Underwater Cameras, Good or Bad

[1900_LE]

Are underwater cameras worth the money? How far can you actually see with them? Thinking about buying one, but if they're just something to say you have one, I'll keep my money. I'm talking in open water, not ice fishing.

Thanks

[dan z]

save your money I have one and barely use it Pain In The purple horseshoes to use and the visibility isnt that great even in the winter time when the water is "clean"

[Flaco651]

For me, I use it mainly for setting up or when I bring my boy out fishing panfish. After dark, I cant see much with the camera I got anyway even with the lights on. The light just makes every particle in the water visible like its snowing. I'm glad I got one still. It helps in finding transitional areas and structure. A flasher is still my most important tool.

[PerchJerker]

I've got a couple cameras I use ice fishing but I really don't use them in open water. Just seems like more gear in the boat, more hassle getting ready, etc. I'd rather fish than watch the camera.

[Deitz Dittrich]

1900LE- Water Clarity is key. If you fish a lake that is stained, they dont see far. But in clear water you can see far enough.

To answer your question, it really depends on how you fish and what your goal is?... I use mine a ton, the underwater camera has taught me how to better read my electronics, finding bottom transitions ect. Even dropping the camera down to see what kind of fish I am marking on the electronics. I would say if your just a weekend angler and just enjoy your time in the boat, do you need one? No, but they are still fun to have. If you are serious about fishing and becoming a better angler, then they are very good to have.

Thats just my opinion. I couldn't live without mine(well maybe I could but I would be a lot more grumpy)

[Flaco651]

Oops...I didn't see that you were talking about open water. I've thought about bringing it out in the boat, but most of my open water fishing is on the river. I'm gonna have to bring it to a lake just to check it out though.

[davesfriend]

The down side is with a camera you can tell that there are fish there, they just won't bite. Where as before they would bite but just weren't any down there. I don't like see-ing walleyes suck and blow a minnow off the hook eat it and swim away.

[davesfriend]

OH , but it is cool watching your buddies lighter gently come to rest on the bottom

[solbes]

I would say it's highly dependent on clarity. If you are on a 8'+ clarity lake, then go for it. Certainly once you get into the mid teens, you can see pretty far even at decent depths. The lights do not really work after dark, so don't think it will work well at night.

It is very useful if you fish the same lake or lakes alot and you want to know what some of those hard signatures are on your electronics. Mark em with a GPS and come back later and find out what they are. In mine, I then go back and rename the points with an L, RP, or B along with it's depth to designate whether it's a log, rock pile, or boulder. Can be very useful indeed!

Plus they are a lot of fun to use. I try to use mine more in the early spring or late fall since the clarity is better and less weeds. I was going to make it a point to bring it along this summer while fishing, but I didn't make good on that. Maybe next year.

[hoggs222]

We used ours to get the truck keys out of 22 feet of water on ice! Came in handy that day when the Ford dealership was closed because it was Sunday.

[wishing for walleyes]

Heres some video from last december.The video was better out on the water.It distorts some from being uploaded.This was in 17 fow.

underwater camera

[Jeremy airjer W]

I used to think it was the dumbest idea until I bought one. I spend more time in the boat watching the camera than fishing! Like mentioned before the time of day and water clarity make a big difference but I really do have a lot of fun seeing what is going on!!

[hhguide]

I would say get it hands down. I know when I pull up on some lakes and see arcs and i'm pre-fishing for a tournament I can drop the camera down somes its carp or suckers and not one bass or walleye I think it makes a huge difference and is a huge advantage.

[beer batter]

I think the main reason cameras aren't used as much in the open water is due to how clumsy the setups are in a boat. In a fish house you can get it nice and dark, and have the camera cord locked into position over a stable spot to see clearly where you point the camera.

In a boat you throw the cord over the side, hold your jacket over your head trying to keep the sun away from the screen, and look at the display between waves bobbing the camera up and down.

I still use it occasionally, but unless someone has a much better setup for using it in a boat I typically leave it stored away.

[fishyguy]

I have had mine for about 6 years now. I would say that I could not argue any of the points made. They provide great value at times, little to none at times and they also can just be a pain to deal with having around.

As someone mentioned before it is all about how you would use it. I fish a few weekends a year, occasional day trips and one or two trips to Canada a year. If I had it to do all over again I would have invested the money into better electronics on my boat but it has saved a few things that have fallen overboard or down a hole.