Livescope or other FFS?

[Amistoad]

I just finished installing a Panoptix setup in the old Ranger and I’m going to give it a serious workout this summer. Just wondering if any of you guys have had any experiences with this or Active Target, or whatever and how it’s influenced your fishing. For me, I’m hoping it helps me minimize time spent throwing at empty water. Especially offshore. The lakes around me get tons of pressure and the fish have seen every lure in the world a hundred times. Except for big swimbaits. So what’re your thoughts from guys "Not Allowed" using it?

[22RangerZ520R]

It has completely changed the way I fish (in a good way).  I owe several big fish to Mega Live; including this 10lb, 9lb 4oz and 8lb 8oz.  I watched all of them eat on Live and wouldn't have caught them without it.

[mjs90]

1 hour ago, 22RangerZ520R said:

It has completely changed the way I fish (in a good way).  I owe several big fish to Mega Live; including this 10lb, 9lb 4oz and 8lb 8oz.  I watched all of them eat on Live and wouldn't have caught them without it.

That stuff is fascinating

[Amistoad]

Good to hear. There are big fish in my local waters, but I spend too much time unhooking 3-5 lbs fish when I’m chasing monsters. Tomorrow I break in the new unit. 
 

[119bowhunter]

It is not magic, it does not catch fish for you...but it is an amazing tool... I owe tons of fish catches and tournament wins to it that I would not have had without it

The biggest things I have learned are how many fish there actually are in my lakes, how often you have followers you never see (sometimes it’s almost every cast) and how many fish there are that don’t follow “typical” fish behavior...can’t tell you how many I’ve caught swimming randomly out over deep water with no structure or anything anywhere nearby, without it I would’ve never known to cast over there

[urbanhick]

I was one of those "it's cheatin" guys till recently but when active target 1 went on sale I bought it with a 9" live graph and it certainly is a great tool to have. No more wasting time casting where the fish "should" be and actually casting to fish. I will say, just because they are there doesn't mean they will eat. It gets frustrating and I often waste time trying to figure out how to get inactive fish to bite. The fish obsessed mount is a must have in my opinion also. It has a zero offset so the transducer isn't tilted like the stock mount.

Edited May 24, 2023 by urbanhick

[urbanhick]

3 hours ago, 119bowhunter said:

It is not magic, it does not catch fish for you...but it is an amazing tool... I owe tons of fish catches and tournament wins to it that I would not have had without it

The biggest things I have learned are how many fish there actually are in my lakes, how often you have followers you never see (sometimes it’s almost every cast) and how many fish there are that don’t follow “typical” fish behavior...can’t tell you how many I’ve caught swimming randomly out over deep water with no structure or anything anywhere nearby, without it I would’ve never known to cast over there

Nailed it.

[urbanhick]

5 hours ago, Amistoad said:

Good to hear. There are big fish in my local waters, but I spend too much time unhooking 3-5 lbs fish when I’m chasing monsters. Tomorrow I break in the new unit. 
 

How big is the Garmin? It dwarfs the 9.

[Amistoad]

2 hours ago, urbanhick said:

How big is the Garmin? It dwarfs the 9.

It’s a 12” screen. I had a 12”’Lowrance up front, but I relocated it to double up on the tiller end. I figured the 9” will put less strain on the RAM mount. It also does double duty on my Jon boat. I made a simple bracket out of 2” angle iron to hold both on the same mount. 

Edited May 24, 2023 by Amistoad

[Archtx9]

I added Active Target about 6 months ago.   The transducer is on a Rite-Hite Turret, not on the TM.   The lake i fish has very little cover other than docks.   It's amazing the number of fish under docks that you cannot see with side scan.    Nor can you get a lure to them when the docks have less than a couple inches of clearance above the water line.  I had a single 12 inch Lowrance HDS on the bow with a Fortrex.   Now Ghost TM, Dual 12in HDS Live units, Active Target

[Davidgetsem]

That live poke 

[Amistoad]

Results from day 1 on the water. It’s freaking amazing. I went to my local because I know it pretty well and figured it’s a good place to learn how the unit works and what things look like. Saw so many fish doing things I’ve never imagined. Saw them mobbing my lure but not eating, saw a school rocket up from 25 feet down to bust Shad at the surface. Saw schools bum rushing my A-rig (caught a few doubles). Watched them chasing each other and grabbing things off the bottom. Bass are WAY more mobile than I’m used to imagining. Just an incredible day. I wore down my battery after 8 hours and had to call it a day, but I’m looking forward to hitting some lakes with DD girls in them to see what I can do. My best bass on a swimbait so far is just under 8. Hoping to crack 10 this year. Still totally amped from the day’s events.