# Should garmin panoptix be illegal in Michigan?



## jasburrito (Sep 18, 2007)

I have been watching a bunch of ice fishing videos. I noticed three pro ice fisherman mention how this could be a dangerously powerful tool. I agree. Is the dnr aware of this devise. If the price goes down in the next however many years the fish will not stand a chance. I also learned they may try to link these powerful tools together wirelessy to draw a picture of the schools of fish. See were this is headed. So in time they will just sell an app that shows all the fish? 



. But whatever. (Just noticed some tournaments have already made it illegal)


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## andyotto (Sep 11, 2003)

I understand your concern but In my opinion it’s not going to change much. It’s already easy to get on fish. Problem is and always will be getting them to bite. To me fishing pressure on small lakes is a bigger issue. Great Lakes have other bigger issues.


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## sureshot006 (Sep 8, 2010)

Limits are limits.


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## piketroller (Oct 24, 2016)

There have been guys for 5+ years with humminbird 360 mounted to their quads. Drill a hole, do a full 360 degree sweep out to 150 feet, mark the biggest school with a waypoint, drive quad to the waypoint, drill new hole, catch fish until they stop biting, and repeat.


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## DirtySteve (Apr 9, 2006)

I watched a bass tournament where scott martin had pan optics on the front of his boat with a giant screen next to him. He had bass schooling all around him in this area chasing these large bait balls of tiny minnows. He could watch them dart all over and he would point and predict where they would surface. He was right every time. The funny part is all it seemed to do was frustrate him. He knew exactly where the fish were, he knew what they were eating......but he still couldnt get them to bite consistently. The issue he had was the bait the bass were eating were really small. The pros in the tournament didnt have anything in their box that would replicate a tiny bait fish and nothing else was triggering a strike. 

I see the same thing fishing the river. Guys all around me marking tons of fish and nothing biting. Not saying pan optics isnt great because it is. It just might not equal the level of success you are thinking it will.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Michigan Sportsman mobile app


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## Divers Down (Mar 31, 2008)

Does it make them bite??? Find me that machine and I’ll buy. 
I’m trying to simplify my activities, a Vex is far as I’m willing to go.


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## jbird68 (Dec 8, 2005)

Just because they can find and see the fish in real time does not mean they will catch them. And they still have to follow the state creel limits. I don't see an issue with it other than little people like me who can't afford panoptix being at a disadvantage in a tournament. 

jbird68


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## TK81 (Mar 28, 2009)

Think about the guy with a typical flasher or sonar. He drills 40 holes in a 15,000 sq ft area in an effort to see some fish. With the panoptix (or a bird 360), he can drill one hole and see the same thing over a 17,500 sq ft area. Seems like an pretty big advantage to me...at least when fish are up off bottom. I've actually tried to to this with my vexilar transducer with little success.

A guy looking for suspended gills or specks over a big featureless basin will find fish or rule areas out in a heartbeat. Could mean the difference between a bucket of bulls / slabs and a skunk if a guy only had a couple hours to fish. Of course, you still gotta get them to bite.


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## Gamekeeper (Oct 9, 2015)

I don’t see what the big deal is.

Fisherman all across the Saginaw Bay watershed coordinate their efforts via the secret exchange of numbers over cell phone.

Hunting the schools of large walleyes in an electronically coordinated fashion is just a new take on it. Perch too.
I’m sure the native peoples did the same thing with the tech available to them.


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## piketroller (Oct 24, 2016)

Gamekeeper said:


> I don’t see what the big deal is.
> 
> Fisherman all across the Saginaw Bay watershed coordinate their efforts via the secret exchange of numbers over cell phone.
> 
> ...


One puff of the smoke signal = dink’s, two puffs = jumbos, and no puffs means the fire melted the ice and everyone is doing an involuntary polar plunge. Things haven’t really changed much.


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## Gamekeeper (Oct 9, 2015)

piketroller said:


> One puff of the smoke signal = dink’s, two puffs = jumbos, and no puffs means the fire melted the ice and everyone is doing an involuntary polar plunge. Things haven’t really changed much.


I was thinking about how they drove whitefish into the shallows, harrying them to exhaustion in the shallows.

Sustainable means sustainable.
It unfortunately relies on integrity.


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## sureshot006 (Sep 8, 2010)

Divers Down said:


> Does it make them bite??? Find me that machine and I’ll buy.
> I’m trying to simplify my activities, a Vex is far as I’m willing to go.


Um, have you seen the musky jigging panoptix video?! Doesnt make them bite but its saweet!


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## John Koos (Dec 20, 2017)

piketroller said:


> There have been guys for 5+ years with humminbird 360 mounted to their quads. Drill a hole, do a full 360 degree sweep out to 150 feet, mark the biggest school with a waypoint, drive quad to the waypoint, drill new hole, catch fish until they stop biting, and repeat.


Word about the bird!


Sent from my iPhone using Michigan Sportsman mobile app


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## Thirty pointer (Jan 1, 2015)

My fishing buddy finder i have had for 20 something years does the same thing these can do .I drill a hole do a circle and find the fish then use my humming bird flasher to fish the best area .


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## jstfish48162 (Mar 8, 2003)

Panoptix
Hydrowave
Downscan
Aquaview
Sidescan
Etc Etc Etc
All have been and some still are used in FLW and B.A.S.S. Tournament competitions as well as every day weekend anglers. At the days end anglers still have to get the fish to bite....plain and simple....Just my opinion.
As mentioned above... the Scott Martin example is priceless....one of the top 5 anglers on the FLW Tour with every possible piece of equipment known to the fishing world and he still couldn’t get the fish to bite!!!!


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## the roofer (Jan 14, 2009)

I think the only thing that should be illegal...Is they shouldn’t let u drive a motorized vehicle if u spend 2000 on a fish finder..something is definitely wrong with your brain..


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## Gamekeeper (Oct 9, 2015)

Kind of like the movie “Reign of Fire” with the dragon hunter’s.


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## june bugger (Oct 28, 2015)

Some guys had one today on inland lake, me and my son took him to school and gave him a good whooping. Said he never caught one fish lol Almost felt sorry when I caught two gills while we were talking


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## sureshot006 (Sep 8, 2010)

june bugger said:


> Some guys had one today on inland lake, me and my son took him to school and gave him a good whooping. Said he never caught one fish lol Almost felt sorry when I caught two gills while we were talking


It goes both ways. On wixom I caught something like 60-80 gills/crappie one morning and the 2 other guys I was with caught a grand total of 1.


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## plugger (Aug 8, 2001)

I am not sure I will ever buy one but also not sure I wont. When it comes to ice fishing I have a quad that is pretty big money, an enclosed trailer, multiple portable shanties, electronics as in graph, gps, chart plotter on quad, vexilar, so if something works I will probably buy it.


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## piketroller (Oct 24, 2016)

plugger said:


> I am not sure I will ever buy one but also not sure I wont. When it comes to ice fishing I have a quad that is pretty big money, an enclosed trailer, multiple portable shanties, electronics as in graph, gps, chart plotter on quad, vexilar, so if something works I will probably buy it.


Ever seen anyone use a compact tractor with an auger mounted on the three point hitch? Someone’s had to do that before. Or maybe put a ripper on the back and cut a trench in the ice so you can come back and troll.


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## Scout 2 (Dec 31, 2004)

I have always wondered if you could take the transducer on the vex and mount it in a angle on a pole a so you could see off sideways


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## sureshot006 (Sep 8, 2010)

Scout 2 said:


> I have always wondered if you could take the transducer on the vex and mount it in a angle on a pole a so you could see off sideways


Yes but bottom will show as closest point on the cone.


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## Scout 2 (Dec 31, 2004)

But you should still be able to see if there are fish in the cone area outside of where you are fishing. It was just a thought. Several years ago before the weedkill off on L Missaukee I had an area that I was getting a good number of fish on a regular basis. Neighbor came up and wanted to go fishing so we drove out there. I had the hoes marked on my GPS but to make dure I placed a big piece of frozen slush that fell off a truck by one hole. We set up and he was 5 foot away. I was hauling fish out right and left and he would get one once in a while. I gave him a hook the same as mine and we made a hole 3 foot from mine. He caught more fish but still not as regular as I was Just goes to show you that just because you know they are there doesn't make them bite. I caught a 15 1/2 speck that day and I thought he was going to have a heart attack


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## HuronBrowns (Apr 26, 2016)

I've had the unit for about a few months already and think it was a good investment for my single ass. Is it necessary? No. But it sure is very effective if used properly. Banned? I don't think so its just a more improved flasher if you really think about it. Add flasher DI and side scan and you get panoptix. I believe the price is justified because it has literally everything into one unit. Again not necessary but a very fun unit to play around with.


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## taizer (Feb 6, 2009)

Once the price drops to 1500 I'll buy one


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## jasburrito (Sep 18, 2007)

I have watched more vids of technology. Quotes from the pros ( my mind was blown. Boom.) So i got snowmobile,quad,icehouse,propane auger,electric auger this that and the other. But now i am at a huge disadvantage with someone with this tech. Sad. Got to get me one. Or i will be trying to catch yesterdays fish. THE NON BITERS. I will just leave this here. 



. Thanks for the chat.


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## HuronBrowns (Apr 26, 2016)

Maybe should be illegal


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## sureshot006 (Sep 8, 2010)

Scout 2 said:


> But you should still be able to see if there are fish in the cone area outside of where you are fishing. It was just a thought. Several years ago before the weedkill off on L Missaukee I had an area that I was getting a good number of fish on a regular basis. Neighbor came up and wanted to go fishing so we drove out there. I had the hoes marked on my GPS but to make dure I placed a big piece of frozen slush that fell off a truck by one hole. We set up and he was 5 foot away. I was hauling fish out right and left and he would get one once in a while. I gave him a hook the same as mine and we made a hole 3 foot from mine. He caught more fish but still not as regular as I was Just goes to show you that just because you know they are there doesn't make them bite. I caught a 15 1/2 speck that day and I thought he was going to have a heart attack


If the edge of the cone hits the bottom at a shorter distance than a fish, you won't see it. I'm sure it would work to some extent but its not ideal.


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## Divers Down (Mar 31, 2008)

My Canadian fish finder works great...binoculars.


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## Lumberman (Sep 27, 2010)

You guys realize they have cameras you can drop down the hole and literally watch the whole thing go down on a big screen TV? 

Who cares. Lol


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## Divers Down (Mar 31, 2008)

Lumberman said:


> You guys realize they have cameras you can drop down the hole and literally watch the whole thing go down on a big screen TV?
> 
> Who cares. Lol


We have a winner!
I remember when those came out and was gunna ruin fishing for everyone else.


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