Aqua View

[elusivecrappiecatcher]

How many of you guys use these. I was looking into getting one. I don't want it just because some people say it is cheating. LOL stupid saying. I want it because i think it would be cool to see what actually goes on under the ice, and how fish react to different things. How do they actually work and is there any problems any of you have come across when using them. Thanks

[chucker]

If you get one don't waste your money on the mc-2 just get the standard AQ. I have the mc2 and rarely use the lights. If there are any paricles in the water its like looking at a snow storm. During the day without the lights it's great, but it tends to cut into your fishing because your always playing with the camera.

[Rick]

I do enjoy these units. There's a lot to learn when you can see what's going on down there.

With any luck, I'll be able to give you detailed reports this ice fishing season.

[blkfrg]

One of the best uses is to check out the bottom, mud sand or rocks(?) Set it up to use the look down view. In the latest Outdoor News Dave Genz talks about how he rigged his up before they made a fin for the camera. Oh yeah, seeing the fish is way cool too. Those fish cheat by just bumping your bait, one of the frustrating things you'll see while watching.

[Guest]

I AGREE WITH THE CHUCKER GET THE REG ONE I HAVE THE MC-2 AND SAME THING I DONT USE WHEN DARK!!

[elusivecrappiecatcher]

Thanks guys, but do you use it at all at night or does it work fine at nice without the mc-1

[chucker]

The camera is a blast, sometime its more fun to watch the camera then catch the fish. I take the fin off of mine in the winter and use a heavy duty twist tie and wrap the cord to the different holes on the camera. This allows me to point the camera in almost any position. I can point it up or down depending on the type of fishing I'm doing. I prefer the type used for closing bread bags only more heavy duty than the plastic zip ties, they allow me to change the camera position more easily when I'm fishing.

[Toad]

One accessory I'd highly recommend with an Aqua Vu on ice is the 'Ice Pod.' Allows you to hover the camera in place and incrementally twist the lens direction. Slick little piece of equipment-- and invaluable for ice applications. About a $10 item.

Far as cutting corners to build your own, just bear in mind that you need to make sure you're building portability into your unit-- especially for ice fishing. We're talking light in weight, small in size, a handy way to carry the unit, a small case to protect it, and finally, some sort of mechanism to keep extra cord out of the way.

I've seen too many guys use large bulky cameras on ice who after a few trips with the thing, end up ditching it completely.

Spend the extra money-- get the Aqua Vu. The Smart Vu (SV) displays water temp and lens direction. And this year's Depth Tech (DT) series displays depth of the camera as well.

To me, it's just not worth the loss in portability you'll experience with other units. A lot of guys using cameras from other companies learned this the hard way over the past couple seasons. Aqua Vu's not the only good company, though. Marcum Technologies cameras (OVS) also work excellent, and offer nice portability and ease of use on ice.

-a friend called Toad

[JP Z]

I would have to agree with Toad. The icepod is a good addition and it is a cheap one at that the nice thing is is fits all cameras, even ones that aren't the Aqua-Vu so you can even use it with your homemade one.

[JP Z]

Chucker,

You can pick up one of the fins that Genzy was talking about at most stores. They $5 and are very handy for icefishing. At least that is what Ice-Teamer's are telling me. They use it in Devil's lake to sight fish their Bluegills that are in real shallow water. Oh well, just my 2 cents.

[Tonka Boy]

They work great! I've upped my catch rate quite a bit since using one.

If you don't want to spend the money on a new camera, you can build your own for about 1/2 the price! That is what I did and I'm very happy. Here's how:

1) Pick yourself up a security camera off HSOList(or electronics store). They'll already be waterproof to usually 300'.
2) You'll need to make a housing for your camera to keep it level under the surface. I used 2" diameter PVC pipe in a 4" section. I then caped one end off, and faced the camera lense out the other. I used silicone to seal the unit and hold it on place. You may also need to weight one side or the other for balance. There are many ways, be creative.
3) Then buy a 60' or 100' RCA cable w/power lead from Radio shack. Connect to leads on camera and silicone the connection point(you may want to make sure to tie each end together also to prevent from coming apart).
4) Find yourself a cheap TV that runs on batteries and uses RCA jacks. Connect the free end of your RCA wire to the TV, power leads from the TV and camera to the battery, and your done.

They're not as pretty as an Agua-view but work just as well. As long as you have the camera, RCA cord, TV, and power source, you can do it just about any way you want. Very easy! Be creative! If you have any questions, I'd be happy to help.

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Tonka Boy

[Guest]

there are some good videos and screen shots of fish biting a jig and fish just coming up to the camera to take a peak from the aqua-vu http://www.HotSpotOutdoors.com/forums/boards/viewposts.cfm?Thread_ID=15398 the original site cannot be put on here for some stupid reason....they keep pulling it and turned it into a censored link anyways check out the videos..they are great quality