Livescope

[John Bales]

Well said Brian. We all have different type waters but the things you said relate to how I use it also. Mainly, there are no wasted casts. You see what is there now where you could not see it before and now you can put your lures right on the money. Spoonpluggers benefit from the FFS more than any other group. A spoonplugger has already done the homework it takes to learn his waters and now with this tool, the learning can be even more useful. I learned today that I will never see the lake I went to today ever again. It's not what it used to be. And I saw that in just a few hours. John

[pstanek]

Thanks, it's a little late to change my mind, so I'll make the best of it!. A bimini top is already on order -- just have to figure out how to keep one of the poles out of the way for trolling. Pat

Pat- suggestion for your Bimini. Use the poles up front and straps to the back. Only connect the starboard strap this will keep the Bimini in position until the wind gets heavy and keeps the port side clear for your trolling rod. This all assumes you are fishing alone with only one rod but it will help.

[linksluvr]

Thanks pstanek, but I did end up going with John's idea of an umbrella. I've got the bracket mounted to seat pedestal -- looks like it should work pretty good, but wont get to try it out until all this house sale stuff is takin' care of and I actually get moved down there. Pat

[DougBush]

Yesterday Deb and I went out to our lake and found that the group of bass by the sunken island on the inside turn related to the saddle were not only still there but more in numbers. The larger fish are deeper than the rest and still suspended about ten feet down in 16 feet of water. It seems like early morning and evening are the two best activity periods. The two best speed controls on the cast are still the jerk bait which keeps the bait at the depth or slightly above the group of fish and a 7 inch swim bait rigged line through with a 1/0 treble stuck in the bottom of the lure with a 1/2 oz weight. I was able to get two 3 1/2 pounders in about ten minutes, one of the jerk bait and one on the big swim bait. In both cases the whole school committed and every single time I visually see this happen, you just know the competition will get you bit. Every time this happens, the fish tend to break up into smaller groups and sometimes it doesnt take long for them to get back together but other times when they break up, some go to the bottom and you can no longer see them at all. Buck would call this spooking the school. It is quite interesting to watch it happen live. In yesterdays case, in a minute or two, the school got back together rather fast and when I threw the swim bait into them, every one of them followed it to the bottom and one took it before it got to the bottom. They still were fired up. After that, you could forget it. The other group of bass I had on another spot have seemed to be broken up and spread out , not all together and suspended as before. Lots of pike now from the base of the weedline and many suspended over the thermocline which is starting to set up now. Yesterday I looked out over deep water and there was a pretty large pike only 4 feet down over 20 feet of water. I put the big swim bait on his nose and he immediately hit it but I missed him. He swam right to the bottom and out of sight. Livescope is just like any other sonar. If the fish are right on the bottom, you do not see them on any sonar. They need to be at least a foot or so off the bottom before they show up. After a front, sometimes you can go to several spots and not see hardly any fish. You already know what's going on in a very short time of looking. You know its going to be straggler fishing for a while till they get a little active, if they do. There are still some of my best spots with very few adult fish on them. I am sure this will change but don't know when or why it may change. I have found out that all species migrate to different areas of the lake and it can happen rather fast. My guess is that some locations just suit them better for the time of year. Yesterday a friend came over with his wife and trolled spoonplugs all day. He caught one bass. Deb and I got 15 with two nice adults. I have said for a long time that when a good population of pike or musky exists, that the bass are very likely associated with the weeds and if you want the bass, you need to be a jig fisherman and get into the weeds or very close with precise casts in order to get the bass. Points and inside turns will do it. It is easy to understand why Mr. Perry says that every day is different because it is. We still fish structure as our guideline but the results are never the same. John

You're still out there doing that thing I see. Good for you. I'm still at it...(a little) Just a bank fisherman now. Too unbalanced in the legs to get out there on the open water now. Sold my boat....wish I could keep at it like in the old days, but I'll be 85 in November. Stay healthy, John

[John Bales]

Douglas, I am most certainly still doing the livescope. I am learning not only the part that Mr. Perry gave us which has always been found to be on the money but also learning the part where he said that there is a lot more to learn. Have several schools of adult bass in my lake from 2 1/2 to 4 1/2 lbs. Most amazing is that they can be here today and gone tomorrow. What I mean by that is I had three groups of bass to visit each day. This was pretty constant for a couple of weeks. Then one day two of the three groups were not visible. This can mean they are not there or they are belly to the bottom and cannot be seen at this particular time. I asked myself if they are not there, where did they go. These two groups of fish are maybe 500 yds apart with a slot of deeper water between them. I made a pass right in the middle of that slot and stayed in the deepest part all the way through it and low and behold, right between the two spots in the deepest part of that slot, there they were. No weedline any where in sight, no breaklines, just the deepest water in the area. It was a 75 ft square area with four groups of bass that were in 18 feet of water and most of them were 10-12 ft down. In three hours working this area I ended up catching 11 of them using several type lures on the cast that I could keep at the right depth and work at the right speed to get the fish to take. When they would go to the bottom, a switch to bottom working jump baits, drop shot, large swim bait would get some attention. All of the fish caught were in the 2 1/2 to 4lb group. That night I tried to reason why those fish chose that area to hang out other than the fact that there was a small front that prior evening with a major wind direction change and this is where they wanted to be. The next morning I went out there and they were gone. Only saw a couple in the area. I returned to the two spots they had been using before and they were back on both spots. ?????????????? Have gotten many schools fired up this season and watched it happen live. It is an amazing sight to see the fish not react to any depth and speed control and all of a sudden every fish in the group whether it is 6 fish or 25 are all on top of your offering trying to get it first. All of these speed controls have been used in different seasons from the cold water till now where today the water temperatures were 81. As of late, the faster speed control no matter if it is crankbait or a spoonplug counted down has been the best to get them to bite. The fun part now is how fast it all happens. Once you get them to commit, they all try to get the lure, all of them. If they follow the lure to the boat and don't get it before it starts to come from near the bottom and starts to rise, every one of those fish that were following go right to the bottom and normally you would not see them but they are so excited their backs are swimming around very fast and it looks like a bunch of spiders crawling around not far from the boat. Have seen this happen many times lately. One day I had the whole school coming and I knew it was going to happen and it did. When I set the hook, it just felt like heavy weight and I had thought I may have snagged one. When it came to the surface, I had two 3 pounders on one lure. This is when you know you have them coming. For some reason, all of these bass spend most of their time suspended up off of the bottom. I have no idea why and never imagined this would happen. Always thought they were always closer to the bottom but finding out that in my lake, this is not the case. Yes they do go to the bottom some but end up going right back up. I will say that this seems to make it more difficult to catch them. I keep thinking that Buck said that the fish may become active once or twice a day so I do spend a lot of time fishing for the larger bass groups but sometimes you have to leave when you throw every depth and speed control at them and they may or may not give it a look. A person cannot be on the water 24 hours a day to get all of the answers so it is sometimes best to leave that group and come back later to see if their activity has changed. Keeping a good eye on whats happening around you can sometimes put you in the right place if you keep your eyes open. A light condition change like a wind change or a cloud cover change is usually a sign to get with it. No matter how you chose to find the fish, its much easier to catch them when they become active. At times its the only time you can make a catch. Still learning. Take Care Douglas. John