What Have You Found Using Your Underwater Camera?

[Dave]

As the ice season winds down I'm looking forward to viewing and learning about the underwater structures of some of my favorite lakes during open water season. And, I was wondering if anyone has found some cool "treasure" while using an underwater camera. Last week I read about a guy who found an old outboard motor; that could be worth big money.

I'll be using the Marcum VS560. If you're not familiar with that camera there was a thread about it in the Equipment Forum.

Marcum VS560 Camera

So, do you use your underwater camera to look for other things besides structure and fish? And, tell us what you've found.

[gunflint]

I got a chance to visit the 20 or so crankbaits that I lost on an underwater tree that I didn't know was there. Also alot of deer bones. I figure those are from wolf kills over the winter. I'll say this, the first few times you see bones with an underwater camera it's kinda spooky.

[Dave]

gunflint, did ya try to retrieve the crankbaits? I'm starting to think I should carry a big magnet in the boat incase I see something on the bottom worth fetching.

[T-Rex]

I dropped my VS560 in Lotus Lake and seen the bow of an old wood boat. Pretty cool.

[Riverratpete]

Read that article about them guys..Great story! makes me want to go out and buy one for that reason if nothing else.

[anchor man]

I saw my car keys laying on the bottom of Minnewaska after they made the plunge. Without the camera I would never have been able to make the retrieve with the Chubby Darter

[The Yeti]

Or how about that story in last sundays strib. Dude found an early 1900's? motor while using his underwater camera ice fishing. Pretty cool..

[Gus]

My buddy just got a camera this year. So far we have only used it to find structure and bottom changes and of course to catch a few fish . But this summer I plan on visiting my favorite smallie log and seeing how many crayfish lures and hooks I actually have stuck on the thing. It's got to be up there in numbers! Probably looks like a christmas tree!

[hoggs222]

A couple of years ago, we were in the fish house about ready to take off on a Sunday afternoon. My buddy dropped his car keys in the water. We were in 21' of water. We had 12x12 holes in the house. Well when the keys drop, they never drop straight down. We had to chop through about 24" of ice with a chisel (about another foot or so over). We could only see the button from his remote starter with the camera. Well after about 3 hours of trying to use a Red Eye lure & about 30 split shot sinkers going up the leader, we got the keys out. Thanks to the OVS! We have floating keychains in the fish house now!

[Dave]

I feel some more great stories are gonna be told here pretty soon. Maybe we'll all be out treasure hunting in the off-peak hours of fishing

Hoggs, drop me an email. I'm from Andover as well. [email protected]

[cyberamish]

I'm not sure what it means but all I found was a teamster ring with the name "Hoffa" engraved in it....

[The Grebe]

Hav'nt found anyting yet, but I did observe what looked like a good sized pike that was almost vertical in the water, below a school of smaller Crappies? He stayed that way and pretty much in the same position, for over an hour?

[hoggs222]

I have also observed a walter take my jig. That was pretty cool.

[frabillfisher]

I put my camera down my hole to discover about 15 dead sunnies crappies and northerns within my view of the camera i because of winterkill...that was pretty freaky almost like a fishermans worst nightmare

[BrianLucky13]

I was fishing on Cass Lake in about 35 feet of water and I caught an Artic Cat Snowmobile belt!!! Kind of funny. I though it was a fish for the longest time.

[fishnhooks]

I once saw a rock with my OVS.

"hooks"

[The Grebe]

Brian 13....I caught a compound bow while fishing Mille Lacs (open water) I to thought I had something alive on the other end? I thought it might be a turtle the way it was moving?

The bow camp from a Carp fisherman, because it had a reel and a fishing arrow attached. I cleaned it up, gave the reel to my friend and sold the bow in the trading times for $50.00!

[loebs93]

I saw a pair of dice on the bottom of Mille Lacs. The funny thing about it was that is was showing two sixes. I thought that was pretty neat.

[FlyingV]

I was able to retrieve an ice fishing rod and reel combo a few years years ago on Mille Lacs. A walleye grabbed it while I was not holding it and pulled it down the hole. The next day, I used the camera and another line to snag it. The reel had caught between 2 rocks and the walleye was still hooked. It was over the slot size so I had to release it.

Another time, my friends stumbled across a small rock pile in the middle of a sand flat in 25 feet of water. The rock pile is about 2 feet high and about 30 feet in length and 15 feet width. A very small target to find. I fished with them and recorded the GPS coordinates for future use. While we were fishing it, one of the kids with us dropped a wire rod holder down his hole. Because the fish were biting, we just left it alone. Well, we ended up forgetting about it and the next winter at first ice, we walked out there using the the GPS, drilled a hole, dropped the camera down the hole and there was the rod holder! Never did get it but I was really impressed with the accuracy of my little Garmin 12! Best part about it is my buddies can't find "their" rock pile unless they invite me to go along!