®
Winter 2021
E
very few years, something comes out that
greatly enhances our fishing abilities. Power
Poles, side-scan technology, the Alabama rig – all of these, be it short or long term, sent significant ripples
through the industry.
Garmin’s Panoptix Livescope is the latest, and
according to professional anglers like Spencer Shuffield
from the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit. It may have truly
changed the game forever.
“Electronics will keep improving, and a decade from
now we will look back and probably say how bad what
we have now was,” said Shuffield. “Here’s the thing about
Livescope, though – from now on, the fish will never be
able to hide.”
It’s true. Livescope
has the ability to locate
fish – not just cover or
structure but individual
fish – like nothing before.
It’s why throughout this
past tournament season,
many times you heard
pros say fishing without
it was basically fishing for
second.
Of course, this
is probably not new
information to you at
this point. Yet, with
the technology being
so new, fishing with
it in the colder winter
months may be a new
phenomenon. Thus, we
talked to Shuffield – one
of the pros who has adopted the technology more than most anyone else – to ask how Livescope can benefit you during the toughest season of the year.
For him, it comes down to two things – precision and the opportunity to watch fish react.
PRECISION
In Arkansas where Shuffield lives, winter fishing centers around deep brush near the main channel with Alabama rigs and jerkbaits. Livescope hasn’t changed that fact at all.
What is has done, though, is made it so he can fish it far more efficiently and precise than ever before.
“Before Livescope,
you’d see guys pull up on
a spot where they know
there’s a piece of brush,
fan cast around five or six
casts, and if they didn’t
get anything move on,”
said Shuffield. “But really,
they never truly knew
if their lures were even
near the brush. Even if
they lined up on it and
knew the exact cast, the
never truly knew if their
lure got down even close
to the brush.
“Now, I don’t just
know exactly where the
brush is and how far
away from the boat it
is, but I can watch my
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