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  1. #1
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    panoptics - seeing your lure

    How many of you guys are seeing your lure on forward view with an LVS32? I am real green with panoptics and I have read it takes lots of practice but I can't seem to get a handle on how to make it happen or what settings help/hurt, etc. I have been throwing a metal vibrating bait and figured that would be easiest to see, maybe not?

  2. Member
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    #2
    sporadically for me - many / most times I am unable to see the lure - I have tried lots of different settings. Def learning curve here.

  3. Member
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    #3
    How far out are you wanting to see your lure? Start with something big. You should be able to mark a metal lure but I would say air filled lures mark the best. Larger floating crankbait.

    will be tough to mark anything real close to the bottom unless its straight down.

    also try it on a day when its very calm. Pretty hard to see a moving lure while the boats moving as well. Biggest challenge is keeping the lure well centered in the cone.

  4. Member
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    #4
    I was fishing last week and could see I quarter oz jig out to 40 easy. Like it's been said before if you center it in the cone you shouts see it.

  5. Member
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    #5
    I have seen lures on both PS22 and LVS32 that are at distances unbelievable. I hate seeing or experiencing things that I would even doubt if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes as some would accuse me of exaggerating. Still I think I can offer some things constructive and how to replicate the same thing.

    I think you will have better luck seeing your lures if you use Panoptix/LiveScope on a stick rather than on a trolling motor. At least I did. I had more precise and more efficient pointing control with those devices than pointing the trolling motor. The pointing at distance of 60-100 ft is very delicate. This was a consistent experience. I would recommend a Lucky Craft Sammy for the surface. For deep and under surface try a 2 1/2- 3 inch spoon. My favorite is a custom Mann-O-Lure but the off-the-shelf ones show up exactly the same. If you have your unit dialed in, you be pleasantly surprised.

    One of the most satisfying fishing trips I have made involved one fish. My brother and his son are really into bass fishing. He and I were walleye fishing but I told him I saw a big bass 120 ft away on LVS that was 20 ft deep. I made the cast and caught the fish. As I boated the fish, I said, "I guess you saw that!!" Of course, he said he did.
    Last edited by LWINCHESTER2; 10-07-2019 at 07:07 PM.
    My wife asks if I'm going to fish every day. I can't fish every day. Some days I might be sick.

  6. Charger Boats Moderator TOUCH OF CLASS's Avatar
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    #6
    Here’s something else that helps tie a crank bait crank bait along with say a crappie jig above it that way you will have two objects to see .We use 2 crappie jigs a lot just to help us pick out the lure over the fish .To night I was seeing my crank out to 70 feet very easily.
    Crappie jig I just watch for it falling on the screen at 30-40 feet out

  7. Charger Boats Moderator TOUCH OF CLASS's Avatar
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    #7
    Deleted

  8. Member
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    #8
    Have patience. One day soon you may encounter the “ perfect “ conditions to watch your lure as you retrieve it just like Garmins Marketing and the YouTube videos. Some of these “conditions “ may include water clarity that may be affected by such things as silt, algae and even pollen. I’ve even noticed that a sharp thermocline can affect the arrays so they don’t line up quite right which can distort the image. Perfectly calm weather in a stationary boat is critical as others have mentioned. Shallow water is key too (10 max)because anymore of the water column than that on your screen is going to make it hard to locate that “tiny” target on your screen. I’ve heard mentioned that large baits filled with air will show up better and it may for others but but air but denser targets show up better for me. Case in point is I can fish a 1/16th oz leadhead with a 1 1/2 inch crappie grub (soft and full of air bubbles) on it and a #10 Spro swivel 2 ft above it and that tiny swivel lights up like a Christmas tree while the jig not so much. Seems denser materials light up better. At least for me. Be patient and eventually it will all come together for you to watch your lure. After you’ve seen it a few times, you will move on and find that livescope is just another very useful tool in your aresenal. For me Livescope became the tool that allowed me to see how the fish are oriented to the structure and to figure out the pattern. Once I’ve done that, I just want to relax and fish and not stare at a monitor. When the fishing slows, I fire it back up and see what happened. Want to watch your lure easily? Get a PS30 for jigging or a PS31 or 22 for casting. The red blobs are much easier to see and follow. The first gen Panoptix seems to be disregarded now but in my opinion, are just as important of a tool as Livescope. Be patient, the learning curve is steep and the frustrations are many but the rewards are phenomenal. Master it’s use, ignore the hype/videos and use your imagination to taylor its functions to your style of fishing and you will be blown away with it. I was disappointed with it until I did just that. Now I love it.

  9. Member MonteSS's Avatar
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    #9
    Cone is too narrow for me to see a lure on forward

    Wacky Senko is easies to test with. Fairly big and sinks slow

  10. Member
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    #10
    The last couple times I’ve been starting to see my flies more and more. I’m a fly guy so I’ve been seeing wholly buggers (size 10 with a small bead in front) from about 50ft. I was amazed on my last time out that i could see a big unweighted streamer from 50ft out. This streamer was all bucktail with a size 2 hook.

  11. Member
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    #11
    The very first time I used a PS 21 for ice fishing . I knew I had found the surest thing next to dynamite. Of course dynamite is illegal all year long. But in ice fishing would not only be illegal but extremely stupid. But I digress.


    Partner takes me to unbelievable ( size and numbers ) bluegill pond. Tells me leave all that extra crap in truck ( locator , augers etc etc. ) all we need is bait 1 rod and reel and bucket to sit on and put fish in. Since its not that long of a walk I comply with his wish. Since it was warm out his previous days holes were still wide open. Sure enough we catch a few right away then nothing. Not being a very patient type I hoof it back to truck to get the Garmin and my auger. Five minutes after setting up the PS 21. It locates the position of the mega school. I send partner to drill a hole in the direction shown. He gets the right direction but overshoots by about 15 foot. I can see the auger come thru the ice on the screen. Second hole is smack dab in middle of the school. He hot foots it with his pole over to the good location. I see his first bite as I can see it on screen.



    Just in case someone thinks it was a fish story.

    Any other style of standard transducer we may or may not have found them. I can guarantee that any other standard transducer would not have found them as fast.
    Last edited by hays47; 10-15-2019 at 03:42 PM. Reason: add pic
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  12. Member
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    #12
    Turn color gain up to 100% was key for me not gain but color gain good luck

  13. Member
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    #13
    I can see drop down style baits easy. Cranks, spinner baits, etc are 50/50. I have found out I was looking much lower in water column than they usually are running.

  14. Charger Boats Moderator TOUCH OF CLASS's Avatar
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    #14
    Always watching my lure

  15. Moderator Fishysam's Avatar
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    #15
    i can see a 4" ned rig out to 60 feet. things that help is a flat calm day, and the slower sink rate so you when your learning can spot it easier. after a while you will know exactly how far away something is and you can place it at 47.2 feet away and look there on the display then its very easy

    settings, use green emerald (you will loose some defininition of bottom but green pops out to our eyes thats why night vision is in green)
    after you get sick of green if you do you can go into "color gain" (not sensitivity gain) and turn amber or blue up to 60-65% to improve lure vision but the bottom directly below will be a bit hotter yet
    Mercury 250 proxs 2B115089

  16. Member Hez's Avatar
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    #16
    I am always watching my lure too. I have learned where my foot pedal needs to be to get my lure in the cone. I usually can see a worm on the fall within about 20 ft or so....and can generally spot my crankbait or chatterbait a little further, on the retrieve. I use it often to confirm what depths my lure is running. It's also interesting to see how many fish follow it but don't bite....even when I give it a pause.

    Wishin' I was fishin'...


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