine mounted on the trolling motor. I was there the week of the tournament and the first fish I caught was suspended on a tree about 5' from the surface.  I reeled a crank bait up to it, killed it and she nailed it.  Just short of 8#.  Unfortunately I couldn't catch any more that way.  I could see them, but couldn't make them hit.  Or I couldn't see any in the areas I was fishing.  What he did though was pretty incredible in my opinion.  

 

Retired grass grower

[cpaterso]

Thanks for the reply.  I suppose that settles it.  Back to the TM.

 

Yes he made it look easy but that was incredible. 

 

I went out today and made a lot of progress.  I noticed on his graph the gain was quite high compared to where I was.  I normally ran blue color but turning the gain up to 75 to 78 in amber worked well, and I could see lures further.  I also set color gain to 100 percent.  I had the range at 70 ft and I could see a 10xd and some other lures that far out, but I couldn't see a jerkbait past about 20 feet, so I'm still not sure how he was seeing them so far.  The returns were just a lot smaller.

 

But even with the above, it was still a struggle keeping the lure in the cone with the pole mount.  I need 3 hands!

And nice catch btw!!!

[HenryPF]

Link to said video?

[cpaterso]

9 hours ago, HenryPF said:

Link to said video?

It was really all throughout days 2, 3, and 4 of Bassmaster Elite at lake fork.  They dont show what hes doing in full, but you can piece it together over time little bits here, little bits there.

 

 

[Choporoz]

Just watched that tournament show this weekend.  Seemed unreal.  Unlike any fishing I've ever seen before.  I am not at all familiar with the last couple years electronics and had no idea that was possible.  He would cast a jerkbait past a specific fish probably 15 yards out, watch his lure as he worked it to the fish and then stop it right in front of that fish.  Doesn't seem right somehow.  I've sat above and drop shot into brushpiles that appear to have fish, but this is something else entirely. 

[Team9nine]

Agreed - especially the "doesn't seem right" aspect, but it's only going to get much worse from here with H'bird and Lowrance releasing their versions this spring.

[schplurg]

If you want to win money then whatever I guess, but that isn't fishing to me. 

 

"The unknown" is a lot of the fun for me. Heck it might be all of it! The whole point for me is the hunt. I like not knowing what I just hooked into until I get it to the boat. 

 

Hooking a fish that you had no idea was there...that's everything to me.

 

"Hmm the computer says I should cast 45 feet out thattaway....guess I will" Screw that.

[RichF]

Pretty much agree as well. It's sad that this is what fishing has become.  I don't even find this stuff cool and I'm a millennial!  I remember when boat control was a major part of the game and if you mastered it, you had an advantage. That's gone. I remember when you had to actually fish areas to figure out bottom composition and structure. That's gone. Now we can cast to fish that we can stare at right in front of us...it's ruining the sport.

[Team9nine]

1 hour ago, RichF said:

Pretty much agree as well. It's sad that this is what fishing has become.  I don't even find this stuff cool and I'm a millennial!  I remember when boat control was a major part of the game and if you mastered it, you had an advantage. That's gone. I remember when you had to actually fish areas to figure out bottom composition and structure. That's gone. Now we can cast to fish that we can stare at right in front of us...it's ruining the sport.

 

Glad I’m not the only one that recognizes this and thinks that way...

[Choporoz]

While I feel the same way, I recall a conversation I had some 9 years ago with my father, a diehard fisherman for over 70 years.  When I told him about my new 4 inch Lowrance, he was pretty scornful and said it was cheating...lol

[RichF]

I love a good depth finder and gps. Those are incredibly helpful without getting too crazy.  You still have to actually fish to find things worth slapping a waypoint down for.  Anything beyond that just shouldn't be a part of the game.  Let's bring back the actual art and skill of fishing!

[Tennessee Boy]

Folks have been scorning new technology since the beginning of time.  I guess you could say that it's cheating to use a boat.  "Human's are land creatures and it's cheating to use technology to go into the fish's domain." 

 

It used to be very challenging to find offshore structure and those who could rise to the challenge were rewarded.  Electronics has now made finding offshore structure much easier. 

 

It's always been hard to see fish in the water.  Some are better at "sight fishing" than others.  Is it cheating to use polarized glasses?  Technology has now made it possible to see fish in muddy water at considerable depth.  I don't consider it cheating but it does give an advantage to those that have the technology and know how to use it.  I don't have live sonar.  I will probably get it in 2021 and I'm looking forward to joining the ranks of the cheaters.  ?

[TnRiver46]

I kind of look at this entire thing the opposite way. Livescope makes fishing too easy? Y’all must be joking!!!! Rigging that thing up to work just right is way more difficult than putting a canoe into the river and just fishing. Also, acquiring the amount of money that livescope costs is way more difficult than just going fishing. Everyone thinking it’s “cheating “ or “too easy” is about 500 steps ahead of me (and a few tax brackets above me). All this new technology is difficult and complicated to me, basically the opposite of easy or cheating 

[Team9nine]

35 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

Rigging that thing up to work just right is way more difficult than putting a canoe into the river and just fishing. Also, acquiring the amount of money that livescope costs is way more difficult than just going fishing

 

And somehow pages of arguing over the benefits of mono, fluoro or braid on our new Zillion 1000/NRX outfit instead of just going with the Zebco 33 combo isn’t more difficult and over our pay grade? It’s all just going fishing  Who can afford a good canoe these days, anyway?

[TnRiver46]

16 minutes ago, Team9nine said:

 

And somehow pages of arguing over the benefits of mono, fluoro or braid on our new Zillion 1000/NRX outfit instead of just going with the Zebco 33 combo isn’t more difficult and over our pay grade? It’s all just going fishing  Who can afford a good canoe these days, anyway?

Let’s just say I’d opt for the 33. I don’t even know what a zillion is but it sounds expensive 

[Tennessee Boy]

I would be perfectly happy using the same rods, reels, line, lures, boat, etc that I was using 25 years ago.  In fact I would prefer it in may cases.  I would be miserable using 25 year old electronics.

 

I'm a computer geek by profession and as a hobby.  Fishing electronics is the one area where my passion for computers and my passion for fishing overlap. As such,  I'm unable to resist spending money in this area.  So take my opinion for what it worth.

[RichF]

2 hours ago, Tennessee Boy said:

I don't consider it cheating but it does give an advantage to those that have the technology and know how to use it.

This is the exact argument many make against having this kind of stuff in the competitive rings of the sport (especially since the top dogs are constantly talking about "growing" the sport).  To compete in just about any ranks nowadays, you have to have all this crap.  That's a huge barrier to entry.  So how is it, exactly, does this kind of stuff promote growth of the sport? 

 

Sorry to get a little off topic.  Innovation is good. Tech is neat.  I just think it's getting out of hand and ruining the sport.  

[Team9nine]

Livescope Training Class

 

Just because you can see them, doesn't mean they'll bite!

  

 

Please explain the difference to me...

[Tennessee Boy]

19 minutes ago, RichF said:

This is the exact argument many make against having this kind of stuff in the That's a huge barrier to entry.  So how is it, exactly, does this kind of stuff promote growth of the sport? 

 

Sorry to get a little off topic.  Innovation is good. Tech is neat.  I just think it's getting out of hand and ruining the sport.  

I agree with your point.  I don't think the industry in general is that interested in growing the number anglers who fish tournaments.  They are interested in growing the amount of money anglers spend to fish tournaments.  I personally know several guys who have spent enormous amounts of money (well over $100K) that they could not afford to spend in pursuit of the dream of being a professional angler.   If the tournament organizations would just lower the maximum horsepower allowed in a tournament back to 150HP they would greatly decrease the cost of tournament fishing and increase safety but their sponsors would not be happy and that's what matters.

[RichF]

4 minutes ago, Tennessee Boy said:

I agree with your point.  I don't think the industry in general is that interested in growing the number anglers who fish tournaments.  They are interested in growing the amount of money anglers spent to fish tournaments.  I personally know several guys who have spent enormous amounts of money (well over $100K) that they could not afford to spend in pursuit of the dream of being a professional angler.   If the tournament organizations would just lower the maximum horsepower allowed in a tournament back to 150HP they would greatly decrease the cost of tournament fishing and increase safety but their sponsors would not be happy and that's what matters.

100% agree.  It will always be a niche sport dominated by a tiny group that will pay any price to play. I wonder what a legit, 150HP, limited electronics, pro tour would look like.  I got to imagine there would be piles of anglers trying to get in on that action.

[fishwizzard]

4 hours ago, Choporoz said:

While I feel the same way, I recall a conversation I had some 9 years ago with my father, a diehard fisherman for over 70 years.  When I told him about my new 4 inch Lowrance, he was pretty scornful and said it was cheating...lol

To hear fly fisherman talk, any one using a weighted lure might as well be fishing with hand grenades.  

 

I would love to be able to see a fish approach my lure, being able to ****** a $25 jerkbait away from a pike should pay for itself in a few seasons!

[gim]

1 hour ago, fishwizzard said:

I would love to be able to see a fish approach my lure, being able to ****** a $25 jerkbait away from a pike should pay for itself in a few seasons!

 

Haha.  I'm on board with that.

 

Who can afford to upgrade their electronics every season?  Not this guy.  I'm using a 2018 version and evidently its already outdated.

[Logan S]

People tend to over emphasize how easy new tech makes fishing.  I remember the same thing with SI when it came out and it will probably follow a similar path.  As it becomes more widely available and more people use it the 'magic' perception of it will wear off.  Part of that will also be from the fish adapting to it.  

 

The point is to catch fish right?  This isn't snagging or netting them or anything else unethical, it's just helping you be more effective/efficient at targeting them.

 

(I don't have live sonar on my boat currently)

[Shimano_1]

Good, bad, or ugly it just is what it is at this point. Just because one tournament was won this way hardly means everyone has to run out and get it cause it means you'll win. Obviously Walters is a stick, already proven that way before that tournament.  Obviously he is a wiz with electronics.  As are several other tour level pros and lots of weekend anglers.  I do agree that it may paint a dark picture for guys trying to get into tournament fishing as far as the money spent. I run 3 garmins on my tin boat and we do pretty well locally on the tournament scene. As already stated this is no different than when down imaging came out then side imaging.  Theyre all tools. If you choose not to use them dont but em. If you don't fish for money I don't see why anyone cares either way. Pretty simple to understand tho, its all about the $ like everything else in life. Garmin wants money, they pay said pro to market their gear, said pro wins 100k using it, all the weekend warriors go spend 2500 bucks to have it. I do believe someone should start a tournament trail with 150 hp limit,  limited electronics etc. It would be interesting and appealing to a lotta people.