I did something recently you VERY rarely hear of fishermen doing these days. I got rid of my Garmin LiveScope™, selling it to a good friend. And for now, I have no plans to replace it.
Did I dislike it?
No, absolutely not. It definitely worked as intended, at least within the limits of my learning curve.
I bought it for two reasons. (1) I wanted to see what, if any benefits it could bring to my catfishing, and (2) I knew LiveScopes™ worked best crappie fishing using techniques and fishing structures that I haven’t explored as much. I hoped that by spending a hefty amount of money, it would inspire me to branch out and explore those other crappie fishing methods, and on a year-round basis.
Put quite bluntly, after a year-and-a-half, my expenditure failed in both respects. I rarely found situations in which it helped me catfishing. I did find ways that it helped me catch crappie – shooting docks, fishing brushpiles or stumps, etc. But what I learned most was about myself, not the fish.
I learned those simply weren’t the ways and places I most enjoy fishing. And most of all, I absolutely hated having my eyes glued to a video screen rather than watching my line jump, feel the telltale “Thump” or watch the rod tip bow down while longline trolling. I realized I enjoy watching that stuff, and all the other beauty around me, rather than CONSTANTLY staring at a 9-inch monitor.
Granted, I did not work hard enough to climb very high on the LiveScope™ learning curve. Although I knew I could, and I would probably put more crappie in the boat as I did it, it just wasn’t much fun for me.
So, when a good friend expressed that he was absolutely lusting over a LiveScope™, but he couldn’t afford one “out of the box,” I decided it was prime time to reduce the gadgetry in my boat and give my LiveScope™ a better home.
Afterwards I made one of my first crappie fishing excursions of 2022, sans LiveScope™. It took me a couple of hours to find the sweet spot. I used my old-style electronics a little, but mainly it was my own knowledge of the water, time of year and other factors to figure out where crappie should be. It was extremely satisfying when I dropped the last crappie of my limit into the livewell and gave this meme whole new meaning.
BTW, the story in this issue of CrappieNOW has some very interesting information from biologists about the use of live-imaging sonar.
But whether you love LiveScopes™ or hate them, no matter. In life and in fishing, to each his own.
Richard Simms, Editor
“The outdoors is not a place, it’s a state of mind.”
