Fishing cameras

[58thecat]

Ok so yesterday I sat in 7 fow....yup...I found it odd to have so little line out ice fishing but was curious what the pike where doing etc.
Fish finder indicates fish, jaw jacker goes off but what the heck was it?
I had many marks so was doing the switch out of lures and said to myself freak I need a camera to see whats up.
New to this so what is the best bang for your buck? Toying with this as I usually don’t jump in right away but gather information from people who actually use the equipment.
It never ends

[SouthWestRanger]

I use an aqua view, can’t remember exact mode maybe 715i but it wasn’t too expensive and works great for watching how fish respond to lures and bait. Not uncommon to see a ton of fish that just aren’t in a biting mood and it’s really useful to play with action and presentation to get the fish to bite when it’s slow.

[58thecat]

hmmm just talked to my wife/fishing partner about a camera...she said stick your head in the hole and have looksie...ohh we only drill 8 inch holes so your head wont fit and your neck is not long enough as we have 23 inches of ice...jeepers what a beauty eh!
I call it breaking the ice on another expense just gotta get over the hump first

[thumper]

Originally Posted by 58thecat

hmmm just talked to my wife/fishing partner about a camera...she said stick your head in the hole and have looksie...ohh we only drill 8 inch holes so your head wont fit and your neck is not long enough as we have 23 inches of ice...jeepers what a beauty eh!
I call it breaking the ice on another expense just gotta get over the hump first

Ask her what model her fancy I-Phone is (with video setting), so you can buy a $25 waterproof case on Amazon, and start testing elastic bands to hold her phone to a long stick. She'll come around to your Aqua-View purchase pretty quick!

[58thecat]

Ice season is almost over so got time
To research cameras and make the purchase hopefully on sale or second hand.


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[57charlie]

There's a gazillion AO posts on underwater cameras. The most common replies were either Eyoyo or Aquaview cameras. I paid $127.96 for my Eyoyo in 2017 & love it. The Aquaview is at least double that or more in todays market.

[Bigwoodsman]

Originally Posted by 58thecat

Ok so yesterday I sat in 7 fow....yup...I found it odd to have so little line out ice fishing but was curious what the pike where doing etc.
Fish finder indicates fish, jaw jacker goes off but what the heck was it?
I had many marks so was doing the switch out of lures and said to myself freak I need a camera to see whats up.
New to this so what is the best bang for your buck? Toying with this as I usually don’t jump in right away but gather information from people who actually use the equipment.
It never ends

How tall are you? Why were you sitting in water?

BW

[Frank_NK28]

Cabelas has a Marcum 7" unit on sale this week for $299. I have an Aqua-view 715C and to tell the truth I think the Marcum is a better unit on a dollar for dollar comparison of similar featured units. I am going to be switching to one for next season but will also keep my Aqua-view to be able to run two units. The camera is a great learning tool to see how fish react to baits, see their moods and just plain fun to watch while fishing. It's really cool watching them when they get snapped by a Jawjacker!

[58thecat]

Originally Posted by Bigwoodsman

How tall are you? Why were you sitting in water?

BW

Oops but yeah if I was sitting in 7fow well I am dog paddling!
Sitting on 24 inches of ice that is on 7fow.
Ya made me laugh,


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[58thecat]

Originally Posted by Frank_NK28

Cabelas has a Marcum 7" unit on sale this week for $299. I have an Aqua-view 715C and to tell the truth I think the Marcum is a better unit on a dollar for dollar comparison of similar featured units. I am going to be switching to one for next season but will also keep my Aqua-view to be able to run two units. The camera is a great learning tool to see how fish react to baits, see their moods and just plain fun to watch while fishing. It's really cool watching them when they get snapped by a Jawjacker!

Thx, gonna check it out.


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[Lowrance Fishburn]

I find cameras can spook the big fish. They will come snoop around and be more interested in the camera than your bait. An aggressive fish is an aggressive fish and likely wont matter but a finicky fish, especially a big girl with a bit more brains will know something isn't right and usually swim off. Can anyone recall a time or a video of someone catching a big fish while viewing on camera? I'd be curious as my experience is they are neat but not worth it. A good flasher like the Hummingbird Helix 7 G2N ICE is really all a guy needs.

[Fishin' Fool]

Cameras are a valuable tool in the box. Like most tools, it has jobs where it excels and others where it isn't useful.


I've been at Sante quite a bit recently and the difference in catch rates between the guys with and without cameras can be pretty big. Not always, but when the burbs are in the mood to rub your jig for 30 seconds before biting, seeing what triggers the hit and what turns them away can be the difference in your day.


Whitefish are camera shy most of the time, and I have friends who don't want to be near me and my cam if they are after whiteys (during the burbot spawn is the only time whites tend to ignore cameras in my experience).


Even if you don't use it to catch fish, using it to ID what is on your graph(as you mention) or to check out the bottom composition and then pulling it up can be handy.


I don't use it every time I go out, but if I didn't own one it would be high on my to-buy list.


I don't personally see the reason to pay the premium for the highest definition camera, as even the most basic unit will cover most of what you need. IMO, how well the cam operates in low light is far more important than how many megapixels or any other numbers, especially early season when it's dark by 4:30. That extra half hour or more at the beginning and end of the day can be significant.

[Frank_NK28]

Originally Posted by Lowrance Fishburn

I find cameras can spook the big fish. They will come snoop around and be more interested in the camera than your bait. An aggressive fish is an aggressive fish and likely wont matter but a finicky fish, especially a big girl with a bit more brains will know something isn't right and usually swim off. Can anyone recall a time or a video of someone catching a big fish while viewing on camera? I'd be curious as my experience is they are neat but not worth it. A good flasher like the Hummingbird Helix 7 G2N ICE is really all a guy needs.

How big are you talking? All these were caught within 4 feet of the camera in 7.5ft of water with the camera only 4 feet from the jig I caught them on and the one my wife is holding(13lb-8oz) shot across the camera screen so fast it was a streak and pounded her jig so hard it almost tore the rod from her hand. Many have swam in slowly and payed no mind to the camera. I find the smaller pike three to five pounds are more curious about the camera and will often swim right up to it and look at it then turn and go back to deciding if they are going to hammer the jig or not but I have never seen any fish spooked by it. Heck I have had pike rip in from behind unseen and strike the camera or race up to it straight on and bump it hard then stall and stare at it before deciding to go after the jig instead. Trout pay no mind to it whatsoever from what I see and many times I've had several Brookies and Rainbows at a time circling a jig within three to four feet of the camera aimed at my bait and not once have I ever had a trout investigate the camera. However I have had a few get tangled in the camera cord while fighting them when I didn't pull it out of the way quick enough..

[58thecat]

Well done, did you have the camera and see them take the bait/lure?

My limited experience was on pierce lake and buddy had one camera set up in his ice shack, we seen pike, walleye, perch, lakers and a burb take the lure which was exciting and of course new to me.
I was like a kid with his grandson in the ice shack.


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[Frank_NK28]

Originally Posted by 58thecat

Well done, did you have the camera and see them take the bait/lure?

My limited experience was on pierce lake and buddy had one camera set up in his ice shack, we seen pike, walleye, perch, lakers and a burb take the lure which was exciting and of course new to me.
I was like a kid with his grandson in the ice shack.


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Yes I have seen lots of strikes on the camera. I have video'd a few too. That is why I am stepping up to a better unit with video built in. It's a PITA recording on an aqua-vu. You have to buy a separate video recorder unit to plug into it or use your phone to capture the screen in front of you and when you are trying to work a fish it's tough to hold a phone in one hand and record while jigging with the other and even harder videoing while you set a hook. I could have had lots of hits on video this winter from good brookies and bows....