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Using Livescope to Target Sac-a-lait
 Keith Lusher
No other species of fish crosses out of the fishing category and into the hunting category more than the elusive sac-a-lait. These fish hardly ever make themselves attainable for the newcomer to the sport, hiding in depths of over 20-feet sometimes. They are highly temperamental reacting to conditions such as moon phases, tide, water temperature, and sunlight. Add to it that their meat is the most sought after of all freshwater species and your left with a group of anglers that are well seasoned, having decades of knowledge needed to catch them.
Tim Bye hasn’t been fishing for sac-a-lait long. He’s lived most of his life in Luling Louisiana where he’s chased speckled trout, redfish, and bass. Two years ago things changed for Tim in that he moved to Folsom. The geographical change forced Tim to learn a new body of water. He started with the Tchefuncte River searching for bass but Tim noticed numerous anglers returning with boxes of sac-a-lait. He was intrigued and started learning how to target the challenging fish. As he learned more about the river and how to fish for crappie he found himself using his electronics more than ever. It became obviously clear to him that if he was going to target these fish year-round he would have to up his game in the sonar department.
Tim researched numerous devices and reached the decision to purchase what is perhaps the most powerful fish-finder that is available to consumers. It’s called Panoptix and it features something called Livescope, a transducer that is mounted on the bow that operates comparably to your trolling motor. It scopes the water up to 200 feet down and 200 feet away. The display appears on a screen that is mounted on the bow so that the angler can look down and see as he’s operating the transducer. For the last year he has been using it to target sac-a-lait and has learned a lot from watching how the fish react. Tim says the most important thing that he has learned is that sac-a-lait never go down to bite. “When I find sac-a-lait on the screen they are always suspended at a downward 8 o’clock position,” Bye says. This is because crappie have eyes that are positioned towards the top of their heads making it difficult to look down. “All of the strikes I get come when I’m lifting the lure above the school of fish. They never hit it when it falls beneath them,” he says. 
Tim stares at the screen as he hovers a jig over a scool of sac-a-lait
Another thing he’s learned is that these fish won’t go out of their way to strike the lure. “Sac-a-lait hold tight to structure and if you don’t put that jig within a foot or two of where they are, they won’t touch it!”
I had the chance to make a trip with Tim to witness the Livescope in action. We launched at the 4th Avenue boat launch in Covington and our first stop was a patch of floating grass mixed with lily pads. He pointed out the fish that were underneath the pads however, we were’t able to reach them with out jigs. “That’s another thing I’ve learned with this thing is that these fish have plenty of places to hide in this river!” 
Tim points out a school of sac-a-lait holding tight to a set of pilings
Our next stop was a set of pilings on the end of the wharf. Tim approached the pilings and pointed out a school of sac-a-lait where the piling met the bottom of the river. I couldn’t believe the detail of the fish as I was looking at the screen. He lowered his jig down and as it got within a foot of the fish I saw them all turn up to look at it. then one shot up and grabbed it. Tim set the hook and I watched the screen as I saw the fish being pulled away from the bottom and up into the boat.
Bye catches the biggest slab of the day - a 15" crappie
After watching this I took a shot at it. I lowered my tube jig down and watched it as it approached the group of fish. As it neared the school they looked up and one approached, stopped within 2 inches of the lure, then struck. I can honestly say, I have never set the hook on a fish that I never felt, but I did this day. After watching the screen and seeing the fish strike I set the hook and connected! I reeled the fish up and slung it onto the boat.
The rest of the day was spent stopping at deferent spots that Tim has logged during the past year of fishing the river picking up 2 to 3 fish at every spot. We ended the day with 30 fish. I learned a lot about sac-a-lait and how they react to structure and lure presentation and can honestly say that the 6 hours spent on the river with Tim using Livescope was an unexpected learning opportunity. I look forward to our next trip in Spring to learn about their spawning habits.
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 Keith Lusher
I created NFR.com in the spring of 2012. Since then it has helped link Northshore fishermen to valuable information and has filled the void of absent information on the web about fishing on the North Shore of Lake Pontchartrain. Northshore Fishing Report has morphed into a brand name and can be found not only on the web, but on radio and newspaper. As NFR grows I will continue to work hard at keeping NFR local focusing on local anglers, reports, seminars, and fishing tournaments in St. Tammany and Tangipahoa Parish. I hope you enjoy the website and If you have any questions please email me at: Keith@NorthshoreFishingReport.com
Look for the Northshore Fishing Report publication every Thursday in The Slidell Independent Weekly Newspaper!
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Captain Andy Jones of Wicked Charters joins the studio by phone to talk Causeway fishing and the improved saltwater bite in Lake Pontchartrain.
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