Avoiding boat shyness

Last week, Paul Mueller relied on his Garmin Panoptix LiveScope to “see” smallmouth in the already ultra-clear water of the St. Lawrence River and Lake Ontario.

This week, it’s David Mullins who is relying on the feature for the same reasons.

LiveScope allows the user to see highly detailed, live scanning sonar images of structure, bait and fish swimming around and ahead of the boat.

“It’s changed the way I fish for smallmouth,” said Mullins, who as I write this is catching fish after fish on Bassmaster LIVE.

Another carryover–and noteworthy discovery thanks to live scan sonar–is just how boat shy bass are in the clear water. Last week, I wrote about Mueller realizing that his hooking ratio improved when he backed off a piece of bottom cover holding a fish.

Same thing this week for Mullins.

“I can see the fish from 60 feet away, but I’ve got to make a cast before I get any closer or it’ll spook,” he said.

It’s fun to watch but also a great lesson learned, as live scan sonar becomes more mainstream.