Does Livescope make your fishing trips more fun or easier?
I understand a Guide has to produce.
But just the weekend fishing guy. I enjoy the art of looking
But maybe I am in the small percentile.
I am not asking this to get people all worked up.
I just see a good amount of people posting and giving the props to Livescope.
Please be nice.

Nicely..... Buy live scope and all the fish in the lake fight to jump in your boat.......

L.....O........L JK

Just because you see'um don't make them bite.....

LOL SK.
I think you had Livescope before Livescope.
Some how some way you know something i don't.
Thanks for all you do Sir.

Fishing is an efficiency game, livescope makes you infinitely more efficient.

Cameron is correct here but you still need to know where to go and when to make moves. We fished the same day that Cameron won the crappie fishing fools tournament last week and could only manage to put 7 crappie in the boat. Livescope would be full of fish that we could not get to bite. LS makes it infinitely easier to determine the depth of fish and put the bait right in front of their face. It also helps you learn their reactions to the presentation. I've enjoyed having it but it hasn't necessarily put more fish in the boat.

Here is the deal. I have it and I love it. I am not a guide I just love to fish. This makes it easier to find the fish for sure, BUT it does not make them bite. Sometimes it is an amazing tool. Other times it is the most frustrating thing. It is like seeing 1 million dollars and someone says, if you can reach it, it is yours. You reach and get 1/2 inch away and that is all you can do. I can see the fish, I can judge (for the most part) what type fish it is by its actions and I can tell how big it is, BUT I cannot make it bite. Right now for instance there are trees with 50 crappie sitting on them. If I am lucky I can pull out 1-3 fish per tree. What it allows me to do is cover more water as I do not waste time wondering if they fish are there and I have learned a little more about the fish and what they do. Example, I grew up hearing that crappie will not go down for bait, they only go up. That is SO not true. I watch them shoot down 4 feet sometimes to grab my line.

Basically it is a tool that you can use to help, but it does not make you the best. You are the best when you can land them at any point. I love fishing our bridge, my first videos were of me doing that before I got Livescope. I will not/ do not use it on the bridge because it is more of a hassle. I know where the fish are and if they do not bite there, I raise or lower accordingly. So hope that helps you out. If I had to do it again, yes I would buy Livescope in a heart beat. If you had asked me that the first couple of weeks I had it, I would have said I just waisted money. It is a tool that you have to use and learn (not hard at all) and it helps you. Hope that helps.

I have subscribed to SK and Asleep at the Reel. both guy are Awesome fishermen. I was just curious. it might even be a little jealous of not having it. LOL. no matter what comes out . Fishermen will still be fishermen. How you fish is neither right or wrong (unless it is illegal). We all enjoy being out and putting in work to achieve whatever goal we set. keep up the good work everyone.

Ooohhh I want it but the question I ask myself is do I need it.......LOL

I'll just keep my thousands when I don't need something.....

And besides that they need to improve the clarity from blobs, $5k I better be able to see fins and eyeballs.....LOL

Just my opinion but it really depends on what you are doing. Guides and tournament fisherman need it the most from what I can tell. Customers will love to see a fish hit there jig on livescope and it makes it easier to get clients to catch fish because the guide can coach them through it. Tournament fisherman can pick which fish they wish to target with livescope and don't have to catch little fish. Helps them narrow down the bigger fish IMO.

For the normal fishermen like you and me, I don't think it is worth it. It doesn't make them bite and I can catch fish just fine without it. I can see the fish just fine with my side imaging and downscan. If you don't have a spot lock trolling motor, then that is what I would focus on. To me, that is way more valuable than livescope. With all of this being said to each their own. If you have the money to blow then go for it but it is needed no.

I agree on the clarity. I think that will be the next thing in line. I can't imagine how nice it would be if it had the clarity of the helix mega units. I have about $2300 in my setup.

Best money I have spent since spotlock. Livescope would not be nearly as good without spotlock but combined with it it's terrific.
As far as spending money??? If you can afford a boat what's the difference between a $20.000. rig (most are more ) and a $25,000. rig.

Today we searched for new underwater trees and found 18 nice looking ones. Caught a bunch of fish on 5 of them. We quickly found that if the tree didn't have a school of fish on the livescope it was a waste of time to fish them.

It's true that livescope won't make them bite but it's also true that the fishermen, for the most part, that are negative about the system are the ones that don't have it. Obviously if you pull on a spot, see the fish and can put your bait right on his nose, you have a better chance of catching them.

I love mine and I definitely can catch more fish and have more fun with livescope.

Get one you won't regret it.

I'm retired. I'm not a guide (anymore). I fish a lot more often than most guys. I have had LiveScope for 11 months. The first two months, I would have sold it for half if someone had offered, because I had so much trouble learning the nuances of the unit. Now I've got it pretty well down pat....and I won't go fishing without one. Not because it makes me catch more fish, but because it makes me a better fisherman. I now understand what a crappie will do in a given situation...and what he won't do (and that's a lot more often). It's an expensive set-up and not for everyone. But, if you can afford one (and don't buy less than 10"), can learn how to use it (and it's not intuitive), it will change the way you fish, and in my opinion...for the better. Hope this helps.

Just to stir the pot a little. So if you had to not use Livescope. Could you enjoy the fishing trip? Or would you complain the whole time for not being able to us Livescope?

I would say that I could go fishing anytime, not catch a single fish, and still enjoy the fishing trip. I think there are a lot of people on this forum with that same mind set. With that being sad, is it more enjoyable to catch more fish? Yes

I do not have live-scope, but have fished with it multiple times now. I will say that while on the boat you have the decision to either 1) fish how you normally crappie fish or 2) Use the live-scope to crappie fish. I will say by the end of every trip I would not even drop my jig in the water unless I could see it on the livescope. It makes you an extremely efficient fishermen and will allow you to catch more fish. This does not mean you can't catch fish other ways, but it sure makes it a heck of a lot easier.

On a side note, I think it could really draw younger kids to fishing. I was extremely fortunate to have a father that would take me out when I was really young, and teach me the love for the outdoors. Most kids nowadays are not that fortunate, and will never appreciate the sport we all love. They do however spend hours and hours on video games watching a screen. The livescope adds this video game type touch to fishing, and makes it much more exciting for the younger generation. I think this could draw out a younger crowd, and perhaps convince people's sons/daughters to go out on the lake instead of sitting at home looking at a screen.

Just my

After a while of this, I went old school and switched over to DI/2D sonar. Although it was nice to see my bait in a large suspended school of decent-sized crappie (1.1/4 -1.5 because I caught a couple eventually) I became board. Livescope is simply another tool. Some use 2D only. Some use DI/2D sonar and no SI. Some use SI sonar and no Livescope. Some use Livescope sonar only.
I still use DI/2D when fishing a brush pile and not even look at Livescope (This time of year. It drives me crazy )
P.S. I'm glad I have it on board say the least...


This was this morning from the kayak in some skinny waters. The deepest water on this small lake is 16.5...