Underwater camera

[ATV hugger]

Anybody use a underwater cam on open water?

[Duffman]

Not for any extended amount of time, but I'll drop it down to ID structure and and fish that I see on the locator.

[Deitz Dittrich]

I use mine more in the summer than I do in the winter.. All about finding the right bottom content in my mind.

[hhguide]

I agree with Deitz! I bet ive used my twice for ice fishing and all the time during the summer! Best way to identify fish fast and cover ground!

[Musky_Madness]

I'm in the middle. If mine was mounted on my boat like the Aqua Vu MAV or whatever it's called, I would enjoy it more. The camera, viewer, cable get in the way of fishing sometime and can be a hassle to have extra stuff laying around the deck when trying to fish. It is fun to see under the water and know what you're working with down there. I ended up selling my Aqua Vu this winter to makes some cash for other things but used it occasionally in open water.

[walleyemaniac]

Yup I check structure with mine all the time in the summer. I don't use it to veiw fish unless I'm marking a bunch without any bites just to see what they are. But I will drop it down to see what I'm accually on top, of structure wise, at times.

[SM1]

I use mine a lot in the summer also checking bottom. Ive learned to read my sonar much better from it.

Not sure if you were talking about using it in the open water column or not, but if you were then I have not used it much for that. Only if I seen something on the sonar first.

[ATV hugger]

Thanks for the replies, I think I'll give it a try. It makes sense that you would learn to use sonar better seeing the real structure.

[Esox_Magnum]

I have used it many times to locate fish, structure ect. I do know I should use it more than I do for muskie fishing. Maybe this year I'll make time to bring it along.

[solbes]

You have to go pretty slow with it, even with the lead ballast. Don't get it caught in your prop like I did last fall! I'll use it with the bow mount only now.

What I usually do is mark hard returns on my sonar to GPS and then when fishing is slow, come back and ID them with the camera and label them as such on the GPS. It is kind of cool to see if you are looking at logs, boulders, gravel, etc.

Sometimes you see some cool fish action too. I had a large northern try to inhale my camera last year. Left some nice scratches.

[My_Key]

This has been an interesting read for me. I bought a camera this winter to entertain my son out on the lake and found I enjoyed having it with for fishing. I was wondering how useful it would be in open water.

[SM1]

One of the ways I like to use my camera is while lindy rigging/ slower trolling. Many times I will see fish on the camera and cant recognize them on the graph..especially in shallow water say 6-14'.

Another way the camera comes in handy is when seeing fish on the graph and none of them bite. Sometimes what you are looking at are suckers or carp. I havent learned yet how to distinguish beween a sucker and walleye on my graph yet but I know some people can look at thier sonar and have a good idea.

[buddha]

I like using it in the summer and winter. It helps to identify structure and fish. I don't carry it every time I'm out but when I am heading to a new area I bring it along and I usually figure out something new.

[The Slabnator]

The Aqua-Vu Mav is a great open water system but a little spendy unless you are an avid angler. For open water use cameras are great but you have to be committed to putting the rod down and using the cam. I find myself using my Aqua-Vu on sunny days when the fishing has slowed and visibility is at it's peak. Also when I have fish located on my electronics and want to see what they are after unsuccessfully trying to get some bites.

Slab

[Yellow Dog]

I've seen where guys use it when trolling...anybody know how to rig it so I can watch my spoons or plugs get eaten?

[The Slabnator]

Yellow Dog,

Not sure what kind of system you have but Aqua-Vu has a setup to use your camera with a down rigger. Don't have it yet but it's only like $20 so might pick one up this season. I have some friends who shoot trolling videos and it works pretty good but the only limitation seems to be you have to troll pretty much in the prop wash.

Slab