should i get an aqua view?

[rap]

i see the aqua views have come down in price.. i am thinking about getting the z-series with a 60 ft cable... i already have an fl-8 and i was wondering how many of you have a camera and a flasher? if so, do you learn alot by watching the camera in relation to the depthfinder? can you locate fish easily with a camera? do you think the camera consistentally helps you catch fish or is it more of a toy? i can rent aqua views for 20 dollars a day at a local bait shop.... do you think i should spend 40 bucks and compare the camera to my flasher for two days and pretty much learn all i'm gonna learn with the camera or would it be worth just buying one? wow thats alot of questions i'm asking... so basically is it worth having a camera when i already have a fl-8? thanks for the help

[This message has been edited by rap (edited 11-13-2002).]

i don't know where that angry face on the title of this post came from! lol

[This message has been edited by rap (edited 11-13-2002).]

[Guest]

If you need to watch tv to catch fish, you might as well stay home and watch bubba catch bass on the TNN......At some point, fishing must remain just that.....fishing. Nobody I fish with uses a camera to set the hook. I guess it's a personal choice thing but, if you ask me, it is detracting from what the "sport" is all about.........T

[Guest]

I use mine to find structure cribs , weedbeds , rock piles etc and that's about it. It will save you a lot of hole drillin but of the 2 ( locater/camera ) the locater wins hands down. Rent one and see for yourself how much help one would be to you. It is kinda cool lookin around underwater during slow times though.

[This message has been edited by GEEMAN (edited 11-14-2002).]

[Deitz Dittrich]

tbone-they said the same things about locators when they came out.

Rap- I would say rent one for the $20 bill, if you like it, then buy one. I have one, yet dont use it all the time while ice fishing, I can leave it at home and not get to mad at myself, It is nice to have if you are seeing fish on the loacator to be able to drop the camera down and at least see what species they are. Or if you are catching small fish to drop the camera down and see if there are any bigger fish there that arent bitting, so that you may make a switch of some kind to maybe get the bigger fish to bite...As GEEMAN stated it is great for seeing what the bottom content is.. I use mine just as much in the summer as I do in the winter!

[Capt'nJosh]

I used one last year for perch on Winni. Pointed it straight down and left it about 6 ft above my lure. It was a hoot! You could see them coming in and snatching it up before you could feel anything on the rod. Brought my wife with a couple weeks later and she really had a good time too. Makes you feel like your cheating though!

Capt'n

[Guest]

Don't get me totally wrong here. What I was referring to was this: I read an article that was written about a guide in Minnesota last year who clearly stated that he used a cam when fishing perch. He'd pull the lure away from smaller fish and only allow the bigger fish to take the bait. I think, as you guys stated, that cams have other uses and I agree totally about that. Sure, I use a flasher and I like the advantage it gives me, but selectively harvesting fish by size with a cam just doesn't seem right. I like "sight" fishing shallow water pan fish just like the next guy, but not in 30' with TV. That's where I was coming from on that. Sorry if I jerked anyone's chain there. Once or twice a season, I go out without any flasher. Fishing blind. I use the lead depth finder and do it the old fashioned way just to remind myself of how it was when I was first taught to ice fish by my dad. And that's in deep water. It can be a humbling experience and it helps you to hone your other skills....Fish on......T

[kwkfsh]

I have both the FL8 and the Aquaveiw and the FL8 is by far the best help for catching fish. The camera is over rated for catching fish, and has only helped me catch fish one time. I was on millelacs and noticed a large boulder that had a number of large smallies tight to it. As I drifted over I would make sure that my lure would come very close to the boulder and managed to catch half a dozen 18" to 20" that way. Just yesterday I was on the river and at one point dropped the camera over the side to see how many fish were down there as I was catching quite a few. In less than 10 min. I caught 3 eyes while the camera was down at the bottom and never saw a fish on the screen. So just because you don't see the fish does'nt mean they are'nt there.

[Deitz Dittrich]

T-bone, I totally understand what you saying... I am just playing devils advicate here. Dont take this personally...

But I would rather a person selective harvest with an aqua vu in deep water than have them reel a smaller fish in and release it only to have the swim bladder hurt and the fish to die later.

[Bushwacker]

I think there is no question that a flasher is the best electronic investment that a ice-fisherman can make, but the aqua-view is sure fun. Last year on LOW we were amazed at how many 'eyes are constantly swimming past your lure that don't show up on the vex. It was interesting to see what type of jigging would attract the finicky fish during the middle of the day. We even had an eelpout come up right next to the camera and stare face to face with it, all of a suddent the picture went black. I think the pout just swan into it for a little while but my buddy swears he saw the mouth opening and closing down on the lighted camera. As far as helping produce fish, I think seeing underwater structure is its advantage, but it is some good entertainment during slow biting periods. You find yourself glued to the little screen.

Good luck and have fun!

[Guest]

I absolutely love it for ice fishing... It is a lot of fun and a great learning tool... The biggest advantage I see is that I know when to stick with a spot based on the activity I'm seeing... You'll see way more fish than what actually bite.. and many bites you wouldn't otherwise detect.

I have the colored light aqua-view mc2x or whatever.... I'd save the $100 or whatever and get the simple version without the latest greatest lights.. You'll find that you won't use the lights anyway... They pick up too much dump in the water and drain the battery quickly... I use mine mainly during natural light... I do use it occassionaly to look at structure when dark, but normally set up before dark anyway...

[LuckyFish]

Great video on the sunnie hitting the jig icefishmann.

[Nicholas_23]

That hilarious icemann! I've never seen a fish swim vertically like that before ...... Maybe I'll get one . It would be nice to have for locating structure.

[Crawlerman]

I kinda agree on the "peeking then putting away" idea with a camera. With a flasher; you can't tell the species nor what they are feeding on. In some ways this would be an unfair advantage, as many people (not of this site obviously) would also use it to snag and spear fish they normally wouldn't have known what they were. I mean.. if you see a huge walleye laying on the bottom-- wouldn't it tempt us all to try and snag it?

At the same time I wouldn't mind "peeking" at a lake to see what species it holds, then shutting off the camera and on the locator. The cheif differeance of a flasher and a camera is this :"It's a big fish." vs "It's a Trophy Walleye" or "The fish is about to bite" vs "the fish has taken the bait in the corner of the mouth and is preparing to run" Overuse of this would just take the suprise out of fishing.

Sure.. with panfishing it may not make catching uber big fish any more possible... BUT... Imagine what would happen if there were 30 anglers on a small pond, all with an underwater camera using it to dangle their baits right in front of their faces; seeing them feed actively on wild minnows at the same time? A pond that may get re-stocked in the spring again is now fished out before the end of January. I'm not saying anyone does this here (as I KNOW they wouldn't) But allways imagine the less considerate anglers and what they would do with this tool. My 2 cents...

[Swill]

We just used the aqua vu camera on Winni last weekend and it worked great. We drill our holes in one line and put the camera on the end. Once our lines were down we would then align the camera to pick up our lines. It was sweet. If a small perch would approach our swedish pimple we would pull it away and wait for a better size fish.
The camera also worked great to locate schools of jumbos. I would drill while my cousin went hole to hole looking for fish. The camera picked up fish that our FL-8 did't show a think! I guess a new flasher will be needed but that is another topic.

For panfishing during the day I think the camera makes a huge advantage. Even over the Flasher...Ohh I know I gonna upset some of the faithful flasher people...Oh well it can be fun

[Guest]

icefishman,
I have an aqua view. How can I make a video such as your bluegill vid?

[Fishn'Lady]

The Aqua-Vu's should have a port where you can hook up a VCR to it so you can record. Or perhaps a digital cam-corder would work to. The hubby's brother has one and they are pretty fun to watch, but I am glad he bought it and not us. If I remember correctly though it did have that video out port on it.

---------------

Fishn'Lady

[Swill]

I does have a video port on the right side next to the on off switch.

[rap]

well i did get an aqua-vu for christmas but have only gotten to use it once since i can't get over a cold.. the lake i fish alot is very clear and the camera will work great for finding structure and even looking for fish.. i knew i wouldn't like the mobility issue of it and i still don't think it will ever replace my vex, but i think it will still be a great tool and should be lots of fun... thanks for all the replies

[Guest]

Not keeping 98% of the fish I catch,my aqua-veiw has been nothing short of awesome.I got it at the begining of this year and from last year catch rate icreased alot from just uing the vexilar.i used it yesterday to catch 2 nice pike, the first one hit&spit so fast theres no way you could set on him with a flasher.I was ready for the next one.I can see where overharvest comes in to play with such an effective tool,but for catch and relese its too sweet.

[Mn Walleye 1976]

My dad was up on Mille Lacs Sat. morning until Sun. morning.They seen a walleye come in nice and slowly, and eat a perch right in front of the camera. It was a blast he said. They only caught 1 little perch for the day. The fishing was extremly slow. They seen alot of perch, walleyes, and even a little northern or muskie on the camera. But nothing was willing to bite. The fish were very skittish.
Now I think the camera can be used as a valuable learning tool.
Going back up next weekend, only this time I will get to go.

[Guest]

I got a camera for christmas it's fun to look at fish. I really haven't used it to look at fish as i fish but used it to look for structure. I drilled alot of holes one day took the vexilar and camera to check depths and structure found a rock pile in 28 ft. water. Moved the house and caught limits of nice walleyes 15-18 " till weather front came in on sat. I wouldn't have be able to find this spot without my camera because this part of the lake is in a refugee and is only open to winter fishing.