# Panoptix Crappie Fishing



## deerfarmer (Apr 21, 2012)

Panoptix has change the way we crappie fish. The video is from one brushpile we fished yesterday. We were prefishing Caesar creek looking for brushpiles this video is of one of the pile we found. I'm just figuring out how to use wifi to record and this is the first time I got it to work. You can see the fish swimming around in brushpile and we just drop a minnow into the pile and wait. You can actually target a single fish in the pile and go after that fish. In the video you can see the sinker and minnow going into the pile. You can also see polebender trying to set the hook and missing and dropping back into the pile. The last time we fished Caesar in summer there were small black crappie everywhere. Well it appears these black have grown. We ended yesterday with 121 and we spent a lot of time searching.


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## sixtyminutes (Jan 3, 2009)

Great. I just spent over 6K on three new Helix's with Mega everything and now you gotta show me this? That is just rude. Dang it. LOL.

Seriously though. Great video man. The new technology is amazing. Just need some kinda device that makes them bite now.


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## Lundy (Apr 5, 2004)

Nice recording!!!!


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## dgfidler (Sep 22, 2014)

That’s a nice find deerfarmer. I have a question relating to how you find this situation . To find these brush piles, are you using sidesscan first to find the brush and then returning to ‘scope’ it, or are you finding these using just the livescope?


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## deerfarmer (Apr 21, 2012)

Yes side scan and set waypoints on anything that looks interesting. Then go back and check them out with Panoptix. It takes a lot of time. There is a YouTube channel 3poundfishing that does a good job of explaining on how to find brush pile.


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## STRONGPERSUADER (Nov 5, 2006)

That is just badda$$. I like the nice bass or whatever it is lurking on the right side.


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## Carpn (Apr 5, 2004)

Next level stuff there . Pretty amazing .


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## Flathead76 (May 2, 2010)

I don’t consider that fishing.


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## GPtimes2 (May 14, 2006)

Flathead76 said:


> I don’t consider that fishing.


There are people thinking this on a few forums, but the cave man that first made a hook from a bone probably got the same reaction "LOL".
I can tell you that after 50 years of fishing and at times getting bored, it is giving me a new prospective on learning (plus catching more fish) compared with 2D, chirp, and side imaging. To see fish swimming in real time and how they react to everything (jigs, minnows, trolling motor noise, etc..) is amazing. My wife calls it shooting fish in a barrel, I say its a new and welcome learning and catching tool.


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## Flathead76 (May 2, 2010)

fiveeyes said:


> I suppose that 'your way' is the only way to fish.


Obviously you do not know anything about me. What ever happened to the word “fishing”?


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## Saugeyefisher (Jul 19, 2010)

Flathead76 said:


> Obviously you do not know anything about me. What ever happened to the word “fishing”?


It's still fishing,just not the way you prefer maybe. Anyways this is not at all what this post is about. It's about a member getting on here an showing other members a thing or two. 
I'm sure they could care less if you consider it fishing or not.


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## Lundy (Apr 5, 2004)

Flathead76 said:


> Obviously you do not know anything about me. What ever happened to the word “fishing”?



I found it


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## Saugeyefisher (Jul 19, 2010)

Lundy said:


> I found it
> 
> View attachment 316771


Looks like there fishing then to me....


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## Flathead76 (May 2, 2010)

About as much as feeding deer with a timed feeder and setting a camera that sends your phone a text message every time a deer walks in front of it and calling it “hunting”.


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## Lundy (Apr 5, 2004)

Flathead76 said:


> About as much as feeding deer with a timed feeder and setting a camera that sends your phone a text message every time a deer walks in front of it and calling it “hunting”.


Or hunts with a compound bow, or crossbow, or sights, or tree stand, or rifled barrels, or scopes, or scents, or camo cloths, scent blockers, or fishes with anything but a bamboo pole a string and bent piece of wire as a hook. 

I get it, technology changes and has changed how we pursue our pastimes. We all get to choose our own personal limits of technology that we choose to use, we don't however get to set personal limits for others.


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## Saugeyefisher (Jul 19, 2010)

Flathead76 said:


> About as much as feeding deer with a timed feeder and setting a camera that sends your phone a text message every time a deer walks in front of it and calling it “hunting”.


Why come here and troll,go catch fish how you want to. Your posts(and mine) should be deleted for going off subject. They do nothing but deter people from posting up posts like this.


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## Flathead76 (May 2, 2010)

Lundy said:


> Or hunts with a compound bow, or crossbow, or sights, or tree stand, or rifled barrels, or scopes, or scents, or camo cloths, scent blockers, or fishes with anything but a bamboo pole a string and bent piece of wire as a hook.
> 
> I get it, technology changes and has changed how we pursue our pastimes. We all get to choose our own personal limits of technology that we choose to use, we don't however get to set personal limits for others.


I could care less which legal hunting weapon that someone chooses to use. It has got to the point to where outdoor skills do not matter as long as can afford the best of the best you will be considered the cream of the crop. I think that is B.S. that is coming from someone who does not even own a fish finder because I think that it is cheating.


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## Flathead76 (May 2, 2010)

Saugeyefisher said:


> Why come here and troll,go catch fish how you want to. Your posts(and mine) should be deleted for going off subject. They do nothing but deter people from posting up posts like this.


It’s not trolling. I view this as having zero skills. It seams like today everyone whats the gimmick or the easy way to success. I find technology like this unsportsmanlike.


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## Saugeyefisher (Jul 19, 2010)

Flathead76 said:


> It’s not trolling. I view this as having zero skills. It seams like today everyone whats the gimmick or the easy way to success. I find technology like this unsportsmanlike.


That's your opinion. And still trolling


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## Flathead76 (May 2, 2010)

Saugeyefisher said:


> That's your opinion. And still trolling


If you think I’m trolling why do you keep throwing food?


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## Saugeyefisher (Jul 19, 2010)

Flathead76 said:


> If you think I’m trolling why do you keep throwing food?


Your right I'll stop.....

Good video deer farmer,thanks for sharing! I look forward to seeing more!


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## Tall Tales (Aug 28, 2018)

deerfarmer said:


> Panoptix has change the way we crappie fish. The video is from one brushpile we fished yesterday. We were prefishing Caesar creek looking for brushpiles this video is of one of the pile we found. I'm just figuring out how to use wifi to record and this is the first time I got it to work. You can see the fish swimming around in brushpile and we just drop a minnow into the pile and wait. You can actually target a single fish in the pile and go after that fish. In the video you can see the sinker and minnow going into the pile. You can also see polebender trying to set the hook and missing and dropping back into the pile. The last time we fished Caesar in summer there were small black crappie everywhere. Well it appears these black have grown. We ended yesterday with 121 and we spent a lot of time searching.


How have you found that it works in rougher water/wind? I have heard from a few guys it doesn't work nearly as well in chop.


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## Muddy (May 7, 2017)

Cool video. I would like to see more video. Hopefully the cost will come down in a few years on these units.


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## Muddy (May 7, 2017)

Flathead76 said:


> I could care less which legal hunting weapon that someone chooses to use. It has got to the point to where outdoor skills do not matter as long as can afford the best of the best you will be considered the cream of the crop. I think that is B.S. that is coming from someone who does not even own a fish finder because I think that it is cheating.


That is your opinion. Everyone fishes and hunts for different reasons. I do it because it’s in my genes. I have fished with hand lines, rods, Spears, bows, canoes, boat, kayak, shore, with electronics, without electronics, etc. Some people do it with very little gear. Some guys do it high tech. Many people do it with a little of both. In the end all that matters is that you enjoy your time in the outdoors. I don’t see any reason to put down another persons legal method of fishing enjoyment.


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## Dillon.R.Nott (Oct 4, 2015)

Ah yes the technology is cheating cliché. Classic. 

That footage is great though. Just makes ya think what else the fishing industry has for us for the future.


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## Lundy (Apr 5, 2004)

Tall Tales said:


> How have you found that it works in rougher water/wind? I have heard from a few guys it doesn't work nearly as well in chop.


Like any electronics with a fixed transducer to a boat waves have an effect on the stability of the image being displayed. There is software built in to the Livescope that minimizes the effect pretty well but waves do have an effect, no way around that with any electronics. Also to answer completely there needs to a definition of "chop". A 1 ft "chop" very manageable, don't even notice it, a 3 ft chop, a lot of movement on the screen


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## dgfidler (Sep 22, 2014)

Tall Tales said:


> How have you found that it works in rougher water/wind? I have heard from a few guys it doesn't work nearly as well in chop.


LiveScope has an AHRS (attitude heading and reference sensor) built in that attempts to compensate for boat roll, but it has to work within the limits of the 20 degree cone. For example if your’re vertical jigging in 15ft and your boat it rocking, the cone is too small at that depth to keep your jig in view, but if you’re in 30fow on Lake Erie with 2 ft waves, you don’t lose sight of your jig at the bottom as much. 

In another thread, Lundy pointed out that the best takeaway from using this tech is gaining more understanding of how fish behave in general to various presentations. I used my LiveScope on Lake Erie yesterday and came away with a better understanding of how to interpret 2d sonar, and that you still target the depths with bait even if fish are not at that level. This is conventional advice passed down to us on OGF from more experienced fisherman, but I was able to independently verify this myself. There were heavy marks all over the water column on 2D, but the livescope showed very clearly that the high marks were little schools of baitfish with larger fish under them. Proved that fishing at the level of the bait is just as important as fishing the level of the fish. Even though we never saw a larger fish high in the water column of LiveScope we still caught them there and if we had just fished the level where LiveScope showed fish, we’d have caught less fish. Going back to Lundy’s point, if you’re not using it to try to learn about fish behavior, you’re missing some of this new technology’s potential. 


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## Tall Tales (Aug 28, 2018)

dgfidler said:


> LiveScope has an AHRS (attitude heading and reference sensor) built in that attempts to compensate for boat roll, but it has to work within the limits of the 20 degree cone. For example if your’re vertical jigging in 15ft and your boat it rocking, the cone is too small at that depth to keep your jig in view, but if you’re in 30fow on Lake Erie with 2 ft waves, you don’t lose sight of your jig at the bottom as much.
> 
> In another thread, Lundy pointed out that the best takeaway from using this tech is gaining more understanding of how fish behave in general to various presentations. I used my LiveScope on Lake Erie yesterday and came away with a better understanding of how to interpret 2d sonar, and that you still target the depths with bait even if fish are not at that level. This is conventional advice passed down to us on OGF from more experienced fisherman, but I was able to independently verify this myself. There were heavy marks all over the water column on 2D, but the livescope showed very clearly that the high marks were little schools of baitfish with larger fish under them. Proved that fishing at the level of the bait is just as important as fishing the level of the fish. Even though we never saw a larger fish high in the water column of LiveScope we still caught them there and if we had just fished the level where LiveScope showed fish, we’d have caught less fish. Going back to Lundy’s point, if you’re not using it to try to learn about fish behavior, you’re missing some of this new technology’s potential.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I find the technology fascinating as it would help learn the behavior or interpret reactions to baits. My background is in marine biology so would love to see how they react to particular colors/baits and keep a log of it depending on the conditions. Glad to hear it works better than what my initial perception was after talking to a few people at the shows around the country. 

Thanks for the detailed response!


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## Lundy (Apr 5, 2004)

Tall Tales said:


> Glad to hear it works better than what my initial perception was after talking to a few people at the shows around the country.


Did the people you talked to actually own Livescope?


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## rutty (Feb 5, 2007)

Lundy said:


> Did the people you talked to actually own Livescope?



That is what I was thinking also! I am just getting used to ours and it is definitely a game changer in tournament fishing. Cuts down the pre-fishing time needed by 10-fold in my opinion.


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## BadgerYaker (Jul 27, 2019)

Flathead76 said:


> I don’t consider that fishing.


To each thier own but to me this is awesome. Part of the fun is the hunt. This brings a new dynamic to fishing.

If I could afford it that is 


Kind of like a trail cam for fishing.


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## 9Left (Jun 23, 2012)

That's crap in my post got deleted… It was extremely funny


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## Tall Tales (Aug 28, 2018)

Lundy said:


> Did the people you talked to actually own Livescope?


I spoke to about ten different shop owners who carried them and a few had them on their boats. One boat dealer was the one who seemed to have the most problems with them.


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## Lundy (Apr 5, 2004)

Tall Tales said:


> I spoke to about ten different shop owners who carried them and a few had them on their boats. One boat dealer was the one who seemed to have the most problems with them.


Thanks, I have two on my boat, had one of the first units shipping nationally in July 2018. I have been much more than satisfied with their capabilities over 2D sonar. Maybe someones the final opinion depends a lot on expectations going in,their style of fishing or species targeted.


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## Tall Tales (Aug 28, 2018)

Lundy said:


> Thanks, I have two on my boat, had one of the first units shipping nationally in July 2018. I have been much more than satisfied with their capabilities over 2D sonar. Maybe someones the final opinion depends a lot on expectations going in,their style of fishing or species targeted.


I would agree completely, I can see the technology working best for crappie and most schooling species. I like to hear both good and bad feedback before we make a decision on carrying new products. Thanks for the great feedback.


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## RMK (Feb 21, 2017)

waiting and hoping for humminbird to release their version of this technology. the new mega 360 would be nice... but it isnt live scope


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## Lundy (Apr 5, 2004)

RMK said:


> waiting and hoping for humminbird to release their version of this technology.


I think it is going to be a while, the patents are pretty tight I hear.


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## Wilddav (Apr 22, 2008)

Flathead76 said:


> If you think I’m trolling why do you keep throwing food?


Flathead is a perfect screen name. 
You don't use ratcheting tools either. Or ride in a car. 
Don't trash technology. It is the American way..
Btw, I love the video.


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## crappieluvr (May 8, 2015)

How does this work in 6 feet or less of water, like around boat lifts and docks. I’m interested in this system but the lakes I fish are shallow. 


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## rutty (Feb 5, 2007)

crappieluvr said:


> How does this work in 6 feet or less of water, like around boat lifts and docks. I’m interested in this system but the lakes I fish are shallow.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


It works awesome! You can see if fish are on on a lift, under a pontoon, or around a dock post. I shoot pontoons a lot and it has cut my "non-catching" time down. I go to Grand Lake St. Marys and instead of shooting the 100's of pontoons in Bayview I only shoot the ones that are holding fish. No time wasted on the other ones that aren't holding any fish. Also, on the Portage River I bring clients out to fish docks, we don't fish docks that don't have fish on them anymore. The fishing is more productive when you are know there are fish there. Now having livescope/panoptics don't make the fish bite, however it helps you locate them, but you still have to have the presentation they are wanting and they need to be feeding. Lundy can tell you about the spring tournament on Delaware, he was on some good fish, could see them on the livescope but they didn't want anything to do with feeding that day. I think there is a thread on here about that day.


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## bman (Apr 20, 2009)

Deer farmer-thanks for posting. I had wondered if the television ads that showed screen video were as good as they looked on TV. Guess they do!

I can see this tool being incredibly helpful in locating suspended crappie as you used it for. Also super helpful trying to follow schooling fish such as hybrids and white bass. I run Lowrance HDS units and I’m anxious to see what they launch for this application. I want it for sure though!

The side scan feature on my HDS units also really helps me locate offshore structure. But it doesn’t show the fish as clearly. It does really cut down the time searching for structure though. But once I locate structure, I then have to go on top of it with either regular sonar or downscan sonar to see if there are fish on the structure. I can’t say I always do this second step - I usually just fish known structure waypoints I have to see if there are any bass on it. 

Thanks again for posting. 


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## polebender (Oct 29, 2011)

bman said:


> Deer farmer-thanks for posting. I had wondered if the television ads that showed screen video were as good as they looked on TV. Guess they do!
> 
> I can see this tool being incredibly helpful in locating suspended crappie as you used it for. Also super helpful trying to follow schooling fish such as hybrids and white bass. I run Lowrance HDS units and I’m anxious to see what they launch for this application. I want it for sure though!
> 
> ...


We do the same thing bman. We’ll run the side imaging to find structure and then go back over it with the Panoptix. The side imaging is just as an important tool as the Livescope imo!


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## creekcrawler (Oct 5, 2004)

Holy cow, that is amazing! I don't want to know the cost though.

By the way, I only fish with a hand made ash pole I cut & made myself, using hand braided line made from my wife's hair with a horsehair tippet with a red ibis feather tied on hooks I forge myself.


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## Flathead76 (May 2, 2010)

Wilddav said:


> Flathead is a perfect screen name.
> You don't use ratcheting tools either. Or ride in a car.
> Don't trash technology. It is the American way..
> Btw, I love the video.


Who picked up your rock?


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## bman (Apr 20, 2009)

Polebender and deerfarmer-I forgot to ask...your video shows live down scan. Does panoptix also have a 360 view? I think it does because you mentioned being able to look under docks. How do you toggle to that view? Is it easy/simple?

I’d very much appreciate a video showing 360. That’s probably how I would use it most often. Thx


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## bman (Apr 20, 2009)

Ahhh...sorry. Re-read your posts and see Livescope is mentioned. Does it attach to your trolling motor? That is really something else. 


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## rutty (Feb 5, 2007)

bman said:


> Ahhh...sorry. Re-read your posts and see Livescope is mentioned. Does it attach to your trolling motor? That is really something else.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


You can attach to trolling motor, but then your trolling motor as to be pointed in that directions (which you don't want most of the time). We have ours on a separate device with a long handle on it so we can turn it left, right, straight, behind us etc and still have the trolling motor going along the shoreline.


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## basser53 (May 14, 2005)

Deerfarmer. Thanks for sharing this incredible video and all of the hours on the water with your fello OGF ers. I have learned from your experience.Thank You


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## Lundy (Apr 5, 2004)

bman,

Most of us that fish primarily crappie do not have the transducer mounted on our trolling motors. I had my first one mounted on my trolling motor and quickly took it off and mounted on a separate pole, both of mine are mounted on a separate pole as is Deerfarmers.

Livescope does not function as a 360 unit at all and I would not want it to. It is a 20 degree cone with tremendous detail and definition of everything within that cone. The transducer functions in two modes, forward and down view. You have two methods of switching between the two modes, one is to rotate the transducer one click (easy and quick to do with no tools) and it will automatically know it's orientation and switch over or to change to down view in the head unit menu. You lose a little coverage in downview if you don't rotate the transducer.

In the video Steve posted he is NOT in downview, that is the forward view. You get around 135 degrees of view in forward view, so you not only are looking forward at the distance you select but also seeing directly under the boat and backwards under the boat a little


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