Cybersnow
Well-known member
Thanks, ordered one from Amazon.
Thoughts on a fish finder?
- Thread starter Cybersnow
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mtncat1
Well-known member
side and down scan are a waste of money in my opinion . i ran a hds 10 with the side scan module . happy with the just the hds
Cybersnow
Well-known member
Can’t say I agree with you. When fishing a lake with a lot of Kokanee, side scan isn’t really important. BUT, when fishing a larger lake with smaller schools of larger fish, it helps immensely. It is easy to troll right next to a school and miss them completely. Side scan tells me to turn around and troll over the school.
Kokaholic
Well-known member
I agree, I need to learn how to read my side scan and use this technology to my advantage, Its to easy to be off 30-40 feet from a nice school of kokes either right or left.
SuperDaveMT
Well-known member
I just took the plunge and bought a Garmin livescope set up on Black Friday. Anyone set one up for ice fishing- what shuttle, pole, battery do you use?
AquaKing
Active member
For under 1k… Eagle Eye 9 w/Live Scope. Top of the line electronic at 1/3rd of the price. Will cover any sort of fishing you do.
Cybersnow
Well-known member
Is that a Lowrance product? Is the live scope to the side to spot Kokanee or pointed down? I am limited in space to a 7” unit. Most of the lakes I fish on are relatively small and are not on anybody’s maps so GPS and mapping not so critical. Determining the thermocline and spotting the elusive schools much more critical.
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Cybersnow
Well-known member
Please tell me more about live scope!
AquaKing
Active member
So I believe the unit only comes in a 9in screen so if you wanted live scope with any product it would be well over your budget. You wouldn’t want to use anything smaller than a 9in screen for live scope. The Lowrance eagle eye 9 w/live scope has everything with exception of the side scan which you don’t need for Kokanee. What is awesome though is that you can face it down for jigging, forward to work your Downriggers or rear to speed up/down when you see fish trailing your gear to entice a bite. There’s some awesome videos out there about the product. However, if I were to invest in the future to a full blown live scope I would suggest the Garmin units then buy live scope later. The eagle eye unit pretty much blocks any view of fish within 10ft of the boat but for Kokanee this is a non-issue. If you aren’t in a rush and want to save money I expect new products to come out this spring with some great sales and/or rebates which happen every spring.
For thermocline every Kokanee fisher should have a Fish Hawk TD temperature gauge. Should be used soon as you get out and used as your starting point. However, I’m not sure about other people but I’ve had Kokanee ALL over the water column this last year.
SuperDaveMT
Well-known member
Live scope is a Garmin product. They developed the technology and have licensed it to Hummin’bird (mega live) and Lowrance (active target). The transducer is mounted on the trolling motor or a separate pole and has 3 options: forward facing, downward facing or perspective for shallow water. You can scan a wide area by rotating the transducer. When you get dialed in you can watch the fish react to your bait - go online and watch some videos. One nice thing about most of the newer sonar units is that you can create your own lake maps on a SD card. I have a fish hawk thermometer that I drop to the bottom on my down rigger to measure the water temperature every 5 feet to help ID the thermocline and what temperature the fish seem to be most active. I’ve read that you can ID the thermocline with both traditional sonar and live scope. There are probably some on line videos of that.
Cybersnow
Well-known member
Years ago when I lived and worked in N Cal I had a larger boat and a pair of Lowrance fishfinders. I found by increasing the sensitivity and narrowing the beam I could very easily see the thermocline. I have tried doing that with a Hummingbird (on my pontoon boat) and the Garmin I installed last fall but so far haven’t had any luck. I did invest in a fish hawk and it seems to do the job. Late summer fishing success seems to be tied to the thermocline and I typically run a down rigger at the thermocline and one about 10’ under.
I have a Garmin. Echo tech series. Think it was under $1000 my opinion if mostly for koks you don’t need all the bells and whistles Just have to find the red spots and target them. I have caught a lot of koks when nothing on the screen hummingbird makes some good units once ya find some it’s all about presentation The sounder isn’t doing the catching
SuperDaveMT
Well-known member
I have worked my way through the Garmin line-up and like the features that are available. I went all in on a live scope set-up on Black Friday but haven’t had a chance to use it yet. I like something with a chart plotter and mapping feature (quick draw on a Garmin). Most of my local lakes aren’t in the mapping software so I like being able to make my own. Using tracks lets me troll back through an area that I got hits very precisely. If I’m trying to target a specific depth range I can color my map by depth and focus my fishing in a specific color. Keep an eye out for a good sale and if you can combine a good sale with a military or Monday member 10% off (BPS/Cabelas) you can get a lot of features for a good price. Everyone will tell you to get the biggest screen you can afford.
Cybersnow
Well-known member
How did you connect it up? Does it work with your current fish finder?
SuperDaveMT
Well-known member
Live Scope is a forward facing sonar that uses a special transducer and black box and gives you real time imaging on any of the newer Garmin depth finders. In addition to helping locate fish, it allows you to see how fish are reacting to your bait.
