A Crappie Guide’s LiveScope Observations for Crappie Catching Success

Pay attention to what full-time crappie guide Dustin McDaniel has learned through use of forward-facing sonar, and chances are good you will catch more crappie, even if you aren’t using electronics or even fishing from a boat. 

Dustin McDaniel discovered the value of lessons learned from LiveScope early on and has been soaking up knowledge through observation ever since. McDaniel spends countless hours studying the interaction between crappie and baits while guiding for crappie in northeastern Oklahoma and competing in national crappie tournaments across the country.

Live sonar has been an eye-opener to all aspects of crappie behavior ever since Garmin introduced the TV-like imaging technology to recreational fishing in 2015. The imaging provides a real-time look into the underwater world with stunning detail, showing fish and their surroundings. Garmin accelerated the gamefish education even more in 2018, when it introduced LiveScope and forward-facing imaging. With it, anglers are seeing what’s ahead in a vertical column of water, even at a distance of several dozen feet, and are able to control the direction of the view. Crappie fishermen quickly recognized the benefits of this visual insight for fishing success, and they clamored for the product.

Today, most angler types and other top sonar manufacturers are also now fully vested in “live” imaging technology and offer a host of related products around it. And although you may never personally purchase a sonar unit with the forward-facing capabilities, or never fish from a boat equipped with such, or want nothing more than to enjoy the simplest appeal of fishing, we still believe you’ll find McDaniel’s observations from LiveScope use to be interesting and helpful in your future fishing pursuits, whether from boat, dock or shore.

Dustin McDaniel’s Top LiveScope Takeaways

Start in Channels

I’ll start my fishing 90% of the time in channels. Channels are to fish, what highways are to us. Get on the right “roads,” and you’re going to find plenty of crappie-catching action, even if you’re keying on single roamers, which is what I like to do.

Think of channels as being the interstate highways in a crappie’s world. They provide a path of travel. Therefore, there’s almost always some level of traffic going on. Just like it is for us and our travel, some highways are busier at certain times than others. With today’s electronics, you can quickly identify the busiest ones to focus on most during your day of fishing.

Stay Back

While being directly overhead doesn’t always spook crappie, I know for a fact my success goes up considerably when I’m able to present a bait from even just a few feet farther away from the fish.

Maybe all the early cane pole guys were on to something beyond just value. Lots of rod manufacturers now offer long, lightweight poles for this “staying off the fish” application, thanks to LiveScope. My rods of choice, Huckabee Rods, has 15- and 16-foot models that allow me to present a bait vertically to a crappie at a distance. The length provides a reasonable separation between angler and fish, for a stealthy presentation without my having to get too close.

Stay Above the Fish

Keep your bait above crappie, as much as 3 or 4 feet, until you can accurately lower it to the fish. Don’t place your lure level with the fish, and never go below.

On LiveScope, you can indeed see that crappie look and feed “up,” so that’s why I do my prepping above the fish. Many times, I’ve witnessed a crappie ignoring or moving away from a bait that’s positioned alongside it or that goes below. That’s why I start with my Baby Shad or Minnow Mind’R hanging about 4 feet above my target. Doing so allows me to make adjustments as needed, with room for error so as not to alert fish, until I’m aligned in the right position. That puts me in control of the presentation, and I know I get more strikes as a result. You can do the same thing when targeting cover from a bank or dock.

Match Mounting to Situation

For targeting open-water crappie, I want my “live” transducer mounted to my trolling motor’s shaft. That way I can scan back and forth with my trolling motor to pinpoint the fish’s left-to-right location in the sonar beam. Foot-controlled steering frees my hands for rod handling and lure presentation.  

LiveScope shows me depth and distance of a target, but not exactly where the fish is located in the view beam. I figure its position by constantly panning my trolling motor back and forth, while also keeping track of beam direction and “glow” of fish and lure. Once the two targets have a similar glow, I know they are close together. Then I refine lure position in relation to the fish.

For crappie fishing around brush piles and other stationary cover, mounting the “live” transducer to a side pole works better.  Doing so allows your GPS-anchored trolling motor to make continual adjustments in holding the boat, while the transducer pole can be rotated as needed for keeping an eye on the fish.

Look for Dimes

To identify crappie, look for round “dimes” on your screen. If you’re seeing any tail movement in the images, or much of any swimming action, those are likely fish other than crappie.

Crappie typically show up as distinctive round shape on the screen, and they just don’t move much. If you’re seeing a lot of visible swimming motion and fast-moving schools, chances are you’re seeing white bass, shad or something else. If any doubt, drop that jig.

Don’t Twitch” Your Bait

 I’ve seen too many crappie bolt from the movement. No action is better than the wrong action.

The Baby Shad and Baby Shad Swim’R quiver and are lifelike without you doing anything at all, so I do nothing until I know I have a crappie’s attention. Then, it’s all about SLOWLY reeling the bait vertically upward, and DO NOT STOP! Again, seeing is believing. Keep it moving steadily.

Reposition Your Lure

If your bait is close to the crappie, but a fish is not reacting, it simply doesn’t see it. Reposition the bait. Even if a fish is not hungry, once it sees your bait it’s going to do something: eat it, follow it, move away… While you can’t always make them bite, a reaction lets you know you were on target.  

Don’t Jerk Too Hard

A hard hookset set can easily tear the hook right through the large area of soft tissue around a crappie’s mouth, possibly costing you a catch of a lifetime. It works better to quicken your reeling or simply “pull” your rod into the fish and let that Crappie Pro jighead do its job.

Observe Reactions & Adjust

You’re watching what’s happening, right? If crappie repeatedly follow without biting, change your lure offering: size, profile and/or color. If you’re getting “short strikes,” downsize your bait. The Bobby Garland Itty Bit Slab Hunt’R has become my go-to soft plastic for many situations, including finicky bites in winter, and matching that hatch in summer.

When searching, Go SLOW 

As I’ve already said, you’ll see little movement from crappie on your screen, so you need to move slowly as well while looking for fish. If you think you’re going too slow, slow down a touch more.

Fish into the Sun 

I always fish into the sun, when possible. That means any shadows other than mine are in front of me, and we know crappie like the darker spots. Doing so also keeps my shadow, and my boat’s shadow, from potentially spooking fish.

Practice, Practice, Practice

It might seem you can simply add a LiveScope unit to your boat and immediately start catching more crappie, but it doesn’t work that way. I have tons of time invested on mine, yet I learn something new with every outing. Forward-facing technology is a tool and the best way to get better with it is through practice.

Spend some time with it in an area where you know what’s below and learn how those things looks on your screen. Also, practice presenting your lure to a stump in relatively shallow water. It’s a great way to learn how to bring the bait and target together on your screen, and then be able to precisely lower the bait into the sweet spot you’ve picked out. I’m confident you’ll find the practicing to be almost as much fun as the fishing.