Underwater cameras

[rspahr]

Has anyone used the underwater cameras? I have a couple of questions.

1. How well do they work?
2. What brands/models work well?
3. What are they good for? Can you use them to find underwater structure? Can you troll with them and see fish while you are trolling?
4. How clear does the water have to be? How deep can you put the camera down and still see things?
5. Do the tournament guys use them and how do they use them?

[Ryan B]

I have the original aqua-view camera. I usually only use it when ice fishing. I use it to find structure and it is pretty cool to watch perch come up and play with your minnow. From what I can tell, the fish aren't bothered by it. The water does have to be pretty clear for best results. In clear water, i can see up to 8'.

[jjjrobley]

I have the Marcum 560 I used it all last winter It works great I normally focus on one of my jigs when a fish comes to the bait you can see how it reacts to your jiging style ,color ect.I can useally see 5-10 feet depending on the lake. It comes with a 60 foot cord the deepest I have used it is about 25 feet. I tryed to use it this summer it was hard to see with the boat rocking.The best thing on the marcum is the abillity to pan the camera around and see all the structure on the bottom.

[HAIRY POUT]

I have the Scout. Love it for ice fishing, great to watch the fish and their reaction to what the lure is doing. Alot of times I have watched them suck my lure in and blow it out with out seeing any kind of sign thru my rod or line. When trolling or drifting things seem to be going by about four times faster then the boat is going, most of the fish I have seen while drifting was just before the camera bounced off of them.
As far as the camera spooking the fish I haven't seen it. The scout camera is shaped like a sunfish and one time I had a big bull sunnie decide he didn't like it in his area and he charged it.
Will find new structure with the camera I was fishing an area on the north end of Millle Lacs I thought was gravel put the camera down it was a huge area of broken clam shells.
Terry

[Tom B]

I've used an Aqua View several times ice fishing. If I am taking kids, I try to make sure I have a camera to bring, they love it.

I also made a short video of a perch catching trip. It has gotten to be kind of a party favorite, everyone likes to watch it.

Tom B

[rspahr]

Thanks for the info. It sounds like it does not work to well for trolling or for finding structure in deeper water 25 - 60 ft?

[Tom B]

I would think that with limited visiblity of open water, anything past 25 feet would be kind of tough. Part of the reason they work so well in the winter is because the water is not being stirred up by wind and wave action.

We've used ours down to 30ish feet with good success (in winter.)

Tom B

[rspahr]

Has anyone tried lowering a light down with the camera? Does that help out in deeper water?

[go ranger]

I used a friend's Aqua Vu last year and loved it. We were mainly using it in 25+ ft and could see 3-5 ft in front of the camera. We found a rock pile holding fish that were not showing up on the sonar. It made a believer out of me. I'm planning on getting a Scout before next spring.

[miket]

rspahr: I purchased an aqua-view scout model last year...I live and fish on Table Lake in Missouri which historically has a lot of real clear water. Some of the things I have observed about my use are as follows:
*Average viewing distance in this lake is between 5 & 10 feet
*This is even true in 40+ feet of water if the camera is still
*Using it under docks is great due to the ability to hold it still
*Doesn't seem to spook fish
*The built in lights do not seem to enhance the picture on this lake
*Difficult to control since you directionalize by spinning or turning the cable. It does help some to install the supplied fin since this provides more resistance to the water.
*The faster you go (drifting or trolling) the less you see
* The picture is amazingly clear
*as said before...it is great to entertain both kids and wives and ends up giving me more "quiet" fishing time
*If you try to use it and fish I think you might find that you end up playing with the camera for the full trip. I usually just make a trip out to just use the camera...fish are entertaining but structure and bottom changes are what I need to be looking for.
* Given all of this I would purchase this unit if I didn't have one....clear water is the key!
Good fishing, Mike T.

[rspahr unlogged]

Thanks.

[rspahr]

I ended up getting the Aqua-Vu Scout. For $199 the price was right. I am looking forward to giving it a try this winter. Thanks for all of the input.

[MontanaCurt]

My buddy has an aqua-vu. This has been a great source of entertainment during ice fishing trips. It takes us forever to get it line up to see our jigs. Visibility is fairly limited.

The coolest thing that he's done is to plug it into his video camera and record the images. He found a way to focus it on his lures while trolling, he didn't think he'd caught any fish approaching the baits, until he watched it on a regular TV. Then you could see the lake trout coming in, checking out the lure and swimming away. Very interesting to see everything that was going on when you're NOT getting a bite.

[Xplorer1]

I have a 5 year old OVS and if you use the trolling motor you can definitly see structure and fish as you move along (not fishing).
Visibility depends on the water clarity. What i have done alot is, when my wife and i are fishing when she gets tired of lindy rigging, i will give her the camera and hit some new areas and let her tell me what she is seeing down there. I have found several very good areas doing this that i most likely wouldnt have tried otherwise.
I have found that smallies will frequently swim along with the camera for a bit, and if you do any nighttime viewing if you happen upon a crayfish they really have the "deer in the headlights" look to them. On the downside, its kinda disgusting to see all the garbage on the lakebottom in some places (especially in heavily used ice fishing spots it seems)
If you use it for ice fishing, drill your holes so that you have them not quite lined up if possible, then drill another hole for the camera so it points at the other holes. Good entertainment when a northern comes in to pop your jigging spoon! Also can be a big help in catching very light biting fish, the ones that dont even make a bobber move when they inhale a bait.
Xplorer

[rspahr]

Does anyone have the downrigger mount for the Aqua Vu? If the camera can see good enough in the water that I fish, I might give it a shot? How does it work? Does it get tangled with the downrigger cable?

[Rob Stratton]

I bought an Aquaview DT last spring and used it maybe a half dozen times. It's pretty cool but i find that walleyes tend to be alot more camera shy than bass, and they definitely don't like the infrared lights. It is useful to find the temp and the depth you are fishing.

Before you buy a new one give me an email, I'm not gonna fish tourneys anymore and might sell it.

Rob
thewalleyeguy@charter.net

[rspahr]

Thanks for the info. I have already bought one. I was just trying to figure out if the downrigger mount for it worked well or if it was a pain to use.

[cojoe]

I use mine as a downrigger in shallow water. I clip a release on the cable just above the camera (worm harnesses work good) and slow troll in shallow water (< 15' or so). Great way to see a lot of fish.

[rspahr]

Now that is a good idea! I have plenty of unused releases. Thanks.

[Maineiac2]

Being a some what frugal individual.....ok even my friends say I'm cheap. After using a friends Aqua Vue I ended up buying one of the Harbor Freight units about this time last year. 99 bucks and I was in business. I saw recently where with a discount coupon some boys have picked them up for 79. Much like the Atlantis rig but in a nylon case that holds all the components. So far has worked quite well. We don't have walleyes so can't speak to that but a great unit to dope out actual bottom conditions or how fish are relating to structure.

One thing I have done is build a pig tail power feed so I can use my cranking battery in the summer or hook to a deep cycle 12 volt battery I carry on my sled in the winter. The batteries supplied are ok but in the cold or if you want to use it for a number of hours it just doesn't cut it. With the big battery I just turn it on and go.

I have used mine down to the full length of the cable (60') and have wished the cable was longer. The observable area does get smaller but it still works fine in good clear water. I don't think such a unit would ever replace a good finder but it gives you one more dimension and as has been said does it ever keep the grand kids entertained.

The best I use I have found though is when I am smelting I just set it up looking at my hole I am fishing and sit back in comfort and watch for the little blighters to swim in and mouth my bait. No more laying on the ice or staring down a dark hole and I am getting to thing that the lights on the camera might actually attract the fish on particularly dark days.

Got to try that slow trolling thing with the worm harness using the camera as the down rigger. What a great idea. My wife will love it for when we go perch fishing from the boat. Thanks.