Underwater Camera with downrigger

[Milton]

I am wondering if anyone has any information on using underwater cameras with downriggers. I fish Lake trout in Lake Nipigon (pretty clear water) and would like to know if the camera works at depths of up to 70 ft. Any recommendations?

Thank you.

[goblueM]

Can't help you with brands but I've seen footage of salmon trolling on lake michigan with downriggers, so it probably can be done

[Milton]

Thanks for the post. I've seen those videos too but I can't tell how deep they are trolling. My main concern is the low level of light at 60-70 ft. It just seems like it would be fascinating and fun to actually be able to see your lure and the fish while you are trolling.

[solbes]

Umm, not so sure you'd see anything at 60-70ft. Maybe in full sunshine you would. Easy to drop a camera down that far and see if you pick anything up. All of the camera lighting systems I've seen are fairly useless, especially if you are moving. You will see very mostly suspended particles which would distract from any fish that might be seen.

But here's a cool In-Fisherman article on how a guy rigs his camera to a D.R. while trolling for Muskie. That would be really cool to see!

In Fish article

[Tom7227]

I am not sure that the camera's normally have that much cord. If they do wouldn't you have to work to secure the cord to the down rigger cable or it would bow back awfully far at that length. Of course that would make the task of bringing the rig up a PITA.

[Milton]

Cool article. That is what I am hoping to do for LT but I agree that the depth could be a problem. Probably no way to know for sure without testing.

[Milton]

Cords can come in almost any length but you're right, the longer, the more PITA. From what I read, you would need to secure cord to downrigger cable about every 5 feet. Sounds like alot of work.

[solbes]

Re-reading that InFish article has me wanting to troll my big musky spinner bait with my downrigger (sans camera though). Still haven't caught one of the really big pike gals in our lake yet.

[Valv]

I used a GoPro HD camera on my downrigger on Lake Superior. Ther results are a little disappointing.

The first issue I have is to eliminate condensation due to quick temperature drop when lowered, this creates an out of focus or slightly blurred image.

Second and most important is lighting. I tested it up to 40 ft, and the only good result I obtained was at up to 10 feet below, then light becomes and issue.

I am uploading a small video of a trout taking a J Plug (yes, go figure!) at 45ft in perfectly clear water

Results are here: