By James McManus
I know there is a lot of controversy in bass tournament circles over live scope type technology. Since adding it to my boat, I use it differently than most anglers. Guiding means trying to put folks on fish and with varying angling abilities (or the lack of,) and trolling is the best solution and least stressful for most folks. My unit is mounted on my trolling motor, so while trolling I simply turn it backwards and watch my spread in real time.
It is amazing what you find in the way fish react to baits. Deep water trolling this time of year means contour trolling around 40 to 70 feet. Our spotted bass are in schools, usually laid up on the bottom chilling. At Fontana there is so much bait with threadfins and blue backs they are never stressed to find meals. Watching both traditional sonar and live scope it’s amazing how often a few fish on sonar turn into a hundred or more on live scope.
We’ve been hitting points and mark a few fish on sonar, and when our baits pass over the point in the rear view live scope, the whole bottom literally lifts up and there will be a hundred or more fish swirling around the baits, with multiple hookups. The downside of this is that sometimes they are still curious, just not hungry. I feel like spotted bass are kin to cats in that regard; they chase just for the fun of it with no intentions of eating. It’s still fun to watch though. It’s also telling about how many fish are actually in our lake.
I remember in my youth at our farm pond I wished there was a way to see all the fish there. Well now it’s a reality, and the truth of the matter is, while technology is helpful, there are still times when fish just aren’t hungry. It would be boring any other way…. I guess. Let me know if you want to see this for yourselves.
Thank the Lord for our beautiful lakes, and we will see you later, Capt. James
Capt. James McManus owns 153 Charters. Give him a call for a great day on the water at (828) 421-8125