Anyone able to share some juice on bed scoping with perspective mode? I just got my butt whooped in a local derby this weekend fishing the same areas and same techniques as the top boats. It was my first time out with perspective mode and that's what made the biggest difference. I usually run my gain between 68-75 in forward mode, but I dropped it to 60-65 for perspective. This was letting anything that stuck up off the ground show up. One of the guys who spanked me said he ran it at like 75-80 in perspective and everything "was on fire" up except the beds. I saw one bed in the area we shared while he caught no less than a dozen fish in a creek half the size of a football field. 

 

What settings do you use in perspective (gain, interference, etc)?

 

Do your settings vary when bed scoping vs regular perspective?

 

Are their tricks to being more accurate with your casts/knowing where things are that you're seeing on scope?

I just want the fish to be off the beds! Spring is my least favorite time to fish for black bass 

This sure seemed like it would be fun if I could figure it out. Watched 4 of 19 boats bring in 20+ lb bags and report catching 20+ fish.

1 minute ago, JHoss said:

Watched 4 of 19 boats bring in 20+ lb bags and report catching 20+ fish.

 

I realize this was not the point of the thread but pulling large fish off beds, hauling them around in a live well, and then bringing them to a weigh in all for the sole purpose of competition while they're trying to reproduce goes against every fiber of conservation I have in relation to this sport.

 

It's one thing to target and catch them but immediately put them back.  But to totally interrupt the reproductive process isn't something I'm on board with.

Heck I’ve eaten their eggs……

2 hours ago, gim said:

I realize this was not the point of the thread but pulling large fish off beds, hauling them around in a live well, and then bringing them to a weigh in all for the sole purpose of competition while they're trying to reproduce goes against every fiber of conservation I have in relation to this sport.

 

It's one thing to target and catch them but immediately put them back.  But to totally interrupt the reproductive process isn't something I'm on board with.

I understand the concern. On this lake, like 95% of lakes with bass in the US, there are more than enough fish to maintain a healthy population. There's been plenty of studies done that show just a few mating pairs can restock a lake every year. So, while a few fish and genetic lines may have been disturbed, there was no impact done to the population as a whole. 

When this topic comes up I always go back to this graphic. I snapped a picture of this at the Tennessee aquarium.  It's was about turtles but says a lot about bass.  If something doesn't slow down the reproduction of bass we are all doomed.  Their numbers will reach 145 sextillion in just 9 years.  That's enough to choke out all life on earth.  I appreciate everyone that does their part to prevent this catastrophe.  😆

 

47 minutes ago, Tennessee Boy said:

Their numbers will reach 145 sextillion in just 9 years.  

This one makes me feel like I really should be getting a few more bites than I usually do.

What's wrong with me ?

A-Jay

9 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

This one makes me feel like I really should be getting a few more bites than I usually do.

What's wrong with me ?

A-Jay

Even crazier, my buddy Bobby always catches a turtle while fishing. He can’t help it

10 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

Even crazier, my buddy Bobby always catches a turtle while fishing. He can’t help it

Well stop throwing them at him why don't cha !

😁

A-Jay

He despises them , and I think they know it! Every time we see one he says “stay away from me you *%#&@“ yet they still end up on his line. One week he caught one dragging a Texas rig and another with a 2 ft deep jerkbait over 25 ft of water 

1 hour ago, Tennessee Boy said:

When this topic comes up I always go back to this graphic. I snapped a picture of this at the Tennessee aquarium.  It's was about turtles but says a lot about bass.  If something doesn't slow down the reproduction of bass we are all doomed.  Their numbers will reach 145 sextillion in just 9 years.  That's enough to choke out all life on earth.  I appreciate everyone that does their part to prevent this catastrophe.  😆

 

Ok, so maybe I hurt 3 out of 145,953,000,000,000,000,000,000 bass this weekend, but I did save 1 of 1 box turtles from the burn pile yesterday so I'm net 145,952,999,999,999,999,999,997 right?

I noticed they specified "box" turtles. A different species then a Western red painted or red eared, slider turtle. The common one we see in Texas. We occasionally see a Soft shell or Snapping turtle.

FM

 

Taking a page out of Swampy's play book. My sweetie has her TAR measurement. Turtle Approach Radius - How close she can get in her kayak before the turtle slides off of the rock, laydown or bank.

 

6 hours ago, Tennessee Boy said:

When this topic comes up I always go back to this graphic. I snapped a picture of this at the Tennessee aquarium.  It's was about turtles but says a lot about bass.  If something doesn't slow down the reproduction of bass we are all doomed.  Their numbers will reach 145 sextillion in just 9 years.  That's enough to choke out all life on earth.  I appreciate everyone that does their part to prevent this catastrophe.  😆

 

LOL, tell those aquarium folks to come fish my home lake........the amount of Turtles are off the charts.    

 

Now I totally believe that stat about Eastern Box Turtles.    They've made a fantastic comeback down here, but you'll still only see a couple a year and that's if you spend lots of time outdoors. 

Aquatic turtles seem to be a dime a dozen though.   

On 4/14/2025 at 12:40 PM, JHoss said:

There's been plenty of studies done that show just a few mating pairs can restock a lake every year.

Please share a link if you've got one, I'd like to check it out.

On 5/19/2025 at 9:58 PM, Vilas15 said:

Please share a link if you've got one, I'd like to check it out.

Most of my bass fishing info is consumed via podcast. I've heard the studies referenced multiple times- I know it was discussed on one of the Bass After Dark episodes featuring a couple biologist. I want to say it was Dr Mike Allen from UF who talked about it, but I can't guarantee that. If I come across the actual paper from the study, I'll pass it along. 

From what I've seen messing with mine and talking to others, you need one of those zero-degree mounts to really use perspective/scout mode in shallow water effectively.  The angle on the standard mounts doesn't give you much range in shallow water.  

 

I haven't invested in an aftermarket mount yet since I still sight fish with my eyes 👀 😅.

14 hours ago, Logan S said:

From what I've seen messing with mine and talking to others, you need one of those zero-degree mounts to really use perspective/scout mode in shallow water effectively.  The angle on the standard mounts doesn't give you much range in shallow water.  

 

I haven't invested in an aftermarket mount yet since I still sight fish with my eyes 👀 😅.

I have the Fish Obsessed Dominator mount, which has a ton of adjustability. It's helped since I got it a couple months ago. I'm with you, I still prefer to fish with my eyes, but there's certain conditions where the ol eye balls just can't contend with perspective mode 

I'm not the biggest fan of bed fishing but I will do it some. Personally I turn off every piece of electronics and look for a bed with a fish on it. 

FFS can't tell you what your eyes can. I can tell within the first  3 or 4 pitches whether or not the fish is worth my time.

I know some guys will spend an hour on one but I don't have that kind of patience.

We don’t use FFS to locate beds and as a rule we don’t normally go hunting for beds but they are pretty easy to see on a good side scan setup.  

I learned last year, the easiest way to scatter a bass off it’s bed was to point my FFS at them.  You need to keep your distance.

I use it a lot bed fishing and it is by far my most successful use of FFS.  It has almost completely removed the need to actually sight fish for me.  In fact, it also has shown me how effective deadsticking a bait is for bedding fish as you can real time see the fish's behavior.

 

I have a fishobsessed mount and an lvs32 transducer.  I have the mount in the horizontal/0 degree position in less than 5FOW.  Deeper than 5FOW, go one click down, which is about the factory angle for the garmin perspective mode mount.  

 

I normally fish forward mode in 68 to 75 on gain and use the amber, moss, or blue color palettes.  In perspective, I use amber only and 58 to 65 gain which are the only two true adjustments I make vs forward mode.  Too much gain and you basically flood your screen out if you have shallow grass.  Color limit on off, color gain on 60-65%, tvg off, noise reject off, and ghost reject off.

 

I also set radial rings and only go to 40 feet max when searching and when I see fish, I go down to 25 or 30 feet or so to get more clairity.  

 

I will caution that it is hard to use around a lot of grass that is near the surface.  Right now around us, we have curly leaf pondweed that is at or right below the surface in typical spawning areas so anything amongst those weeds are hard to find as the beam doesn't exactly get to bottom that well.  However, on sand flats, perspective is amazing for finding beds.  

 

As far as aligning goes, point your trolling motor to a target that you know is directly in front of you (like a dock piling) and see where it shows up on the graph.  For me, going from forward to perspective, I have to make one click clockwise to get it to align directly ahead.

On 4/14/2025 at 11:33 AM, Tennessee Boy said:

When this topic comes up I always go back to this graphic. I snapped a picture of this at the Tennessee aquarium.  It's was about turtles but says a lot about bass.  If something doesn't slow down the reproduction of bass we are all doomed.  Their numbers will reach 145 sextillion in just 9 years.  That's enough to choke out all life on earth.  I appreciate everyone that does their part to prevent this catastrophe.  😆

 

mmm...if you begin with one animal of each, it ends right there.  you do need two turtles to start.   unless there is turtle porn,...ah nevermind.  i lost the joke.  grrr.

On 5/29/2025 at 1:52 PM, dwtaylor said:

I use it a lot bed fishing and it is by far my most successful use of FFS.  It has almost completely removed the need to actually sight fish for me.  In fact, it also has shown me how effective deadsticking a bait is for bedding fish as you can real time see the fish's behavior.

 

I have a fishobsessed mount and an lvs32 transducer.  I have the mount in the horizontal/0 degree position in less than 5FOW.  Deeper than 5FOW, go one click down, which is about the factory angle for the garmin perspective mode mount.  

 

I normally fish forward mode in 68 to 75 on gain and use the amber, moss, or blue color palettes.  In perspective, I use amber only and 58 to 65 gain which are the only two true adjustments I make vs forward mode.  Too much gain and you basically flood your screen out if you have shallow grass.  Color limit on off, color gain on 60-65%, tvg off, noise reject off, and ghost reject off.

 

I also set radial rings and only go to 40 feet max when searching and when I see fish, I go down to 25 or 30 feet or so to get more clairity.  

 

I will caution that it is hard to use around a lot of grass that is near the surface.  Right now around us, we have curly leaf pondweed that is at or right below the surface in typical spawning areas so anything amongst those weeds are hard to find as the beam doesn't exactly get to bottom that well.  However, on sand flats, perspective is amazing for finding beds.  

 

As far as aligning goes, point your trolling motor to a target that you know is directly in front of you (like a dock piling) and see where it shows up on the graph.  For me, going from forward to perspective, I have to make one click clockwise to get it to align directly ahead.

This is an awesome rundown. Thank you! Sounds like I have the same mount and transducer as you so I'll play with these settings. The thing about how to adjust the angle based on 5 FOW is a good tip.

 

Do you feel like you tend to see the circular bed or the fish more? I've had no problem seeing brim beds and actual fish swimming around, but I've only seen a couple bass beds. 

 

Do you like the TVG, Ghost and Noise Reject turned off when in Forward mode too?

On 6/4/2025 at 12:37 PM, JHoss said:

This is an awesome rundown. Thank you! Sounds like I have the same mount and transducer as you so I'll play with these settings. The thing about how to adjust the angle based on 5 FOW is a good tip.

 

Do you feel like you tend to see the circular bed or the fish more? I've had no problem seeing brim beds and actual fish swimming around, but I've only seen a couple bass beds. 

 

Do you like the TVG, Ghost and Noise Reject turned off when in Forward mode too?

not all beds are circular in nature, but that answer has more to do with bottom composition.  In sand, both the bed and the fish stand out really well and that is typically where smallmouth like to spawn.  

 

In soft bottom around grass, it depends how well you see the beds themselves.  Typically I see the fish first and then zoom in to get an idea of how the bed lays out.  

 

I have TVG off almost always, and ghost and noise reject typically turned off or low.  I have found that having ghost and noise reject high you get filtering closer to the boat around beam intersections and I don't like that info being filtered out.  

 

FYI, I stand corrected on the depth.  I don't have my depth offset or whatever set correctly and I would say that 5 FOW is more like 3.5 FOW when i click one adjustment down from horizontal.