Fish are spooked by underwater camera ...

[Dahitman44]

I love having it down the hole, but my Marcum 360 camera spooks them IMO. Would fake weeks in the srting really help?

Who else feels that cameras spook fish.

Yes, I have seen them bite on camera, but more often than not they just swim by.

... Thought ... Do you think it is the 360 camera moving around and making noise?

Who has thoughts on this?

thanks

Hit

[Esox_Magnum]

Walleye are the only fish I have seen thats camera shy, bout everything else don't seem to mind. I do see many eyes on the camera but have few eat on the camera. I have used the weeds and don't think it makes that much difference.

[reinhard1]

bass seem to love the camera, especialy the smallmouth. so do the panfish. perch dont seem to mind unless you get too close but the walleys are shy of it. a friend of mine had a northern bite his camera. trout [rainbows] dont seem to mind also. good luck.

[Zelmsdawg]

I think you just see more fish with the camera so thats why it seems like so many aren't eaters. But I've never felt like mine has scared fish away.

Zelmsdawg

[south_metro_fish]

I posted a little about it on the other real weeds thread. I have seen walleyes, northern, bluegills, crappies and bass all be a little spooked by the cam. Crappies seem to be real finicky around the camera coming in for a quick look with no bite. Bluegills will come in bump into or peck at the cam and cord but they seem a little uneasy and I seem to have less fish actually bite when it is down. Bass, walleye, and northern seem to just cruse through most of the time sometimes looking at the bait. One fish that doesn't seem to mind the camera is perch. I set my camera up in a down view a few feet off the bottom looking at my bait, and they just fly up and attack the bait most times with no care for the camera. I would like to find a way to disguise the camera and cord some how so the fish are a little more at ease when they are around it.

[Jack Peterson]

I've never had camera shy walleyes...I've had camera shy crappies, that's it!

[mr_jman]

If you aren't moving or spinning the camera around, I don't think fish are too effected by it. Bluegills dont seem to care. I usually set the camera near bottom so don't get crappies on it often. Bass, northerns, perch, gills, catfish dont seem to mind.

[harvey lee]

With my camera if I am simply watching fish and how they react to my jigging or my hook or bait, I view thewm downviewing and have never had any issues.

[GatorBait]

Honestly, I've had my camera 2 seasons now and use it everytime i'm out fishing. I personally cannot remember a time that fish have seem spooked off. Now I'm running the aqua-vu bluegill one. It's actually been turned into bait for pike on two occassions. Not overally thrilled about missing out on a great video chance, but it was cool. My trick to this is simple.

In a weedy area, I use a reel weed on my camera line. In areas where there are no weeds, I simply go with the downward view and remain above my target area. It's worked for me with good results, maybe it will help others out.

[south_metro_fish]

They dont seem spooked off but they seem to be more finicky around the cameras. I use down view a lot but most fish seem still uneasy around the camera and less willing to bite.

[Surface Tension]

They're pretty much photogenic for me. Had many pike nail the camera too.

[Random guy]

Had a old 560 get smacked by a big pike once. I was watching him slowly swim by and once I moved the camera pan he honed in on it and drilled it; scared the heck out of me as I had my face pressed up against the screen. As far as camera spooking fish I have only seen that if I am messing with the camera moving it around.

[Walleye Guy]

I dont think the camera it self scares the fish that much. However I have seen the camera lights quickly spook both walleyes and crappies.

[cabin]

You fish with fine 1-3 lb test line, or even Flurocarbon to reduce line visibility. Then you put a camera down on a cable ??. Crappie and Gills are camera shy unless aggressively feeding. Bass and Northern seem curious about the camera.

[Surface Tension]

When crappies pass by the camera its always very slow.

I can see their eye follow the camera.

Main reason for the small dia mono is its matched to tiny jigs I'm using.

[Surface Tension]

Interesting story using a camera for crappies.

Fishing over 45' of water 25' down.

Had the camera setup.

We were doing OK on some pretty nice crappies. Because of the depth the crappies got the bends.

We lost one half way up the hole. Shucks.

Re-rigged and continued fishing.

In the hole I had the camera down there lay a crappie with the bends.

Kwel.

Lost another crappies a while later.

Of coarse I looked at the hole again.

Yeap there was a crappie with the bends in it.

That happened one more time.

Somehow having the cable down the hole was attracting those lost crappies that had the bends as they floated up.

[Dahitman44]

Great thoughts --

I have the Marcum 360 that rotate around inside the unit -- perhaps it gives off some vibrations?

I have never shot down ... not sure if I can with my camera?

I fish exclusively for walleyes.

Any more thoughts? Does anyone have this camera?

[Dahitman44]

I guess it is the 560 ... sorry.

Do I need to get a different one?

[PerchJerker]

I love underwater cameras for ice fishing --- but in my opinion uw cameras and walleyes don't go well together. Can't say I've ever felt that the camera was scaring or spooking any other species though.

[tjbassmaster]

I agree with perchjerker. Walleyes and the camera don't work. You could see them in the background, but they would never come close. Other fish don't seem to care that it is there. In fact I think the camera attracts some fish like perch and sunfish. Especially if you bounce the camera off the bottom and kick up the silt.

[Dahitman44]

Shoot -- so what does a guy do then? Anyone find a way not to scare the fish?

[deadeye]

Shoot em.

Idk walleyes are the only ones I have ever had that were nervous. But, they are scared of their own tails so who knows. Everything else I have seen come up to investigate it.

[Dahitman44]

I agree ... it really suuxx though ...

[shizzy]

I have an old fish TV and the camera is in the shape of a fish. never had an issue with it scaring any perch, sunfish or Crappies. for all I can tell, they think its another fish just haning out.

in fact, Ive had such luck using the camera those outings become CPR only since I feel I have too great of an advantage over the fish.

[south_metro_fish]

I'm sure water clarity, depth, and natural lighting all have something to do with how they view and react to the camera. There are so many different accounts to how the fish react. I fish in a rather clear lake and variety of different depths usually from 25' to 5'.