Q&A AI
Is forward fishing sonar bad?
Based on the information provided in the video by Milliken Fishing, it appears that forward-facing sonar, such as LiveScope technology, has not had a significant negative impact on fish populations, including bass, crappie, and catfish. The data and studies mentioned, including those from various Department of Natural Resources and the Arkansas Fish and Game Commission, suggest that there hasn't been a noticeable decrease in fish populations or a dramatic change in tournament fishing results attributable to the use of forward-facing sonar.
Additionally, the video highlights that anglers using forward-facing sonar did not harvest a significantly higher number of fish compared to those without the technology. It's also mentioned that crappie, for example, reproduce quickly and that larger crappie are not as crucial to the population dynamics as smaller, more reproductive individuals.
In the context of bass fishing, the use of forward-facing sonar allows anglers to locate and target fish more effectively, but according to the studies and data referenced, it has not led to overfishing or a decline in bass populations. As a pro bass fishing guide, it's important to stay informed about the latest research and technology impacts on fisheries to ensure sustainable fishing practices. If you have any specific concerns or need more information about how sonar technology might affect your local fisheries, it would be wise to check with your local Department of Natural Resources or fisheries management agency for the most current data and guidelines.
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Transcript
Video16:55
19:37
Proof that Forward Facing Sonar has ZERO NEGATIVE EFFECT on Fisheries across the Country... by Milliken Fishing → see how forward facing sunar has affected Tournament Fishing results uh it was simply showing all the data and letting us draw conclusions but most importantly they didn't have any type of statement that suggested that uh The Last 5 Years there's been some type of huge decrease in the population or some crazy catch rates that's hurting the population anyway due to this forward- facing sonar now what I just brought up was that crappie Anglers uh especially tournament copy Anglers adapted forward- facing sonar earlier than bass fishing tourament angers for the most most part and so let's talk about crappie populations so one big argument from the forward facing sonar detractors is that other species like crappie will be decimated much much quicker and they're already seeing the the effects or they've heard that there's the effects negatively on the population of crappie because they're a lot more apt to just roam around out there in the open water and get caught and honestly someone that that you've seen fish these these crappies down here in Texas with forward facing sonar it's something that concerned me or at least it drew my attention and I thought you know we're probably going to see some negative impacts on these species because they're easy to catch they're easy to Target and people that are catching them aren't doing Catch and Release like they do in bass tournaments they're eating them you
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Video01:14
03:55
Proof that Forward Facing Sonar has ZERO NEGATIVE EFFECT on Fisheries across the Country... by Milliken Fishing → of the top level tournaments and the local angling tournaments weights have not increased since the Advent of forward- facing sonar I talked to people at boat ramps and in my comment section that say that crappy populations and and fish across the country have been estimated by forward- facing sonar as well no that's actually incorrect as well after speaking with several different Department of Natural Resources from States across the country not only did they find that black bass populations have not been affected negatively or positively from forward- facing sonar but also crappie and catfish populations as well you can't trust anything the Missouri DNR tells you I've been fishing these Lakes for 50 plus years and I have all the information gathered from the opinions in my comment section the only reason we're seeing young Bassmaster opens anguish qualify for the Elite series is because of forward facing sonar actually 2023 was an outlier if you look before then there was a lot of fluctuation in the ages of the average qualifiers I don't like that we're pricing the average working man out of the sport of bass fishing Liv scope's too expensive for the young angler to go out and purchase I mean you have an $80,000 plus bass boat you promote jerk baits that cost $25 plus and you just came out with the signature jig that's $10 a piece so what are we talking about here yeah
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Video06:24
09:08
Proof that Forward Facing Sonar has ZERO NEGATIVE EFFECT on Fisheries across the Country... by Milliken Fishing → the Missouri DNR were able to tell me that they had no significant impact um positive or negative since forward facing sonar came around then and you know 2017 2018 and a lot more Anglers have been using it since 2021 uh came it's become a lot more mainstream obviously they didn't have any statistical um scientific research um to provide me at that time to to kind of show that it's kind of an ongoing thing with both of those those programs but the very high up people within those organizations were able to tell me that there was no significant data but good news was Arkansas did they've done a lot of studies and they I'm going to give you some of those studies for for multiple species and show you what I'm talking about here but one gentleman that works for the Arkansas fishing Game Commission provided me with this data that's great it's Tournament results from the last 33 years and of course the comment section and and the talking from from this old fisherman was that all my data was was just given to me and here said and and whatever and it was just a skewed number and just talk to fisherman at the boat ramp well actually it's what they caught it's not you know what they told you they caught or how big they estimated their size their fish no it's like actual data from from several Lakes
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Video23:44
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Proof that Forward Facing Sonar has ZERO NEGATIVE EFFECT on Fisheries across the Country... by Milliken Fishing → near as much as it impacted those two variables which is I think something that's interesting this isn't an all-encompassing study um but it was a one of the few studies that have been done and it's about a large specimen like a blue catfish okay so to kind of conclude on this I think it's safe to say that forward- facing sonar has not had some type of crazy negative impact on these populations of bass crappie and catfish that a lot of people that are let's just say it trying to get a lot of views and clicks with with negative topics um would lead you to believe it's also not had a negative or or positive effect on the tournament results I'm actually going to make a part two to this series where we talk about the effects statistically not the opinions of how many people watch and I'm I talk to all these people that aren't going to watch Pro Fishing anymore until they get live sonar off there um or the idea that you can't compete at the top level if you're an angler with or without it in part two I'm going to provide the statistical analysis um from my statistics gathered from the angler of the year of the last several years the top 20 finishes and of Mr Ken Duke who has compiled so much data um since the beginning of the Elite Series and other
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Video19:27
22:15
Proof that Forward Facing Sonar has ZERO NEGATIVE EFFECT on Fisheries across the Country... by Milliken Fishing → forward facing sonar is that people are able to Target bigger fish and especially bigger crappies specifically with that technology and so it's going to hurt the bigger fish population and it hasn't been that way at all um Anglers without it actually brought in heavier fish but it wasn't anything that was significant to the study and most importantly more fish were not removed from the fishery forward- facing sonar anguish kept about 42% of their catches non forward- facing sonar angers kept about 64% so the difference for the trip was only about three more fish harvested um than people without Ford facing sonar and so there was no significant evidence that forward facing sonar was helping or or hurting the crappie population and I'm always uh interested in the efficacy of a population and so it also kind of opened my eyes a little bit when I kept talking to the employee that I spoke with the Arkansas fishing game that um he said about 65% of crappie die each year and they get replaced by the young of the Year very very quickly so crappie reproduce extremely quickly as a lot of people know that that manage ponds in Lakes he said that oldest crappie that are over 12 in that um people are more likely to harvest they're less effective at reproducing than smaller fish so that's something I learned that the giant crappie um are actually not super important to the population Dynamic uh
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Video20:51
23:41
Proof that Forward Facing Sonar has ZERO NEGATIVE EFFECT on Fisheries across the Country... by Milliken Fishing → anything over 12 in are not that important um not as important as a smaller fish because the smaller fish reproduce much quicker so so basically in Arkansas at least uh where a place where crappie fishing is extremely popular the population has not been affected in any way at all let's look at another study because one uh sentiment of people that know that forward facing sh sonar is bad and should be banned is that the larger fish are going to be affected drastically more than the smaller fish cuz you know big fish like catfish or or or paddlefish or are so much easier to see on the screen and because of that people can Target them and catch them substantially easier and their big population so these big fish are going to get wiped out so there's actually been a study now that was just published here in September of 2023 about the effects of live Imaging sonar on blue catfish angler success perception and Behavior now I'm not personally going to pay the uh the $12 to go online and look at it because they have an abstract of this results of this survey this U this study right here so basically it it says we organized a blue catfish angling experiment where 16 Anglers used a Liv scope and 16 Anglers did not the experiment was followed by dissemination of a survey to measure angler experience and skill measure
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