Aqua Vu Question

[river huntfish]

I have a vexilar fl-18 and want to know if Aqua views make a better fisherman or if its even worth it. If you where to get one would it be the down viewing or the traditional style. Fish panfish and some walleye in the mix. Any suggestions on the model to buy. Would like it to be portable if possible.

[cliffy]

I hope I understand your question....Would aqua-view make you a better fisherman?

Yes..and no. I just got a Scout II this past Christmas..and I really have been enjoying it. It has helped me in a few ways. I have been truly amazed at how many fish have come in to just sit and look at my bait. I also use it a lot to check what the bottom looks like..and its surroundings. So, yes, it has helped me fine tune my skills.......but I fished many years without one and did alright. If I had to choose between a camera and a flasher...the flasher wins hands down.....However, after using my camera this season...I would say they are a nice tool to have. Good luck.

Cliffy

[Deitz Dittrich]

An underwater camera like an Aqua-Vu is definatly a tool. And if used properly can without a doubt make you a better ice angler. Your flasher(fl-18) can tell you where the bottom is, and once you learn how to read it can tell you roughly how hard a bottom you are fishing over. But it will not tell you what kind of fish they are and if you are or are not fishing on a trasition area. I dont use mine as much for fishing. But I use mine a ton for setting up. To be sure that I am on the spot on a spot. I use mine prior to ice on to find the areas I know the fish will be using during the winter months. And then GPS those locations.

On days when the fishing is more difficult, you can use the underwater camera to see what actions your jig makes with the camera that gets a positive reaction from the fish, so that you can duplicate that action to catch more.

I have the Scout XL.. its not designed to be used at night.. But like I said.. I use mine more for set up. If you are looking to get a camera with the lights I would go with the Scout 2 or Scout SRC... but I am very pleased with my Scout XL.

[MNfan]

In my opinion the Vexilar is the main tool for catching fish a camera is nice for locating weed line and bottom types and to see what fish are down there and how they react to baits during good light hours. I have a cheaper Atlantis camera but am looking to buy a higher end unit that will see after dark if possible when most fish bite.

[SwimRunFly]

All very good reasons stated above: The bottom line is. both devises will help you become a better or more efficient fisherman and here’s why. The Vexilar (or any locator) is vital to find water depth, structure and of course fish) Once I find a specific area, I will use my camera to see exactly what type of structure I am dealing with (weedy sandy, gravel, rocks or mud) and what type of fish (species) and possibly the size of fish.

Example 1: My son and I were ice fishing and we hit a spot where the Vexilar was marking a ton of suspended fish. We put the AquaView down and we watched a very large school of 1/4 lb crappies swimming around. We quickly moved to find larger fish.

Example 2: We were fishing last summer and located a hump on a lake that we had good success in past trips. This day the hump again was holding some large fish that I had detecting on my locator. We were throwing every type of bait and presentation at them with no luck. I lowered the AquaView and found that a school of large suckers (2 to 5lbs) had moved up onto the hump. We quickly picked up and moved. Later that day I saw numerous fisherman working that same area very hard because they did not know what type of fish was under them.

The AquavView is simply another handy tool that a fisherman can use to help make him/her a more efficient fisherman. Will it catch you more fish? I will argue the it can.

Which one is better? I would suggest to get the Vexilar first to find depth, structure and fish. If you can add the AquaView later as an additional tool, you will not regret it. And for ice fishing nothing will keep younger and older kids attention longer then watching fish swim around. I have a lot of additional examples where the AquaView taught me something I did not know, but I needed my locator to get me to the spot first.

Good luck!

[SwimRunFly]

After I read your original post I actually failed to try to answer your question. I have the original Scout by AquaView and it allows for both camera positions. I have it hard wired in my boat for summer fishing and simply use the rechargeable gel packs for ice fishing. The Scout is easy to view in the fish house because it is dark. Fishing summer time is a little more difficult because of glare. You have to use the hood and get very close to the screen during mid day fishing. Early morning and early evening provides easier viewing. Night time I put it away.

[SwimRunFly]

Just one more thought.....Your username gives the impression that you are a river fisherman. Water clarity is a must for a AquaView to be useful. If you fish mainly dirty, or stained (low visibility) body’s of water you are wasting your money.

Just a thought!

[polarsusd81]

I bought an MC2X about 5 years ago and love it. It is the old style obviously that just has the regular camera with the green and red lights. The very first time I used it I actually had a musky attack the camera, that was kinda scary, but everything turned out alright.

Like you read, if you are in dirty dingy water, its not worth it, the camera will pick up any little bit of particulate in the water and it will look like a dust storm.

I do believe it can make you a better fisherman if you pay attention to what you do with the camera. I have a Vex FL-8 also bought a long time ago...and watching the fish react to your bait on the camera is a great learning experience. You can have fish come in while you are pounding a jig because they are curious, then they just sit there watching, you stop it or give it somewhat of a different action and watch their response. I can truely say I have caught more fish using it. One example was large mouth bass on North Lindstrom Lake. I had a bass come in while pounding a jig, he just swam up within inches of it, and watched it. I stopped and the bass sucked the jig in and spit it out so fast, and it was unnoticable in the feel of the rod. After the bass spit it out, she would swim off about 5 feet, I pounded it, she came back in. Four times this cycle went on and then on the fifth round, I hooked her. It was fun to learn how that particular fish would react.

Another example is a couple weeks ago on Mille Lacs, we were fishing perch. There was only one way I could get the jumbos to bite, they were holding tight to the bottom. I was jigging about 2 inches off and they would come in, after missing opportunities on a few, I decided to drop the spoon on the bottom and just barely lift up and jig the line end of the spoon and get the bottom silt in a cloud, the hook was still on the bottom. The bigger ones would get mad and suck it up off the bottom. I ended up with 10 Jumbos, everyone else in the group zeroed.

The little things you can pick up by watching the fish react are worth every penny of the cost of the camera. If you get one good luck and pay close attention, you will learn from it.

Tom

[Deitz Dittrich]

Great post!