Page 3 - Crappie NOW - May 2019

Opening Cast

I’m a conservative ol’-timer

May 2019 EDITOR/ SR. WRITER so change usually doesn’t come
easy. I can remember being
late to switch to digital cameras
because slide photography was
WRITERS high quality and I didn’t want
Darl Black to learn something new. After
Vic Attardo the switch, I’ve saved over a
Ron Presley thousand dollars a year with
Vernon Summerlin the elimination of slide film and
John Phillips developing. I get more good
Greg McCain shots because I shoot 200-700 on-the-water shots during
John Felsher
Kenny Kieser a photo shoot or when shooting a tournament.
Larry Whiteley I didn’t like switching to a Mac computer six years
Ron Wong ago due to price and a big learning curve. However, it
has been much more reliable, great tech support the few
times needed and it has many operational advantages.
Again, change was good.
So what does this have to do with crappie fishing?
The talk in fishing circles is the Garmin LiveScope. It’s
new, takes a little time to learn, but has proven to be
a fantastic tool. I’ve watched a few teams do nothing
but keep jigging poles in the air while using their boat
(transducer attached to trolling motor) to search for
crappie, more specifically, large crappie. Once found,
they drop the bait on the fish and it bites or it doesn’t. A
fisherman can chase fish until they stop, or, pitch out in
front of them as they are moving. There is less wasted
time fishing spots with no crappie.
Like the digital camera and Mac computer, the

© Copyright 2019 LiveScope is a tool. It isn’t magic that guarantees crappie,
but is effective, especially when jigging, but helps analyze
cover for slow trolling, too.
Some fishermen are saying the units should be
outlawed from tournaments because they are too much
like a camera. A few said that about Side Imaging, 360
and Mega imaging, too. They are expensive, so your
budget, techniques and seriousness will determine if
Cover Photo: it’s worth it for you. The bottom line is simple…change
Robert Carlile and Craig Nichols doesn’t always come easy but it’s a part of anything we
pull a fish from Grenada Lake do, including crappie fishing.
during a Crappie Masters
tournament.
Crappie Clubs....40 Tim Huffman photo. Good fishin’ & God Bless,
Tim Huffman, Editor/Sr. Writer

3 Crappie NOW May 2019