My Eye-Opening Conversation About Livescope With Someone Who Has Never Heard Of Livescope… 

Nys Largemouth was just broken 12.335lbs..NO LIVE SCOPE! Thank God

As a guitar player & as a fishing guide, I’m better from failure. Give me ambient & water temps, add weather reports & the season we’re in. I’m down for the challenges on the water along with the main reasons I’m out here. To enjoy mother nature & the gifts of freedom being alive doin what I luv.

Randy, I recently watched a RU-vid video of a couple guys using live scope on Lake Lanier. It came to me as I watched that they weren’t fishing, they were “targeting”. The weren’t using their experience, their knowledge of fish behavior and habitat. Fishing has always been a combination of art and science but there needs to be a balance. Live scope has taken much of what was art and replaced it with science and in so doing taken some of the anticipation, intrigue, and excitement away.

Your analogy of using drones to spotlight dear is a great analogy.

Thank you for this thoughtful piece.

I am a 65 year old bass fisherman. I have been bass fishing since I was old enough to stand and cast. I started fishing our local tournaments when I was 12 years old. I have had Garmin Livescope for 4 years now and absolutely love it. It has made me a more efficient bass fisherman. I no longer have to pound banks in hope there is fish present. I now pull up to a spot scan to see if fish are present if not I move to another location and do not waste time where fish are not present. I have also be able to find rock piles and brush piles that hold fish that I did not know were there. The argument that FFS destroys the fishery I believe is false. In one of our local lakes which is 5,600 acres in size we have 5 bass tournaments a week with at least 30 boats each and sometimes more than one tournament going on at the same time. At least 90% of the anglers are using FFS. What I have noticed is the schools of fish off shore are not diminishing in numbers but are getting harder to catch because the are becoming more leery of the baits being presented to them. To which I believe will happen in other lakes as well. I have learned to balance my fishing between off shore and traditional bank fishing. FFS is latest fishing tool to come a long and won’t be the last I cannot wait to see what innovations in fishing come next. I believe you are never too old to learn a new fishing technique. Watching BASS and MLF tournaments on tv have aided in me becoming better at using FFS. I have been a member of BASS since 1970 and will continue to do so. I do not find these tournaments boring to watch but as a learning tool to make me a better fisherman.

I had that exact conversation with my dad and he said the exact same thing

I agree with you but it's gonna be a hard thing to try and outlaw. Lots of money in the mix. Sponsorship from sonar electronics companies , among other things. It also takes the fun away from not knowing what's on the end of your line.

Sir Randall keep up the good fight NO FFS

Any time I explain FFS to non fishing friends and family, every single time their first reaction is That’s cheating! And then they laugh at the whole thing as being totally illegitimate sport for allowing it.

LIVESCOPE should be BANNED in ALL TOURNAMENT fishing 🎣 LIVESCOPE SUCKS!

I think we get it ..I watch this channel to learn more about techniques we all can use ...drop the FFS stuff We all get it and hate it but I just can't keep hearing about please..let's just learn and fish

To repeat a post, I told my wife about FFS. She doesn't know a rubber worm from a plug. Her reaction was the same as this attorney. She said that isn't fair. How other people think it is, I will never understand.

end spotlighting and forward facing sonar

That sound is Katy-dids, not tree frogs

It’s Cheating and Unethical to the fish !

A lot of the yearly fishing shows have trout fishing tanks - a swimming pool filled with trout that people dangle corn on a hook in front of. This is what LS and FFS remind me of. Maybe take the LS and FFS sonar people and let them fish in a tank like they have at Bass Pro Shops. They can see the fish and run some lures past them and see who can catch the most. Seems about the same to me.

They should allow the oldest way to get the most fish, dynamite! It’s real similar to live scope.

Randy,just curious have you actually ever tried using Livescope?

No two anglers are going to agree on this issue. Fishing has and always will be a challenge and a learning experience. I don't own, nor will I ever own this technology. I do know I've watched my last Bass Masters event. If baseball allowed a technology that told the batter exactly where the ball would be, would it be cheating, and destroying the sport?

Again all your opinion and others who don’t like it you assume it’s bad cause you don’t like it

TALK ABOUT LIVESCOPE: NYS BASS RECORD FALLS: USES FFS......PARTNER CONFIRMED IN A INTERVIEW WITH BASS THAT THEY SAW ANOTHER BIG BASS 100 FEET AWAY......The duo arrived at a weed line in 18 to 21 feet of water, and Britenbaugh lowered the transducer for his forward-facing sonar, an Elite 9 unit that complements the other Lowrance graphs onboard. “I’m still kind of old-school, so I just use the live view to follow the weed line,” explains Britenbaugh. “I don’t use it to look for fish.” (NOT ACCORDING TO HIS PARTNER WHO STATED THEY DID SEE OTHER BASS....LIVESCOPER RECORD. ) Sounds like the guy could write a book....his back story sounds ??????.....NICE BASS THOU!!!

Lolive had buddies on my boat and they see my helix 12s with side and down scan and i show them fish on it and they say THATS CHEATING😅. Anyone that haant seen tech ona boat thinks it.

I guess at this point..Dont come back to the ramp Zero! Or get 3.4% for 15 years at BP!

I'm sure you explained it in a fair and non biased manner so he could make a fair assessment 🙄

I tried to explain toxic Lead use to a so-called environmentalist and they were more concerned about their next line of toxic Lead fishing lures.

Randy seems to me you use and even have your own brand of polarized sunglasses. I will assume you use these so you can better see into the water. So you can better see what’s in the water like fish. They allow you to actually see a fish swimming, or on a bed, or chasing bait. You can cast your lure to that fish and watch whether it chases your lure or not. How is that different than FFS? That poor guy now only has one person’s opinion on FFS. If you said it’s like a video game you were lying. If you talked about how it’s damaging the sport, you’re lying. Any good angler does everything they can to eliminate the mystery. If they don’t they aren’t successful

why do I have a blue circle starrey thingie?

I know a brain surgeon that is at the top of his game, who is the smartest guy I know. He loves livescope. Now what?

KEEP IT COMING RANDY!

So what I hear from a large majority of anglers is that they don’t really use it to target individual fish and use it more of a tool to find isolated brush and watch fish behavior and I understand that but it gives you the ability to and that’s not what we are seeing on the main stage in BASS.

Question: Is using Lead fishing tackle ethical? Randy, do tell.

Tell ‘em MrRandy

Look at the winning baits on lake st Clair. Mostly just one bait. The whole tournament was guys looking down at a screen. I watched 10 min of it and turned it off.

I know a guy just like this he is a lawyer and bass fishes a lot, and he is for FFS a much more informed individual. He is Ken Duke, and you know him too Randy!

I think it kinda goes with the giving up a spot to tournament anglers mentality. Those guys are fishing for their families and a lot of money so they will use what they can to do it. That's a lot of money on the line. Also the electronic companies will make tons of money using this as an example which is why these tournaments won't ban them. What better advertisement is there to tell a guy he doesn't need years of experience to finish or win a bass master? For regular fishing FFS is fine, although it probably is damaging fish population but thats another story. For show casing skills it has no place there.

I get it...To make me feel better because people suck!?

People that buck Randy are the very people tht need FFS, face it, it instantly makes person that struggles to being super competitive ,and our sport is on temporary hold

I do agree there is a huge number of fisherman in our world today that doesn’t know about or care about FFS. However, there is no plausible chance this conversation was unbiased. 😂. You should’ve turned on your Garmin and showed him first hand.

What about the old graphs that were used before FFS. Was that not thought of as cheating by the fisherman that only had a Hummingbird flasher?

it at the very least is unethical and unsportsmanlike, the same as shooting a sitting ducks, or deer hunting at night, both of which are legal in IOWA, where regulations make it close to impossible to hold a fishing tournament!

Film 🎥 n your truck next time lol

What do you think aboutc 360

I have it but agree it's an advantage but you will never win against the graph companies. I wonder if any graph company would sponsor you?

Verified? Or agreed? Interesting..

I just took my boat. To have the. Graphs updated and my live scope updated to But than again I am onenof those guys that has a boat with a 200 hp motor so I am bad and ruining the sport anyways

They scan the lake with side imaging and then they go back and livescope those fishing so it's like double cheating 😢

Yep - every time I want an objective point of view I ask a LAWYER as well and consider it as fact. Remember - in logic there are always subjective derivatives with everyone, unless we are not human.

Im sure you are damn good at bass fishing as I have watched a few of your videos. Please stop complaining about FFS. Just so you know, fishing with FFS is not as easy as you make it sound. Just about every video I've seen on your channel, you complain about FFS. In this world, things are constantly changing and improving. My fear is that if you continue down this path, your knowledge will get lost in the mix. Constantly speaking negative about the sport you love is detrimental to its community.

If enough non FFS Pro’s would file a class action lawsuit against the BASS maybe they would wake up. It could be based on cheating and not fair play in the sport. It is keeping good anglers from making a living.

Can one make the same argument about 500.00 rods and reels. Not everyone can afford the really good rods or reels. Especially co-anglers, we're on a budget as is for tournament fishing. Just to be boated, but that's another subject altogether.

It’s absolutely cheating. You go fishing for the unknown, you go fishing because you might catch a fish or not. Randy did you know that Mississippi changed their crappie limits due to livescope??? Do a video on this just an idea

For competition fishing, it's cheating, no place in for it competition. Plain and simple!!!

Yes, of course it's cheating. But the point of these tournaments isn't "sportsmanship", it's *to make money* plain and simple. I mean that's why professional anglers are there - to put bread on the table. Y'all aren't going to make a dent in this just quietly *asking* the tournament operator to change. You are going to have to take collective action directly by either bargaining as a union, or forming your own co-op tournament.

Someone that’s never used livescope explaining it to someone who’s never heard of livescope. Neither of which know what they’re talking about 😂

KVD said if you don't have it you don't know

So, just point the FFS sideways then? Or down? Doing either would make it okay according to you, since that's the way the older units worked. Right? I mean, if the old sidescan and downscan stuff was okay then this is too if it's pointed in the same direction they were. Just as long as it doesn't point forward it's good, right?

What is that horrible background noise ??

Do you talk about anything else?

You are not a pro angler if the only way you can catch a fish is spot 😂lighting

I don’t see FFS as “cheating” if it’s allowed and these guys almost have to use it to compete. Having said that I gave up my dream of being a full time pro 20+ years ago. I fished BASS Invitationals when they came to the Midwest, Red Man and Central Pro-Am when almost everybody was a bank beater. I now fish out of an 18’ aluminum boat equipped with SI/DI at bow and console and still don’t think I am able to use it to its full potential. A buddy of mine from the Midwest days is now a guide on Kissimmee and Harris Chains in Florida where I now live. He has FFS on his boat and I’ve fished a few buddy tournaments with him. I can’t make heads or tails of what I’m looking at but I’m 65 years old and tech challenged. It’s not as simple to use as is led to believe. It does take some expertise to use it to its full potential just like SI/DI (probably more so). I’m now just a recreational fisherman that fishes a few local tournaments I cannot justify the expense, invest the time to learn if I could even understand it.

You think everything is cheating why don't you talk about sight fishing or floging this world is changing go with it