Forward scanning sonar for bass fishing

[WRB]

I realize this is a electronics post but not a specific brand or question.

Having put bass fishing on the back burner for a few years and only fishing occasional back seat fun fishing my knowledge of forward scanning live view sonars wasn’t up to speed.

Went out the other day with a friend who has Live Target forward scanning sonar. Keep in mind I have decades of experience with scanning sonar on off shore sport fishing for tuna and marlin. Today’s bass boat forward scanning units are amazing, a real game changer. If you tournament bass without this technology you are fishing blind compared to competitors with it.

The day we fished was extremely slow day, everyone was complaining at the ramp including a guide who caught 1 red ear for his clients. We caught several quality bass between 3 to 4 lbs that were located in places only the sonar found. You see the bass and cast to it then watch real time the fish react to the lure and strike it. Bites you couldn't Feel but could see.

I don’t say this lightly, this technology is a game changer!

Tom 

[TOXIC]

And exactly why there is such a common sentiment for not allowing this type of electronics in tournaments.  Personally, I don’t have an opinion one way or the other but the cost of these units and what many feel is an unfair advantage is creating quite a stir in the smaller circuits.

[WRB]

Does reduce fish finding skills followed by presentation skills.

I didn’t buy into the advantage until experiencing it.

Tom

 

[MGF]

To each their own but I don't think that's what I want fishing to be.

[Team9nine]

Love/hate relationship here. From the standpoint of what you can learn about fish behavior, I think it is pretty awesome. But from the standpoint of how technology has changed the sport, not just FFS but also Power Poles, Spotlock TMs, Hi-def mapping, floggers, etc., it has made it to where I have almost zero interest in trying to compete these days (fished tourneys for 25 yrs), or in watching the pros fish/compete. I've just about stopped following the circuits outside of seeing how a few friends fare in certain events. Most of the skills I admired in certain professional anglers are now a thing of the past. It's become a look, cast and catch affair in so many events, and it's only going to get worse, I'm afraid.

[slonezp]

Haven't seen it in person and don't know how much it will/does impact bass fishing. Some crazy crappie videos are available on youtube. 

[Skunkmaster-k]

I can’t poo poo the ffs , because I enjoy my electronics as much as anybody. When they get the price down I’ll probably get one. Hopefully it’ll be like bed fishing year round. 

[gunsinger]

@Team9nine you say love/hate relationship, i say EXTREME JEALOUS relationship.  One of my fishing buddies has it and he out catches me every time 3 or 4 to 1.  I'd say 75% of his bass are livescope bass.  Me, I'm just casting blind.  I want it, but I don't want the $3k price tag.

[schplurg]

4 hours ago, MGF said:

To each their own but I don't think that's what I want fishing to be.

 

Agree. Fishing to me is about finding the fish. These new gizmos are like an Easter Egg hunt with a map showing where the eggs are. Wow I found a lot of eggs, aren't you impressed? No.

 

I would find less satisfaction fishing this way. Not sure I'd even call it fishing. I wouldn't use one if you gave it to me for free.

 

On the other hand, regular fish finders could be called cheating too compared to nothing at all. Then again mine has yet to lead me to a single catch.

[GRiver]

Have a friend that has one, he took out me out fishing. He wouldn’t even cast until he saw one on the screen. He just troller motored around looking down at screen. I think the Loch Ness monster could have rolled beside the boat he wouldn’t have noticed, unless it showed up on his screen. He looked like the kid you take to a ball game and he’s on his phone the whole time. I was able to fish the whole side of the boat, he literally fished the area on his screen. We used to fish, talk, crack jokes….this time, just slight hum of the trolling motor.
He  caught more than I did, and his cast to fish ratio definitely was better than mine. Would I get one if I could afford one?… Oh yeah, they are cool as heck.
But, try my best not to turn into a monitor fisherman. 

 

[Captain Phil]

1 hour ago, GRiver said:

Have a friend that has one, he took out me out fishing. He wouldn’t even cast until he saw one on the screen. He just troller motored around looking down at screen. I think the Loch Ness monster could have rolled beside the boat he wouldn’t have noticed, unless it showed up on his screen. He looked like the kid you take to a ball game and he’s on his phone the whole time. 

 

If you are going to fish like that, why not stay home and play a fishing video game?   The fun of bass fishing is in the hunt.  Catching a bass is the conclusion, not all there is to the game.  Some day bass tournaments will be held in swimming pools with robot bass.  Competitors will be sitting in front of screens thousands of miles away. You won't need rods or tackle.  You won't have to cast, retrieve or land a fish.   I wonder if they took all their electronics away, if I could still beat their butts?  ?

[Jig Man]

I am impatiently waiting for Humminbird to get the kinks worked out and get Mega Live on the market.  As soon as I can I will put one on my boat.  Besides I really like bells and whistles  on my boat and truck.

[gim]

12 hours ago, slonezp said:

Haven't seen it in person and don't know how much it will/does impact bass fishing. Some crazy crappie videos are available on youtube. 

 

The effect on crappie fishing is devastating here with live sonar.  Primarily because most anglers target them with the intent to keep them, unlike bass fishing where most are released.

 

It has already started to occur here and ice fishing is when the real slaughter occurs.  Instead of physically drilling hundreds of holes and looking for a school of crappies, they just drill a few and they can find that school much quicker.  Then set up on top of them and catch a limit.  The only aspect working in our favor is mother nature and its that winters are becoming milder with thinner ice as time passes.

 

Sunfish limits on over 90 lakes have been dropped from 20 daily to 5 daily here in response to the extreme pressure and I foresee it happening to crappie limits too.

[TnRiver46]

I don’t even have a unit on the front of my boat currently but I’m pretty sure my new console unit is live target capable. Maybe I’ll get it one day if I run into some cash. Then again I probably would spend it elsewhere, fishing ain’t that hard……..

[J Francho]

I heard all the same complaints about SI.  

[TnRiver46]

15 minutes ago, J Francho said:

I heard all the same complaints about SI.  

I’m only about a month in but I’ve yet to master the SI . I thought this was a fish I caught next to a barge tie up……..

 

But then I drove back by on my way up river and it was still there, I think it’s something man made 

whatcha think? 

[J Francho]

Looks like something still cling out from the barge, based on the shadow. 

[Catt]

Two thing I want in electronics, show me the depth changes & a trolling  motor with Spot-Lock.

 

Like some of y'all I'm old school, I love the hunt. So far I've held my own again guys with em. 

 

If you like em, ok, have fun!

 

[Team9nine]

44 minutes ago, J Francho said:

I heard all the same complaints about SI.  

 

Those were the whiners and they were mostly wrong ? FFS and 360 are a level beyond. 

[Skunkmaster-k]

43 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

I’m only about a month in but I’ve yet to master the SI . I thought this was a fish I caught next to a barge tie up……..

 

But then I drove back by on my way up river and it was still there, I think it’s something man made 

whatcha think? 

Would you have made a cast to that spot without sidescan ?

[TnRiver46]

33 minutes ago, Skunkmaster-k said:

Would you have made a cast to that spot without sidescan ?

Yeah  I cast there for over a decade. It’s a money spot 

[J Francho]

1 hour ago, Team9nine said:

 

Those were the whiners and they were mostly wrong ? FFS and 360 are a level beyond. 

It all sounds like whining to me.

[Tennessee Boy]

35 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

Yeah  I cast there for over a decade. It’s a money spot 

You could save people a lot of trouble by just posting the coordinates of your money spot.   People are gonna have to drive up and down the Tennessee river looking at all the barge ties trying to match the rust spots on your photo.  

[WRB]

Having bass fished before Lowrance introduced portable fish finders, paper graphs, B&W LCD’s followed by color, Chirp, SI, etc I know the importance of sonar.  Remember when Minnesota banned sonar units?, claiming they could damaged the fisheries.

The evaluation of bass fishing sonar has a interesting history and always accepted to improvements. You can’t stop innovation and being a engineer who’s lively hood was creating new products I am not one to become hysterical over the evolution of Forward Looking Scanning Live sonar units.

I have fished lake Casitas since it opened in 1958, know every rock and stick in it. Using the new sonar allowed finding bass in places unexpected and catching them when no one else on the lake could, even guides. 

If you pay money to fish a bass tournament you may be able to hold your own on a good day without live view sonar but in the hands of skilled tournament bass anglers it’s fishing without sonar back in 60’s. For the traveling tournament angler without exaggeration this is a game changing tool.

Tom

[Skunkmaster-k]

47 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

Yeah  I cast there for over a decade. It’s a money spot 

Dang. I was hoping for a cool story. Maybe next time.