How have you set up your livescope?

[cessna]

I've a tracker grizzly 1648 side console with a Garmin 106 SV mounted on my console. I'm considering getting life scope and I'm wondering if there's anybody with the same boat that has it.

I have a 24 volt Minn kota trolling motor mounted on the bow and the two batteries for it mounted in the bow compartment. The Garmin is run off of my cranking battery. Not looking to get a new Garmin unit, so I'm wondering where people have mounted the black box and the livescope.

Thoughts and perspectives appreciated, thank you!

 

[MrGiggles]

I have the Livescope transducer on my trolling motor (Terrova). 93SV on the front deck with a ram style mount, the black box and electronics battery are under the front deck.

The LS transducer has a very long cable, you can mount it pretty much anywhere. The included communication cable is only 6ft but there are much longer ones available.

I had a setup where I could drop it over the side and display it on the console graph at one time, it worked but was far from ideal. It's way better on the front or rear of the boat.

 

[cessna]

I have the Livescope transducer on my trolling motor (Terrova). 93SV on the front deck with a ram style mount, the black box and electronics battery are under the front deck.

The LS transducer has a very long cable, you can mount it pretty much anywhere. The included communication cable is only 6ft but there are much longer ones available.

I had a setup where I could drop it over the side and display it on the console graph at one time, it worked but was far from ideal. It's way better on the front or rear of the boat.

Thank you for the insight! I intended on mounting the transducer to a pole that I could hang on the side of the boat, but have been uncertain if it'd end up being more of a nuisance than a convenience.

 

[Billy H]

I have a crestliner 16 storm. I have an UHD 106 SV on the bow and a 93SV2 at the console. I have livescope. My current configuration is the GT 54 transducer on bottom of a 24 volt MK cable steer trolling motor I also have the livescope transducer on the MK shaft. Both connected to the 106. I have a GT 56 transducer on the transom tied to the 93 SV. I put a 50 amp lifepo4 battery in a front compartment that feeds my electronics exclusively. I also have my GLS 10 black box mounted in the same compartment. Works for me fine for now. The Garmin trolling motor is in the plans in the future. Here is a video of the front compartment.
View attachment IMG_5016.mov

 

[cessna]

I have a crestliner 16 storm. I have an UHD 106 SV on the bow and a 93SV2 at the console. I have livescope. My current configuration is the GT 54 transducer on bottom of a 24 volt MK cable steer trolling motor I also have the livescope transducer on the MK shaft. Both connected to the 106. I have a GT 56 transducer on the transom tied to the 93 SV. I put a 50 amp lifepo4 battery in a front compartment that feeds my electronics exclusively. I also have my GLS 10 black box mounted in the same compartment. Works for me fine for now. The Garmin trolling motor is in the plans in the future. Here is a video of the front compartment.
View attachment 121399

Awesome, thank you! Do you find it easy to "look around" with the livescope with it mounted to the trolling motor? I don't know how much people move the livescope around anyway, so I'm not sure if that's so much of a thing.
Also, thinking is that if the livescope transducer is attached to a trolling motor with spot lock, your picture would be constantly changing or blurred considering how much the motor can move depending on wind and current. But, I obviously have no idea since I don't have any experience with it.

 

[Billy H]

Awesome, thank you! Do you find it easy to "look around" with the livescope with it mounted to the trolling motor? I don't know how much people move the livescope around anyway, so I'm not sure if that's so much of a thing.
Also, thinking is that if the livescope transducer is attached to a trolling motor with spot lock, your picture would be constantly changing or blurred considering how much the motor can move depending on wind and current. But, I obviously have no idea since I don't have any experience with it.

The TM I have does not have spot lock, so holding it steady or looking around is not an issue. That might change when I upgrade the TM. To be honest I personally think livescope is over rated. It’s cool but I have it turned off a lot of the time. Admittedly I am not as good as a lot of the young guys with the scope.

 

[cessna]

The TM I have does not have spot lock, so holding it steady or looking around is not an issue. That might change when I upgrade the TM. To be honest I personally think livescope is over rated. It’s cool but I have it turned off a lot of the time. Admittedly I am not as good as a lot of the young guys with the scope.

I've wondered about that a bit too - having it sounds great in theory, but will I use it as much as I think I might to make it worth the purchase, or is it just another reason to have my eyes glued to another screen instead of enjoying being on the water

The TM I have does not have spot lock, so holding it steady or looking around is not an issue. That might change when I upgrade the TM. To be honest I personally think livescope is over rated. It’s cool but I have it turned off a lot of the time. Admittedly I am not as good as a lot of the young guys with the scope.

 

[MrGiggles]

Thank you for the insight! I intended on mounting the transducer to a pole that I could hang on the side of the boat, but have been uncertain if it'd end up being more of a nuisance than a convenience.

It's certainly better than nothing. The big downsides are that it limits the area you can see and fish significantly (roughly 180* around the transducer, on the front or back it is nearly a full circle minus the width of the boat), and positioning the boat so that the area you want to fish stays off to one side can be tricky, both keeping it there, and approaching the spot.

I know a lot of guys prefer to have it on a separate pole. That's too much for me to run, I don't have four hands, so I prefer to leave it on the trolling motor and just run it manually. Spot lock will keep the head pointed in the general area that it's set to, but it isn't nearly precise enough for livescoping. I generally only use spot lock if I'm landing a fish or retying.

If nothing else, it is a great asset for eliminating dead water and identifying structure, contour, and cover. Having the ability to sweep 100ft out or more in all directions is pretty handy. It is almost unfair for crappie fishing, but for species like walleye and catfish, it's really only useful for identifying if an area might be the type of spot where they hang out.

 

[Billy H]

I've wondered about that a bit too - having it sounds great in theory, but will I use it as much as I think I might to make it worth the purchase, or is it just another reason to have my eyes glued to another screen instead of enjoying being on the water

I primarily fish for bass. I find it most useful for searching deeper water for fish hanging out on structure. Even when you do see fish you still need to make them eat

Mr giggles is spot on about using it for crappie. I have a buddy that has become addicted to scoping and picking off crappie.

 

[cessna]

It's certainly better than nothing. The big downsides are that it limits the area you can see and fish significantly (roughly 180* around the transducer, on the front or back it is nearly a full circle minus the width of the boat), and positioning the boat so that the area you want to fish stays off to one side can be tricky, both keeping it there, and approaching the spot.

I know a lot of guys prefer to have it on a separate pole. That's too much for me to run, I don't have four hands, so I prefer to leave it on the trolling motor and just run it manually. Spot lock will keep the head pointed in the general area that it's set to, but it isn't nearly precise enough for livescoping. I generally only use spot lock if I'm landing a fish or retying.

If nothing else, it is a great asset for eliminating dead water and identifying structure, contour, and cover. Having the ability to sweep 100ft out or more in all directions is pretty handy. It is almost unfair for crappie fishing, but for species like walleye and catfish, it's really only useful for identifying if an area might be the type of spot where they hang out.

Thank you, all of that's definitely helpful. More often than not, I'm fishing by myself, so I completely understand the lack of having 4 hands. I grew up in Maine and we'd just troll lakes without any electronics, but I'm in NC now and the fishing is pretty different. Plus I fish freshwater and the intercoastals. I'm still trying to dial in my 106 a bit, but like you said, the livescope does seem like a faster way to rule out dead water or at least help you identify if something on your graph that looks like fish is actually fish or just debris.

 

[Boosh]

My boat came with a Minn Kota along with a Lowrance Elite with Livescope. I've been messing with this setup for months and it's still not right. I finally figured out how to get the transducer cable to quit getting spun and tight around the motor but I still get interference on the screen while the troller is running. I put a piece of rubber in between the transducer mount and the motor and this has helped but hasn’t gotten rid of all of the interference. The mount is a homemade rig job. I would highly suggest a trolling motor that has a built in transducer setup. Just slapping a transducer on any trolling motor may give you the same problems I’m having. I use mine mostly for sonar, not live scope. Once I get the interference to go away, I’ll mess with livescope.

Highly recommend a troller with spot lock, I use that all the time.

 

[cessna]

My boat came with a Minn Kota along with a Lowrance Elite with Livescope. I've been messing with this setup for months and it's still not right. I finally figured out how to get the transducer cable to quit getting spun and tight around the motor but I still get interference on the screen while the troller is running. I put a piece of rubber in between the transducer mount and the motor and this has helped but hasn’t gotten rid of all of the interference. The mount is a homemade rig job. I would highly suggest a trolling motor that has a built in transducer setup. Just slapping a transducer on any trolling motor may give you the same problems I’m having. I use mine mostly for sonar, not live scope. Once I get the interference to go away, I’ll mess with livescope.

Highly recommend a troller with spot lock, I use that all the time.
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Awesome, thanks for the info. I have the terrova, so it has spot lock and I love it!

 

[Hoppi84]

I have mine on a dub-l-seat mount on my terrova with the black box in my gun box.. I got the terrova before my scope so if I would've known better id rather spent the extra for the mount and gotten the ultrex and mounted it to the shaft of trolling motor since I'm always on the foot pedal and I hate the terrova pedal...

 

[cessna]

I have mine on a dub-l-seat mount on my terrova with the black box in my gun box.. I got the terrova before my scope so if I would've known better id rather spent the extra for the mount and gotten the ultrex and mounted it to the shaft of trolling motor since I'm always on the foot pedal and I hate the terrova pedal...View attachment 121417

Do you run all your electronics on the same battery as well?

 

[cessna]

I primarily fish for bass. I find it most useful for searching deeper water for fish hanging out on structure. Even when you do see fish you still need to make them eat

Mr giggles is spot on about using it for crappie. I have a buddy that has become addicted to scoping and picking off crappie.

That's absolutely true, you can find them all day but it doesn't mean you're going to catch anything lol. I've started trying for both crappy and bass, but haven't caught a bass yet

 

[Hoppi84]

Do you run all your electronics on the same battery as well?

Yes I run it all off my cranking battery... Maybe someday I'll get another battery for my 106sv and the scope...

 

[Billy H]

A friend of mine got his scope late summer last year. On his first outing he saw something huge coming straight up to the surface fast on the scope. The next thing he knew a cormorant broke the surface 15 yards in front of him. How lucky can you get to see that first time out.

 

[MrGiggles]

My boat came with a Minn Kota along with a Lowrance Elite with Livescope. I've been messing with this setup for months and it's still not right. I finally figured out how to get the transducer cable to quit getting spun and tight around the motor but I still get interference on the screen while the troller is running. I put a piece of rubber in between the transducer mount and the motor and this has helped but hasn’t gotten rid of all of the interference. The mount is a homemade rig job. I would highly suggest a trolling motor that has a built in transducer setup. Just slapping a transducer on any trolling motor may give you the same problems I’m having. I use mine mostly for sonar, not live scope. Once I get the interference to go away, I’ll mess with livescope.

Highly recommend a troller with spot lock, I use that all the time.
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I've always had bad interference using the built in transducer on my Terrova. It has a choke and a separate power source, neither made any difference.

It doesn't seem to affect the Livescope at all, however.