Posts: 284
Location: Eagan, MN | Guess I’ll weigh-in since I’ve been a Livescope user for a couple years now.
If you believe the DNR, barotrauma doesn’t become an issue until a fish is caught from deeper than 25’ to 30’. Where I fish, these summertime basin dwellers seem to hold in the 12’-18’ depth zone, most often around 15’. Rarely are they below 20’ in the summertime, so doubtful floaters are being killed from barotrauma. More likely they are being ‘over-loved’ after being caught, bleed out from being gill hooked, or over-stressed in very warm water. Some floaters are intentionally killed by the ‘anti-musky’ crowd that number far greater than you would think. There have always been summertime floaters on V. While we hate that these fish die at the hands of anglers, this is not a new phenomenon.
And, for what it’s worth, I’m getting a bite from perhaps 1:15 muskies found with Livescope - not exactly results that would menace the muskie population. My results were probably better before I had Livescope. While a game changer in many ways, Livescope might only be shifting the fishing pressure around in the system, bringing pressure to areas that have historically allowed fish some degree of sanctuary from angling effort. Hours spent plying open water with Livescope means that shallow fish - once the target of pre-Livescope anglers - are getting a break, not only from pressure but also from the inadvertent mortality angling invariably brings. |
