Forward scanning sonar for bass fishing

[billmac]

1 hour ago, TnRiver46 said:

Fish can still hide from forward facing sonar 

Yes, for now.

[Dirtyeggroll]

On 10/27/2021 at 3:46 PM, billmac said:

I have mixed feelings about this. I use electronics (badly), and I've worked and teach in Tech, so I'm no luddite.  If someone gave me a FFS unit, I'd use it.  But let's face it, the end is inevitable. With each advancement, fishing becomes less challenging.  Remember the old In-Fisherman F+L+P=S formula?   Location is becoming a given.  And once the fish can't hide, all the research will go into technology that forces them to bite.  I'm afraid it won't be fishing anymore, just catching.

I think it will be self limiting. If fishing becomes “too easy” less people will do it.

[TnRiver46]

On 10/28/2021 at 3:06 PM, billmac said:

Yes, for now.

Plenty of places in the US where cell, data, and even radio coverage is non existent as well. 

[gim]

On 10/31/2021 at 6:46 AM, TnRiver46 said:

Plenty of places in the US where cell, data, and even radio coverage is non existent as well. 

Let's hope it stays that way for a very long time too.

[TnRiver46]

11 minutes ago, gimruis said:

Let's hope it stays that way for a very long time too.

I think it will at least in the rugged terrain 

[Junk Fisherman]

I plan on getting a Garmin FFS for next season so I have found this thread interesting.  Does anyone have one of the units and thinks it makes fishing too easy for them?  It seems like the people who are critical of the units either don't have them or are not using them effectively.  

[padon]

On 10/28/2021 at 1:26 PM, TnRiver46 said:

Fish can still hide from forward facing sonar 

yes and they are getting better at it. from friends of mine who have livescope and use it on ceowded lakes during big tournaments. after those fish get hammered for a few days when you hit them with that forward facing sonar beam they immediately swim off .

[WRB]

When I posted this and didn’t include the important live scope in the title it may have confused some members. 

This technology can see bass in cover a long casting distance from the front of the in a 90 degree sweep.

MLB angler fishing shallow lake Kissimmee mid lake grass could cast to bass the could see in 3’ of water 100’ away.

Location, location, location is the most important element in bass and live determines this.

Tom 

[TnRiver46]

Matty Wong just qualified for the classic and elite series in a 30 year old boat with graphs almost 30 years old. I would imagine he beat out a few hundred livescopers

[PressuredFishing]

On 10/14/2021 at 12:40 PM, WRB said:

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 

It is crazy how electronics have changed the game, before electronics I remember my grandfather would sketch up the lake he was fishing and note where pieces of structure are in the lake for crappie like brush piles or rock piles. Man things have changed alot haven't they

[Junk Fisherman]

Ordered a Garmin 93SV UHD from Cabela's yesterday through their Black Friday sale.  Really looking forward to getting out next season and finding deep water fish.  I watched a couple videos over the weekend that really sold me on getting a unit.  I saw a video of a fella marking fish, casting his Ned rig past the fish, then seeing his jig in the water, and then how the fish responded as the lure went past.  My mind started racing about all the scenarios where I could use this.  One thing- holy smokes those Garmin transducers are expensive.  $350+ for a transducer with chirp and side-imaging.  Think I'll keep my Humminbird on the bow in addition to the Garmin with Livescope.  

[Standard]

That 93SV should come with the GT54 transducer.  It works perfectly fine.  I picked up the 73SV in the spring when Cabela's had them at $450, also with the GT54.  Use it on my kayak and it's been great.

 

I did pick up a livescope for ice fishing, couldn't resist whipping up a quick mount and trying it out on the kayak before the season was over.  It's awesome.  Never realized how huge some of the sunfish schools can get, and tossing a small jig in the middle of them and watching them chase it was something else.

[WRB]

Just thought I would update this thread.

What I called forward scanning is “live Scope” today.

If you are a tournament angler forward scanning live scope has become a essential tool outside the spawn seasonal sight fishing  cycle. Maybe even the spawn cycle!

Today If you don’t have live Scope with forward scanning you don’t cash a check.

The frontier the late Bill Murphy was exploring was off shore bass. Bill knew from John Lembeck radio tracking studies that big bass suspended off shore but didn’t have the tools to take advantage of these bass. Murphy was trolling hand made swim baits catching high limits but hadn’t put together a reliable method to target these bass. 

Forward Scanning Live a Scope is that tool.

You can catch bass without state of the art sonar, just don’t put your hard earned money trying to cash a check in a tournament with one hand tied behind your back.

Tom 

[Woody B]

I got Active Target a few weeks ago.  (Lowrance live sonar, or live scope with a different name)   There's a learning curve but I like it.   I normally fish a lake that I know real well.   I have a lake full of "go to " areas.  I've found that I can spend less time in some areas on some days.  I had 2d sonar, down imaging and side imaging before but I've found some structure I didn't know was there.   I don't stare at the screen while fishing much though.   My transducer is mounted on my trolling motor so it's a little tricky sometimes in the wind.   I've getting better with boat positioning so it stays pointed the way I want to look.   I'm getting pretty good at telling which fish are bass, and which fish are something else.   I'm still not good at telling big ones from small ones yet but that will come with time.   I was torn between getting Active Target, or Mega 360.  I went with active target since I'm already familiar with Lowrance interfaces.   

 

I wish I would have taken a video instead of a picture.  These are spotted bass around a tree.  I caught several at this spot.   For me the "scout" view (pictured) is best for finding structure, and even fish in the structure.  Forward and down views are best for watching your lure and the fish.  It takes 30 seconds or so to pull up the trolling motor and switch the transducer position.  

 

I'm not an expert.  I never will be.  Right now my learning curve is in it's infancy.   I'll answer any questions I can, and take any advice I can get.   

 

[Rockytop]

My grandpa used a string with foot markers and a 1 ounce weight and spent countless hours going over some of the lakes we fish and drawing maps of ditches, humps, creek bends, and all kinds of underwater structure. Then as I was growing up we had an old Hydra Sport with a Humminbird flasher in the console. Now I've got a 2016 Ranger RT 188 with Lowrance HDS Gen 3 units at the bow and console networked together with a Navionics card, side scan, down imaging, 2d sonar and GPS. I swear I caught more fish as a kid fishing with my dad and grandpa's. I'd take that 10 to 1 over any live sonar or side scan.

[Woody B]

5 hours ago, Rockytop said:

I swear I caught more fish as a kid fishing with my dad and grandpa's. I'd take that 10 to 1 over any live sonar or side scan.

 

The problem is you can't go back.  Fishing pressure today is way worse than it was back then.   If you can find a stocked farm pond today where no one has fished you can pretty much throw anything anywhere in the pond and catch bass.   

[Standard]

On 11/4/2022 at 1:03 PM, Rockytop said:

My grandpa used a string with foot markers and a 1 ounce weight and spent countless hours going over some of the lakes we fish and drawing maps of ditches, humps, creek bends, and all kinds of underwater structure. Then as I was growing up we had an old Hydra Sport with a Humminbird flasher in the console. Now I've got a 2016 Ranger RT 188 with Lowrance HDS Gen 3 units at the bow and console networked together with a Navionics card, side scan, down imaging, 2d sonar and GPS. I swear I caught more fish as a kid fishing with my dad and grandpa's. I'd take that 10 to 1 over any live sonar or side scan.

 

That's why you get a kayak / canoe and get to all those places that you can't bring a boat loaded with electronics to ?

[FryDog62]

31 minutes ago, Standard said:

 

That's why you get a kayak / canoe and get to all those places that you can't bring a boat loaded with electronics to ?

My project this Dec/Jan is to transfer Livescope from my bass boat to the Kayak for winter fishing down south.  I fished with the yak last year with only a Helix 7 and its incredible after you get used to FFS to go without it even on smaller waters.  Whether you see fish or structure, you just understand the body of water better.  

[Deleted account]

39 minutes ago, Standard said:

 

That's why you get a kayak / canoe and get to all those places that you can't bring a boat loaded with electronics to ?

Google nano technical poling skiff...

[Standard]

On 11/11/2022 at 3:09 PM, Deleted account said:

Google nano technical poling skiff...

 

That's neat, but sounds like it's $8-10k starting price and 200 pounds.  Not gonna drag that through the woods ?

[Woody B]

So I've had live sonar for several weeks.  I'm going to list the best, and worst thing about it.  I suspect many that have it will agree with me.

 

The best-  You can "look around" and see if there's any fish in an area.  (you can "kinda" do that with normal sonar, but it's not the same)

 

The worst-  You can "look around" and see if there's any fish in an area.   Seeing fish doesn't mean a guaranteed catch, but it still takes some of the mystery out of it.  

[Susky River Rat]

I  very torn on it. I personally hate it but…. If you can’t beat them join em is what I am starting leaning towards. I know a person who bass fished 90% of thr time. As soon as a musky pops up switches to musky fishing. I fish disgustingly pressured waters. I’m debating on my next boat purchase to get it or not. I honestly think using it will make catching anything feel less satisfying. It’s in my opinion taking the skill, knowledge, luck and instincts out of it. Which I know I have very little of each but, I do have a sense of pride in what little I have.

[TOXIC]

This last weekend out on the lake, I was fishing the back of the boat and experienced first hand (again) the worth of FFS. First, my partner caught the biggest of the day in the middle of nowhere while watching the unit.  Second was when we started blade bait fishing and he would say “your coming up to a school….one is following your blade….get ready you are about to get bit…..he’s on” and it was either a caught fish or he would say that the fish peeled off at the last second.  Happened multiple times all day, if he could see my blade, he could call the bite. 

[casts_by_fly]

On 11/11/2022 at 4:04 PM, FryDog62 said:

My project this Dec/Jan is to transfer Livescope from my bass boat to the Kayak for winter fishing down south.  I fished with the yak last year with only a Helix 7 and its incredible after you get used to FFS to go without it even on smaller waters.  Whether you see fish or structure, you just understand the body of water better.  

 

When you work it out, post some pictures of your setup here.  I'm not sure if I'd love to have it or hate having it on my autopilot.  I love my helix but it can't do 360 or anything live.  I'm looking $2500 or so to get one or the other when you factor in the new head unit so its isn't a simple go for it.  I would love to try it and see how it works on my waters, but I don't know anyone here that has it so that's out.  

[TOXIC]

Just a note from a users perspective.  If you can swing it, buy the separate trolling motor mount that doesn’t attach the transducer to the trolling motor shaft itself.  If attached to the tm shaft, it renders the unit less effective with spot lock engaged or if you are casting in a direction the tm is not pointed to.  The stand alone turret with smash buttons for directional control is worth the $$.