Bluegill Beds... Mega 360 & Mega Live Landscape Mode Comparison

[SLYDoggie]

I had my annual Bluegill fishing trip to Reelfoot Lake, in West TN, this past week and took a portable setup with my Apex 13, Mega 360, and Mega Live to use on the Jon Boat provided by the Fishing Resort... see the picture.

I was amazed by how well the Mega Live worked in Landscape Mode in the very low visibility water and 3 to 5 foot depth that the beds were in. Although the Bluegill at Reelfoot are large, for Blugill, they are still a small panfish species.

I'll be putting together a YouTube video but wanted to share a couple of short clips from a couple of the Sonar Recordings I captured.

This is a short recording of the Mega 360 view of a Bluegill bed area. Pay attention to the bed at 9:00. It really didn't look very active on the Mega 360.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1bMg...w?usp=drivesdk

Here is the corresponding Mega Live view of the bed at 9:00 on the Mega 360 view. As you can see, it was a very active area. You can see one of the Bluegill actively wallowing out a hole, fish chasing each other, and a variety of other interesting "stuff".

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1bJT...w?usp=drivesdk

I'll hopefully have the full video created in the next week or so and will post it when I do.

[Bjxds]

Interesting the difference between 360 and live. Looking forward to seeing more

[CatCanDoo]

Wow! Very cool video of fish activity in and around the beds. I’ve never used landscape but this makes me want to try it out.

[Nabbster]

Really interesting ML video! One question though. The range in ML video were really low when comparing to M360 video. But I assume you tried ML with longer ranges too? So what was the actual usable range with ML Landscape view?

[fishnfireman]

[SLYDoggie]

Really interesting ML video! One question though. The range in ML video were really low when comparing to M360 video. But I assume you tried ML with longer ranges too? So what was the actual usable range with ML Landscape view?

I shortened the range on the Sonar Recording Playback to zoom in on the bed. When I was searching for beds, I had both Mega Live and Mega 360 set to 60'. I would say that Mega 360 was more effective than Mega Live between 40 to 60 feet. When I was on a bed, I would shorten the range to 40 feet on both.

I would say that the sweet spot of Mega Live at that 4 to 5 ft depth was in the 10 to 30 ft range. Bottom line, Mega 360 is better at the "seek" and Mega Live is better at the "destroy".

[bobcoy]

Another great video Steve. The clarity on the 360 is super, but for fish location and attitude “Live” is the deal. If anyone has sat and observed a clearwater Gill bed you realize how to tell the difference between Active, Actively spawning and inactive fish can appreciate how live gives you the advantage of knowing in an unseen environment. Apex is definitely great for clearly showing
Actual footage without reflection and distraction. I suppose any brand unit that has Full HD and a direct output to video recording. Without 360 though. Nice stuff Steve!

[Madeintheshade]

Were you able to catch fish on the beds after getting in on them that close ?

[SLYDoggie]

Were you able to catch fish on the beds after getting in on them that close ?

Yes, but it was really windy the whole time we were there so we couldn't get the anchors to hold in most areas I had fished in previous years. We had to find new areas on leeward shorelines I had never fished before. It was also "killer hot" (in the upper 90s) so we only fished about 4 hours each morning and didn't even try to go out in the afternoons.

[Wormdunker]

Is ML capable of seeing bottom readings in deeper water or do you feel it only shows bottom in shallower depths? I tried Landscape for the first time this weekend and didn't get a bottom reading at all. I was in similar depths (6-8) over gill beds as well. Was there a trick in settings or ducer position to getting the bottom contour readings?

[Pelican]

Awesome videos thanks for sharing.

[SLYDoggie]

Is ML capable of seeing bottom readings in deeper water or do you feel it only shows bottom in shallower depths? I tried Landscape for the first time this weekend and didn't get a bottom reading at all. I was in similar depths (6-8) over gill beds as well. Was there a trick in settings or ducer position to getting the bottom contour readings?

The deeper the bottom, the more angled you have to have the transducer. I typically Troll so I don't want to see the bottom since it overshadows the lure imaging.

Also, I have much better results using the Down View rather than the Landscape View when the transducer is in Landscape Mode. For some reason, with Mega Live V1.150, Landscape View is very faint when compared to Down View. This isn't the case when plYing back a Sonar Recording... both Landscape View and Down View when playing back a Sonar Recording made with the transducer in Landscape Mode are of equal strength.

[Wormdunker]

Ok So you flip the transducer to landscape position, then tip it to more of a downward angle?

[SLYDoggie]

Ok So you flip the transducer to landscape position, then tip it to more of a downward angle?

Yes.

[Capw]

Ok So you flip the transducer to landscape position, then tip it to more of a downward angle?

I would turn it to the proper angle, then flip it to landscape mode position. The plastic mount has some flex to it and may pop.

[SLYDoggie]

I would turn it to the proper angle, then flip it to landscape mode position. The plastic mount has some flex to it and may pop.

This is a very good point. I never grab it by the flipped out transducer to change the angle position in Landscape Mode. I always grab it at the hinge. Better to be safe than sorry.

[Sylvanboat]

I haven’t been to Reelfoot in over ten years but it was the best bluegill fishing we ever did. I am so envious.

[Meleagris1]

Great comparison video. That is one of the issues I am trying to figure out when using Live - I feel like I have to get too close to the fish to "fish the fish" so I end up using it more like my M360 to locate drops, rocks etc.

[TXDonkeyHunter]

I’ve got some similar footage. One is the 360 with bluegill beds and the other is my LiveScope in perspective mode. I’m not sure how to upload something like this, but the Garmin is insane. You can see 5-6 lb bass swimming in the beds and we caught several.

[SLYDoggie]

Personal commitments have gotten in the way of getting this YouTube video created but I thought I would share another one and a half minute Mega Live video of a very active Bluegill bed:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1e47...w?usp=drivesdk