Pacemaker Fishing Forum

Lowrance calls theirs Active Target. I have the full setup still in the box ready to install, and can't wait for it to show me some Hickories in April. Watching the pros on MLF point out a fish 75' off the bow, then cast and see the lure drop on the fish is all the incentive I needed. Pretty cool to see the fish turn to the lure, then grab it doesn't hurt either.

Scott Martin set a record on Okeechobee using it in shallow water for spawning/pre-spawning fish.  I will likely not buy it, but it is amazing technology.

Just like in the new cars.  No wonder there are so many accidents.  Or just get the virtual reality headset and immerse yourself.

All the screens, but maybe?

Bryan wrote:

I'm torn on it. I would prefer to never use it because like Ernie mentioned I think I would spend all day looking at a screen, which pretty much defeats the point of being outdoors. I absolutely love sight fishing and watching fish respond to my lures. FFS is basically sight fishing. I know I'd be glued to that stupid screen. Blah.

On the other hand, I don't want to be the only one without it. I don't want to be watching everyone else easily picking off fish that i didn't even know were there. I think within a few years, FFS will be considered standard rigging on every fishing boat, the same way depthfinders are now. I don't see myself getting it anytime soon, but I'm pretty sure one day the temptation will be irresistible.

And...maybe in the future like when the first CD player came out and cost 1k, the cost of these will come down too!  Pretty neat system for sure!

Bryan wrote:

backtofuturetoyota wrote:

And...maybe in the future like when the first CD player came out and cost 1k, the cost of these will come down too!  Pretty neat system for sure!

Exactly. Speaking of which, both the Garmin and Minn Kota live transducers are $500 off at BPS right now if anyone is interested.

https://www.basspro.com/shop/en/garmin- … cer-system

Cool.  If I was to get one it would be for my kayak since I don't fish off the boat much.  I'm thinking of a setup like a trolling motor for the bow.  Not a trolling motor, but a simple lighweight setup that drops into the water.  Not all of us want a motorized kayak!  These youtubers don't understand that.

Bryan wrote:

I don't want to be watching everyone else easily picking off fish that .

imho they  take the skill out of fishing.  The thrill of the hunt. 

Amazing what people spend to catch a fish with a brain the size of a pea

I get it. All the pros have embraced FFS. Even Scott Martin.

Just read where the average age of the last 4-5 big tourney winners is 27 tears old. Tech savvy for sure.

But...the winning bait of the recent Bassmasters extravaganza was...



...old school ball jig and soft swim bait.

oh boy thats a can of worms you have just opened.  just like politics that topic has created so much division lately.  let me start by saying this.  I have livescope and I absolutely love it.  just like everything there are pros and cons.  for myself, I am confident it makes me a better fisherman in multiple ways.  it is really cool to watch a fish eat your bait but it helps me to determine productive or non productive water and it helps me make to make quicker adjustments which helps me be more efficient.  but the most important way it helps me is by helping me to learn fish behavior.  I dont know how anyone can contest that but there are some die hard anti forward facing sonar people that do.  that being said, it is very easy to get drawn into it to where it becomes an inhibitor.  a lot of its strengths and weaknesses will depend on how you use it.  There are numerous anti forward facing sonar talking points and every single one to me in contestable with an (imo) winning counter argument.  the bottom line is that I dont think there really is a  one size fits all right answer.  fishing means different things to different people so the answer can always be different from person to person.  it really donesnt cost all that much either.  i dont know if I think any new advancements will be made with it by next season so assuming you already have a compatible graph, you can pick up a ffs system for $999 from bass pro and other vendors.  bass pro even has club member discount days pretty frequently where they offer 10% off.  you can get a garmin 10" unit AND livescope for $1800 if you get it on one of those sale days.  you can get a 9" screen for about $300 cheaper and you can get a 12" screen for about $500 more.  go ahead and give it a whirl.  be prepared to have some incredibly enjoyable days because it will blow your mind what you can learn and do with it.   on the flip side be prepared to have some incredibly frustrating days because contrary to the belief a lot of people have, it does not make fish bite and you can look at hundreds of fish that will ignore everything you throw at them.

I dont think its even limited to saltwater.  even bass fishermen can benefit a lot from it.  I also think the only reason its such a polarizing issue is social media.  everyone has to have a for or against argument and opinions on it.  both Rick Clunn and KVD love it.  they both as well as other old school pros say that they dont perfom well with it but that it has taught them a ton.  not only has it taught them a lot, but it shows them that a lot of what they thought they knew was flat out wrong.  Rick said that about 40% (I think) of what he knew was incorrect.  now while I dont agree with it, I can understand the controversy around tournaments.  to many it does get boring to watch people using and lately it has played a very big roll but I think it can be a good thing. a lot of people complain when the people fishing more traditionally dont have as much success.  Fishermen are some of the most superstitious and stubborn people there are.  when we believe in something or think we have something that works there is often no telling us otherwise.  referencing what clunn and kvd saying with so much of what they thought they knew was not true, I would imagine that statement is true across the board whether people want to believe it or not.  so here we potentially have one group working on some or a lot of bad information trying to push out another group that has technology that shows that some or a lot of that other groups information is incorrect.  why should we be pushing out the group that has the correct information?  compared to what ffs can show you old school fishing is more or less dumb luck.  flip on some docks and fish might be there or not.  they might like that color or not, they might like your presentation or not, you might be retrieving it in the wrong depth, etc.  when you are having major tournaments with a bunch of money and pride on the line do we really want to base the winner on dumb luck?  or do you want the better catcher win?  the guy that chased a fish and made several casts on a fish and watched it follow his bait and turn away numerous times until he adapted his presentation to a way that that particular fish wanted.  or the guy who was able to play cat and mouse with a school of bass and got a bite from fish by bringing out the competitive nature in the fish to compete against each other for his lure.  people knock the people using ffs and say crap like they cant fish any other way which in some rare cases may be true but that is a very insulting general blanket to throw over the younger generation, some of which are absolute powerhouses.   I understand the frustration people have with ffs but at the same time I absolutely dont think it should be banned and I dont know how to stop it from dominating while allowing it.  its just that weird place to be in the middle of an industry disruption.  often times when an industry gets disrupted by tech things are better on the other side but the road there can be quite challenging.  if what we want really is the more developed and well rounded anglers maybe they should allow it but change the way they score where its to where people need to catch with it and catch without it to have the best score.  im not sure how to achieve that but I think that is the direction we need to go to get the anglers with the most skill.

Ernie wrote:

...old school ball jig and soft swim bait.

Luv the non-painted jig head.  Saves allot of time making and the fish like it