Max Wilson explains how he gets the most out of his Garmin Livescope when fishing shallow water.
The first setting to consider is the Forward Range (the distance your Garmin is reaching in forward view). He keeps his forward range very short (up to 40 – 45 feet in sand and as much as 55 feet feet in clearwater), he then breaks it into 2 zones that he uses to dissect the water and setup for a good cast. His zones are:
- Contact Zone: This is where Max first gets into contact with that fish before setting himself up into the “Kill zone”. This is generally when he identifies the fish in 40 + feet from the transducer.
- Kill Zone: This is where he sets up his boat to get a good cast (when the the fish is generally 20 to 35 feet from him – this is when he targets the fish).
- Anything closer within 20 feet of the boat he finds spooks easily.
Next let’s talk about adjusting the settings for the best picture. If your image is not clear, Max recommends adjusting the following settings:
- Gain: If you’re having trouble seeing things, turn your gain way up (particularly over hard bottom). If there is excess noise, of course turn the gain down.
- Ghost Reject and Noise Reject: Medium is usually a good standard to set these at for most situations. However, what works for you is subjective, but adjust as needed and see if it cleans up your view.
Appearance: For the appearance setting, it can be very subjective. The appearance settings are the color combinations you see on your screen. Max prefers Amber as it gives him the clearest picture.
What to Do About the The Garmin Ghost Tree
Often times, you may see a “ghost tree” on the Garmin when fishing in shallow water. This looks like you are over never changing structure, however, in reality it’s an interference issue caused by settings or a faulty cable. The best thing you can do on the water is to simply turn up your Ghost Reject settings. Often times, this issue will clear out in deeper water.
