# Garmin Livescope Panoptics Forward Facing Sonar...



## tbone2374 (Feb 27, 2010)

I'm sure not all you folks may have heard or seen this new gadget. Like a video game! Watching, fish behavior @ and around your lure, (before your boat spooks them into different behavior) is an amazing step forward in the chase. Whether biting or refusing to bite, still equally fascinating! Let me preface this subject by saying, I have never been a Garmin Products fan, but that , my friends, may be changing! How you catch (Crappie, or any lesser of species), is an individual choice...many different ways, just like all the other aspects of fishing. This just makes it more fun and interesting, while educating you about fish behaviors in the process. Notice, you can actually see fish fins and tails, moving! APOLIGIES... these guys could use some coaching, in narrative, editing, and video presentation.....


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## photofishin (Aug 7, 2009)

Lowrance has LiveSight too. I agree that this technology lets you see fish real time and their reaction/non-reaction to a bait. Keep in mind that this ISN'T cheap. The Livesight transducer alone costs $1000. To me, it's not been worth it yet (until prices come down and until the imagery doesn't look like one of the old green screen monitors) THIS , to me, is a MUCH more efficient and better way to actually view bottom composition and fish. 
https://www.wired2fish.com/terminal-tackle/organize-and-protect-terminal-tackle-on-the-cheap/
I know a guy in Pensacola who wired his go-pro up and can determine the exact species of fish below. Imagine knowing there's a 10lb bass below or that what you're seeing is simply a carp or catfish


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## tbone2374 (Feb 27, 2010)

Hey Photo...do a comparison of the Garmin Livescope VS Lowrance Livesight, and I think, this time, Garmin wins, hands down. My large screen is a Lowrance, and I tend to think Lowrance and Humminbird, are the industry leaders...not this time. Maybe, Lowrance rushed to production. There are several You Tube videos, on strictly comparing the two. Here's another video, with a much better organized explanation of features. By the way the Garmin Transducer, alone, is 1,499$, but hey, it's fishing!...â€¦.


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## photofishin (Aug 7, 2009)

tbone2374 said:


> Hey Photo...do a comparison of the Garmin Livescope VS Lowrance Livesight, and I think, this time, Garmin wins, hands down. My large screen is a Lowrance, and I tend to think Lowrance and Humminbird, are the industry leaders...not this time. Maybe, Lowrance rushed to production. There are several You Tube videos, on strictly comparing the two. Here's another video, with a much better organized explanation of features. By the way the Garmin Transducer, alone, is 1,499$, but hey, it's fishing!...â€¦.


not discounting the differences between the two, however both companies are in their "version 1" of the software and transducers. 2-5 years from now you'll easily be able to distinguish between types of fish, versus "blobs" that move on the screen...hence the reason I mentioned using a real video camera if you want to truly see what's below the boat. For bass or crappie fishing where I'm jigging straight down, I can see where it'd help...but not enough help to shell out $1000-$1500 for a transducer.
The second thing is that I already own Lowrance...there's no way I'm spending $3000 for another brand graph and an additional $1500 for a transducer for that functionality...but hey, I don't fish tournaments anymore and I don't have that sort of disposable income. I'm in the computer industry and see regularly how fast technology changes.


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## c hook (Jul 6, 2016)

*next year*

If all goes as planned, I'll be possibly rigging or rebuilding an older boat next year. I'd like to put the latest and greatest electronics on it. Big screen Garmin with maybe the live scopeor or latest. I know technology is moving fast, but that is awesome. I'm assuming it will work good in salt water 15/20 to 55 feet of water?? And that the livescope transducer, is an additional one, separate from the regular transducer?:texasflag


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## Gofish2day (May 9, 2006)

I have not purchased the garmin live scope but went crappie fishing with someone who had it. Our catch ratio went up 80% by my guess. I was amazed it was so accurate. I always thought crappie hung around the structure. Brush pile upon brushpile view showed the crappie hang incredibly tight to the structure. Getting them to bite was bouncing it off their heads.
I can't justify the $3500 for one though. I have enough invested in Lowrance.


I am pretty much saying $3500 gets you a limit of crappie everytime out. Its that good...â€¦..
I think the camera would be great but need clear water like Ark lakes.


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## c hook (Jul 6, 2016)

*??*



Gofish2day said:


> I have not purchased the garmin live scope but went crappie fishing with someone who had it. Our catch ratio went up 80% by my guess. I was amazed it was so accurate. I always thought crappie hung around the structure. Brush pile upon brushpile view showed the crappie hang incredibly tight to the structure. Getting them to bite was bouncing it off their heads.
> I can't justify the $3500 for one though. I have enough invested in Lowrance.
> 
> I am pretty much saying $3500 gets you a limit of crappie everytime out. Its that good...â€¦..
> I think the camera would be great but need clear water like Ark lakes.


the transducer is 1500.00, the unit is your choice, so a 1000.00 unit would put you at 3000.00 right?? if this is the case, in all actuality the only additional investment for a garmin user is the 1500.00 livescope transducer?? with that being said, it is well worth it? the average boat fisherman has approx 30k to 70k invested in boat and equipment. and that's being conservative, right?? so 1500.00/60k= 0.025% of your fishing investment to almost be garanteed to put fish in the box?? is it worth it, i keep telling everyone a boat is a hole in the water you pour your money into?:rotfl::texasflag


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## shadslinger (Aug 21, 2005)

So if you bought one and with your boat and gear already paid for you could catch 140 limits of twenty five crappie at a buck a fish.
Iâ€™ve done worse lol!
So if your a crappie fishermen get one soon because quickly others will have it the fish adapt and the advantage is gone :-(


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## SASFishing (May 3, 2019)

â€œSo if your a crappie fishermen get one soon because quickly others will have it the fish adapt and the advantage is gone :-(â€œ

I wouldnâ€™t put it past the elusive crappie 
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## scubaarchery (Oct 7, 2010)

Garmin Livescope Panoptix is awesome. I bought a 9" monitor for 600 on clearance last year and mounted it to PVC so I can rotate it 360 degrees. When Deadsticking season starts we will crush striper on Texoma. My YouTube channel has many videos showing Panoptix in use and I can see fish come up and hit my shad!

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi602ZTsxnkaVwT0wq3OgCA


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## SKs Crappie Fishing (Mar 24, 2008)

One of the worst things to know is the are fish right there and they won't bite seeing them with 2D sonar...... It's even more terrible to have spent $3.5k to $6.5k on a unit that you can see blobs moving on and they still won't bite.....LOL


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## pipeliner345 (Mar 15, 2010)

I love my livescope. Bought mine early feb.
































































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## SKs Crappie Fishing (Mar 24, 2008)

pipeliner345 said:


> I love my livescope. Bought mine early feb.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Nice catches...... Were you able to catch crappie before LS or? 
It's waayy over priced for the quality of returns IMO..... Yeah I'm a tight butt.....LOL


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## pipeliner345 (Mar 15, 2010)

silentkilla said:


> One of the worst things to know is the are fish right there and they won't bite seeing them with 2D sonar...... It's even more terrible to have spent $3.5k to $6.5k on a unit that you can see blobs moving on and they still won't bite.....LOL


Oh but they will. Just maybe not on that location.

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## pipeliner345 (Mar 15, 2010)

silentkilla said:


> Nice catches...... Were you able to catch crappie before LS or?
> 
> It's waayy over priced for the quality of returns IMO..... Yeah I'm a tight butt.....LOL


Yes i was to some extent. However, livescope has increased my catch by 85% at least. 
The quality of returns varies from settings, to water quality, to glare, to video photo download/ transfer. It's much better in person. Also, once you learn what your'e looking at you don't need to fine point everything. It's a tool, and a great one. It's not magic.

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## pipeliner345 (Mar 15, 2010)

Speaking of livescope and a user for over 8 months now here is my take on the technology.

It's a tool. Noting else. I find it fantastically useful in cutting out a lot of time wasted hunting. You still have to hunt, but it simply verifies whether you spend time at that point or not. It's not magic, it's a tool. And a very good one. I would put livescope up against anything else specifically for catching crappie. You will absolutely catch more fish.

With that being said, we should be careful with this and coming new technology. With 3 people in the boat you could possibly easily go out and catch 3 limits on a regular basis. I don't do that. I went to lake fork and could have every day, but we didn't. We kept a one man limit or so. We should police ourselves as technology gets better and better. If we don't, the agency's are going to do it for us. 
I also enjoy jig fishing, where i mostly catch and release. Lot of fun.

It's not for everybody, some don't like it at all. That's ok. But i personally haven't seen one person that has actually fished under it not be simply amazed at what you see LIVE!! going on under the surface. You see, it's not about catching 5 limits of crappie everyday. It's the educational side of it that is amazing. 
You just thought you knew what you were taking about until you fish under livescope for at least more that one month..............

I was at lake bridgeport. Caught plenty of crappie at this island. Bass fisherman all over that island. So i seen a nice school of large fish in 24' of water by a log. I knew they were bass, dropped down with a minnow and it was on!!! Caught 4 of the 14 or 15 that were there and they went from 4 to 7lbs. Nice fish! That was fun, but I'm not a big bass fisherman. But i was curious, and i was right. I saw this many times. Those big bass schools at 20' or more and the boats were tearing up the shoreline in 2 to 6'. Lol!!

I have also had VERY! GOOD luck catfishing with livescope. You can tell the difference between a blue and a yellow cat at about 8 to 10lbs and beyond. They have a very distinct difference in return on the screen.

LIVESCOPE!!!

don't knock it till you try it. 

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## Gofish2day (May 9, 2006)

Great posts Pipeliner
I used it for the first time two weeks ago. I was truly amazed. No pic in a post can show you what you see live on the screen. I was not impressed with what I saw previous to actually using it.
As far as limits its just me and my wife. 10 crappie gives us 20 filets. More than enough for me.


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## pipeliner345 (Mar 15, 2010)

Gofish2day said:


> Great posts Pipeliner
> 
> I used it for the first time two weeks ago. I was truly amazed. No pic in a post can show you what you see live on the screen. I was not impressed with what I saw previous to actually using it.
> 
> As far as limits its just me and my wife. 10 crappie gives us 20 filets. More than enough for me.


Absolutely!

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## GSMAN (May 22, 2004)

We used Livescope on a crappie trip a couple of months ago on Rayburn. If I lived anywhere near freshwater I would have Livescope on my boat. It's a game changer and really is a blast seeing the fish come up to the jigs and slamming them.


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## c hook (Jul 6, 2016)

*why not in salt*



GSMAN said:


> We used Livescope on a crappie trip a couple of months ago on Rayburn. If I lived anywhere near freshwater I would have Livescope on my boat. It's a game changer and really is a blast seeing the fish come up to the jigs and slamming them.


why would you not use it in salt?? Even though I primarily fish shallow, I also fish a lot of 8 to 20 feet in winter, and summer outfront in 15 to 55 feet.:texasflag


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## c hook (Jul 6, 2016)

*lol*



silentkilla said:


> Nice catches...... Were you able to catch crappie before LS or?
> It's waayy over priced for the quality of returns IMO..... Yeah I'm a tight butt.....LOL


Garmin should change the name from "livescope" to "silentkilla". that's more fitting. they never know you're there, but you know exactly where they are. :cheers::texasflag


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## pipeliner345 (Mar 15, 2010)

c hook said:


> why would you not use it in salt?? Even though I primarily fish shallow, I also fish a lot of 8 to 20 feet in winter, and summer outfront in 15 to 55 feet.:texasflag


I'll be using mine in saltwater when i can get back home long enough. Jetties, intercoastal, harbor, Galveston bay in places. There is a video of some guys whacking the reds i think in rockport using livescope. They could see the schools.

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## GSMAN (May 22, 2004)

*Saltwater*



c hook said:


> why would you not use it in salt?? Even though I primarily fish shallow, I also fish a lot of 8 to 20 feet in winter, and summer outfront in 15 to 55 feet.:texasflag


I have read that the saltwater in the uppercoast has alot of silt and particles that make it very difficult to use. Also, the majority of my fishing is in less than 7 feet of water unless I occasionally go out to the jetties or fish the channel in the winter. Didn't seem worth the cash if I would use it sparingly. Has it helped you in saltwater?


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## Gofish2day (May 9, 2006)

Alright, just stop already. I am not buying one so stop convincing me 

Since some of you have it on your boat. How do you mount the transducer? On the trolling motor would be great but I don't think would work for me crappie fishing. You need to mount it on a pole where you can turn it. Kinda makes a mess. cables etc.
Then there is the monitor. You need to be able to view the monitor. Hard for 2 people unless you have 2 monitors.

I would think it would be a game changer for Hybrids and WB as well. You can shine it pretty far and see distances to the fish in real time.


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## fishinganimal (Mar 30, 2006)

They might as well create a lure that is gps tracked and guided straight to the fishes mouth. Then will foul hook it in case it doesn't want to eat. Kinda how the rest of sport is going with boats/electronics etc. Not fishing anymore IMO.


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## pipeliner345 (Mar 15, 2010)

Gofish2day said:


> Alright, just stop already. I am not buying one so stop convincing me
> 
> Since some of you have it on your boat. How do you mount the transducer? On the trolling motor would be great but I don't think would work for me crappie fishing. You need to mount it on a pole where you can turn it. Kinda makes a mess. cables etc.
> 
> ...


I used the www.fishingspecialties.com set up. But i ended up modifying that to accommodate the ram mount. It works extremely well. The FS set up has a cone, that cone gets a bit sticky and if you lube it it makes a mess. So i removed a screw and the pole now swivels inside the cone rather than the cone swiveling inside the aluminum cup. This completely resolved my issue. I put this on the ram mount so that when i hit a stump it can move without bending the aluminum pole. The FS comes with plastic shear bolts. Waste of time with those. You'll need a large bag. They are to weak in my opinion. All in all the system works for my setup. I can view from the helm, left and right side. I have a base mount on both sides plus the bow. 
I have an extra gimble on the bow. With the echomap series you can snap the unit out and right back into another gimble having only to use one head unit. That's cost saving. With livescope on the bow, there is absolutely no need for an additional Transducer up there.

The cone would try to corkscrew out of the pocket while idling. That's the gold slide lock you see. That worked, but still very stiff from friction. Now that the pole swivels on the inside of the cone i don't need the slide lock anymore. But I'm leaving it on for more experimentation. So far its been stellar.





































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## Gofish2day (May 9, 2006)

That looks like it works great!

You know if you started throwing all this new sonar, sidescan, livescope away there is one new gadget I could not live without.

My Minn Kota Terrova with Spot lock.
An amazing tool. I have not used an anchor in 3 years.


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## pipeliner345 (Mar 15, 2010)

Gofish2day said:


> That looks like it works great!
> 
> You know if you started throwing all this new sonar, sidescan, livescope away there is one new gadget I could not live without.
> 
> ...


I have that also. It is a major support tool for livescope. I just upgraded to the new version back in March. Terrova i pilot 80# .

A must have!!

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## tbone2374 (Feb 27, 2010)




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## tbone2374 (Feb 27, 2010)




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## FishingFiend (Nov 9, 2016)

Anyone heard of mounting the Panoptix to a kayak like a hobie outback?


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