Blaylock in stalking mode

Stetson Blaylock is taking advantage of the rare slick, calm water conditions on Lake Champlain. How he is doing that is searching for individual fish. It’s an arduous task, but it paid off yesterday with a limit weighing 19 pounds, 12 ounces, good for seventh place on the official leaderboard.

Only thing is, Blaylock is not searching for them with his eyes to scan the calm and crystal-clear water.

“What makes this strategy ideal is that smallmouth movement is active in the sunny, calm conditions,” he said. “Visibility is at its best, and the fish can see the baitfish from a distance.

Blaylock is using the Garmin Panoptix LiveScope live scanning sonar feature. It allows the user to see fish within a 360-degree range of the boat. With the trolling motor on and his eye on the screen, Blaylock is moving his boat across his fishing area. And he is holding his rod in the ready position, but not making a cast.

“If I do that, I might have the lure out and come up on a fish and see it on the Panoptix,” he explained. “When I do, it’s a done deal that I will catch it.”

The takeaway is just another added benefit of the live scan feature of today’ sophisticated fishfinders.