Livescope - Installed!

[whichwaysup]

Hey all -

 

I got the livescope and Garmin 93SV installed this weekend.   Got lots of pics, will share the installation and show you how it's set up.   Won't get to try it out till Friday, but super cool system.    Completely stows out of the way when not in use!   Pics and description to follow, but here's a few teasers.   The goal of the whole project was to minimize the number of new holes in the boat and to actually reduce the net number of holes in the boat.    Feel pretty good about the outcome!

[whichwaysup]

So, day 1 was mostly about un-installing the old Lowrance system.  This proved to be a lot more work than I had expected, because I discovered that, when the boat was redone, both of the transducer wires were nicely (and tightly) strapped in while the deck had been off.  This was very good workmanship, but now that the deck is firmly back on, getting the massive transducer plugs through the straps proved impossible, and the screws holding the straps to the hull were not easily accessible.   I wasted half the day trying to get them through and/or unscrewing the straps, but to no avail. Ended up having to cut both transducer plugs off.   That was a bummer.  
 

Luckily, I had lots of really good help and moral support!

 

[whichwaysup]

Once the old system had been removed, I had a bunch of holes left, none of which would match the new system, new mount, or new transducer bracket.   Eventually, I will have these filled properly, but for now, I wanted to stop drilling holes into the boat.   

Stealing a page from other forum members, I bought some PVC exterior house molding (much cheaper and lighter than starboard) and crafted a console cover and a transducer plate.  4 new screws in the boat to mount these replaceable plates, but after this, all new holes will go into the PVC, not the boat.   All previous holes were sealed with marine sealant.

BTW, 3/4 inch starboard costs over $100 per sheet.   In the trim area of Home Depot, I found PVC trim for exterior use.   I paid $18 for one piece, and got the other for free out of the "pay by foot" scrap pile, because they didn't want to bother figuring out how to ring it up.   It is lighter and a little less dense than starboard, which worked better for my purposes.  It was also sand-able, which allowed me to soften the corners and edges nicely.

[whichwaysup]

With the console cover installed and transducer mounted, I was able to finish installing the “core” 93sv system and test it out.   Nice upgrade to the BALZOUT ram mount (thank you Wannaflatsfish!) and to the 9 inch screen (from7”). 
 

Next, it was time to try to figure out the livescope system install.

[whichwaysup]

The livescope transducer is designed to mount on the trolling motor shaft, but that means it can’t be independently pointed to different targets.  I use spot lock a lot, so it would be constantly pointing the transducer all over the place.  
 

I decided to create a pole mount for it, and mount it where I could rotate the transducer and watch the screen.  
 

I also wanted the whole system to be stowed away when not in use, since it is not of an insignificant size.   The challenge here was the massive transducer wire, which would be originating in the console, but would eventually have to go over the gunwale.  How to keep it as unobtrusive as possible??

I wanted to use a ram mount on the gunnel, but didn’t want any new holes.  I decided to use the existing push pole holder screws, and mounted a piece of PVC board into the existing holes.  The push pole holder and the ram mount would then be mounted on either side.   
 

For the transducer wire, I ran it under the deck and into the dry storage under the cockpit seating, then drilled a hole into the side of the compartment, and into the pvc rod tube.   This allowed me to run the wiring under the gunwale and out of the way.   

[whichwaysup]

Setting up the system to be useable when deployed but invisible when not in use took some imagination, but here is the final set up.   The outer pipe is 1.25 inch with a 1” pipe inside.  The inner pipe is capped at the top and has the livescope on the bottom, allowing it to rotate 360 degrees and is set just below thhe bottom of the boat.  
 

To give credit where credit is due, I got the idea from this guy:  

 

When not in use, the ram comes off the ball and the whole unit lays in the gunwale rod holders. 

[Moderator]

Great journal !!   Again.. 

Looking forward to the report on how it works.. 

Marc

[fin-addict]

Your the Man. Nice job. Could not have done it without the kids I bet 👍. Been using Ram mounts close to 20 years 🏆. Keep us posted.

[whichwaysup]

Holy smokes, folks.  Got a chance to test it out yesterday.  Installed it last weekend and barely finished before I had to travel last week for work.  Had a trip planned already with a guy from work and didn’t get a chance to test it or figure it out before I went.  Figured I would be happy enough if it worked at all but didn’t have high expectations since I knew it would take time to dial it in.  
 

My mind is officially blown.   Watching bait balls dance around and get chased by predator fish, seeing large fish swim by, pulling up to spots only to see NOTHING.  I have a lot of learning to do to understand what I am seeing (and distinguishing one species from another), but this thing is a game changer.   
 

Managed three striper, one tagged.  So much to learn but two things became crystal clear in a hurry:  

1) there are a LOT more fish around than you think

2) They still only eat if they want to.  
 

Will try to get some good video and post it up on my next trip. Just hard to hold a camera on this thing when you see that many fish!!

[Coto]

55 minutes ago, whichwaysup said:

 

2) They still only eat if they want to.  
 

 

Glad to see you are enjoying the product. But your comment is spot on! I find plenty of redfish out there but the trick is getting them to eat and those guys have recently been having lock jaw when comes to all my favorite arties. FRUSTRATING!!!

I did manage to boat one on my last trip. Maybe I'll get that downscope and send a torpedo their way...lol 

[geeviam]

Great thread Gus!  Very thoughtful of you to share the entire installation from beginning to end results.  And your helpers are adorable 😇

[Currituck]

Helping to get me off the fence and adopt live sonar. Just another shove or two should do it. 

 

 

 

[whichwaysup]

1 hour ago, Currituck said:

Helping to get me off the fence and adopt live sonar. Just another shove or two should do it. 

 

 

 

Wait till you see the videos.  It will be all the shove you need.  For the pamlic sound, this thing is going to be stupid for finding schools of trout, striper, etc.  

[whichwaysup]

2 hours ago, Coto said:

Glad to see you are enjoying the product. But your comment is spot on! I find plenty of redfish out there but the trick is getting them to eat and those guys have recently been having lock jaw when comes to all my favorite arties. FRUSTRATING!!!

I did manage to boat one on my last trip. Maybe I'll get that downscope and send a torpedo their way...lol 

Totally agree and it was making me crazy to see big fish swim through, but that gets to the reason I pulled the trigger.   I have a few spots where I know there are fish.  I pull up to them and sometimes cast for 30-45 min before the first bite, then suddenly the pattern emerges and things go nuclear.   I know I am passing by many other of these spots, but not slowing down to work then and change up lures, retrieves, etc.  

 

Yesterday, we pulled up to a bank I fish often.  I deployed the livescope and realized that I had positioned the boat right over the fish, they were way off the bank.  I repositioned and we cast where we had seen them chasing bait balls on the scope.  It took a few casts, but my buddy hooked up on a solid fish. He lost it, but it was proof of concept.  Find fish, slow down and work them.  
 

Live bait guys do this better than artificial guys.  They anchor and wait.   We cruise down the bank waiting for a dumb fish or a lucky intercept.   I am hoping this combines the best of both worlds.  

[Wanaflatsfish]

Great info....I think I know that Balzout

dc

 

[whichwaysup]

17 hours ago, Wanaflatsfish said:

Great info....I think I know that Balzout

dc

 

Man, I really appreciate you selling it to me.  I would not have bought new having only used the regular ball ram mounts, but having had this one, I will never go back. What an upgrade.  Rock solid, super adjustable, and god looking.  

[whichwaysup]

A few quick videos of what this thing looks like.  I was in a pretty heavily stained (tanic) brackish river.  Still have an enormous learning curve with this thing but wow.  
 

 

 

 

 

[whichwaysup]

Well, might as well keep the saga alive with a few more updates.    I've now had 3 trips on the boat since I installed this thing.   Been skunked on 2 of them. . . . 

In fairness, 90% of the reason I'm getting skunked is that I don't have a rod in my hand most of the time.   I'm fiddling, playing with, and watching the darned screen.   It's addictive and amazing to see what's underneath me.   And dang . . . there are a LOT of fish out there!

So, I've gotten the perspective mode dialed in pretty well - that's the videos you saw above.   for water <10 feet that seems to be the ticket.   However, there are two other modes I couldn't figure out - forward scan and down scan.   Forward scan puts the transducer on it's side (the mount is adjustable) and shoots a fairly narrow beam straight out and down from the boat.   Most of the bass/crappie guys use this, and when I fish the deeper parts of the river, I know this is the mode I need.   I couldn't get it to work, or at least, make sense.   

Took a buddy out yesterday and we decided to fool around with it till we got it figured out.   Turns out I was not putting the transducer into the right orientation.   Darned thing is a rectangular box and pics don't help much.   Once we got that right, EUREKA! It was game on.   Suddenly we were watching fish sitting just off the ledge and a few other ones sitting on the bottom.   My buddy caught a little black drum (never caught one in that part of the river before) because he saw a school on the 'scope.   A few minutes later, we pulled up to another spot, saw fish, and he managed a striper.   I got skunked.    

No pics of my unit yesterday, but this video shows how this mode works.   As far as I can tell, the fish are scattered right now, making this thing less useful, but in the winter when they are schooled up, it's going to get stupid.    

I'm taking my wife up to New Bern to fish the Neuse this weekend (anniversary), and really looking forward to using it on waters I don't know well.   

 

[whichwaysup]

Quick update, more later, but its been a few weeks since i have been able to use the boat.  Prior, I had had mixed results with the thing.  It does EXACTLY what it is designed to do, and does it spectacularly, but almost too well.  I have been completely overwhelmed with what it is showing - fish everywhere!  
 

Tye problem has been knowing what to do with this massive amount of info.  What kind of fish? What are they actually doing?  How to use what I see?    As stupid as it sounds, I have been in a rotten mood for two weeks because the stupid thing is stressinv me out.  And to make it worse, I know there is no going back.   The info is just too valuable.
 

Yesterday, I had a breakthrough.  .  Brutal tide, brital heat, and tough conditions, but took my son and his friend out anyway.  I finally figured out how to use ths thing to make my fishing more efficient.  I am also starting to figure out what fish is what based on their orientation to the bottom and behavior.   We caught a few fish on a day, and in places, that without it I am sure I would have been skunked.   We found fish and stayed on the spot until we figured out what they wanted.  And by the way, lure color DOES make a difference!   
 

much more later, will get some videos but if you are thinking of something like this, lets talk. 

[geeviam]

IDK Gus, sounds like it may be easier on your mind if you don't know how many fish are around your boat when they aren't eating 😉

Haha - just messin' with ya!  I'm sure once you get it all worked out, it will be awesome.

[whichwaysup]

Lol, you arent wrong!  It is maddening to see the amount of life down there.  It makes you realize that only some fish are as dumb as we think they are. The rest are laughing at you!

[whichwaysup]

Had a chance this weekend to play around with the Livescope more.   The more I use it, the more of a tool it is becoming, but not necessarily exactly as I had envisioned.   Having had it a few weeks now, I don't think I will ever go without one.   It's worth the money and I'd put it up there with Ipilot and Power pole as "game changer" equipment for the boat, especially if you ever fish in water >5 feet. 

Take a look at the video below - the previous videos I shared were in "perspective" mode - which orients the tranducer sideways for water <5' deep.   That view provides a wide angle and lets you see fish moving through the wide cone,but you can't see their depth.   When you are in less than 5' of water, you don't need to, though.

The video below is in "forward mode" and orients the transducer on it's side.  You get the wide angle vertically, but a narrower angle side to side.   This view allows you to see where in the water column the fish are out to about 120 feet or so.   In the video below, I'm fishing a river point and looking for striper.    Being able to see where the ledge is and how the fish are oriented is HUGE.   

The video isn't great, but if you look closely, you can see my jig bouncing over on the left and I'm literally tapping a gar on it's nose.  He's not too interested, but his buddies show up and give it a quick once over, then ignore it too.    Amazing technology!

 

 

[Carolinadrifter]

Did you ever consider just getting the Garmin trolling motor to mount the transducer to instead of rigging that pole? Those trollers seem pretty awesome for that type of fishing. 

[whichwaysup]

A quick update - The Livescope has become one of my favorite "toys" on the boat.   In terms of value, I'd put it one step behind my Ipilot and one step above my power pole.   This video is pretty cool - Winter time trout on the bottom - Saw them, cast to them, caught 'em!