Tricks with Underwater Camera

[Jigging55]

For starters how in the world do you get it to stay in the direction of you lures I have the Cabelas brand and you have to adjust the direction by hand and turning the cable but is that going to cause problems in the long run am I going to get cable twist and wreck wires or anything? Another thing is Ive see the weeds that you can attach to the cable are they worth it at all or how about the fish camera instead of just the regular camera that I have. Any information about the underwater cameras would be greatly apreciated.

[nater]

I would pick up a camera compass. They are about $10 and well worth it. Its a black disk that you run the cable through and it holds your camera in one direction. I have never try the monopod so I'm not sure about those.

[pow & legend]

I bought a under water camera about 5 years ago and what i did was wrapped the cord around a tip up so the cord wouldn't twist on me because i had that same problem and that seemed to do the trick. hope that helps out a little bit

[irishwalleye]

Marcum Camera Compass.. if you can still find them -- make life so much easier.

Havent tried the SOS (structue on string) on the camera but from what I have seen this year... not too many fish are camera shy.

But then again I usually have my camera 7 - 10 feet away from me.

[RonWBasser]

I don't know about the Cabela's cam but I have the Aqua-vu older style with a screen magnifier and a ice tripod they make. It works ok but will turn on you once in awhile. I just look at the little stopper that comes with it and see which way the slot is pointing.

Mine doesn't look like a fish and doesn't have the weeds on it and the fish don't seem to care one way or the other about it. They even bump into it once in awhile.

[Wanderer]

I believe I get a bigger field of view and less disturbance to the fish when do one wrap with the camera cord around the summer swim fin on my Aqua View so it hangs at a 45 degree angle.

Usually I can pick out both jigs plus I feel I can get a better scan out away from my holes to see what lying 'just a bit outside'.

[tracker x-2]

Im in the same boat as basser the older aqua vu and have been twisting wires for three years and finally for x mas I got a tripod for $15 its well worth it jus be carfull while adjusting it the little black stopper dont fall in the hole it dose not float.

[Jigging55]

Ive herd enough I ordered one of the Marcum camera compass and then I should have zero problems thank you guys for the input i used the camera once so far and had a blast the camera compass should make it a even better.

[RonWBasser]

I have always looked at that fin on the back of the aqua-vu camera and thought of facing it down but never tried it. I will try that next time.

[Chef]

$4.50 to replace the stopper. Wonder why this one doesn't float?

[leech~~]

I lost 2 stoppers because when it's cold and the rubber is hard, and your working with cold hands, it's hard to make adjustments and pop, in the hole she goes streight to the bottom! Went and got the compass and it works very well. My cord always slowly takes time to stop moving for a few minutes after setup, but then stops after a while. The compass makes it easier to adjust. I always start by putting on one of the biggest things in my box so when letting the camra down I can line up on it faster. But make sure you don't let it hit the bottom or it can send up a cloud in some spots and then you can't see anything! Also the stoppers use to turn in the tripod, which they can't do in the compass.

[harvey lee]

Foe the money, the MarCum camera compass would be hard to beat.

Downviewing is a great way to utilize the cameras.

[irishwalleye]

Im in the same boat as basser the older aqua vu and have been twisting wires for three years and finally for x mas I got a tripod for $15 its well worth it jus be carfull while adjusting it the little black stopper dont fall in the hole it dose not float.

Was your experience like mine with the tri-pod?

All I did was ask the question "I wonder if this thing floats" and down she went...

[markkstanley]

I always downview my camera no issues with direction and you can see more of whats going on. Generally 4 to 5ft above the jig works out fine.

[catflisher]

A trick I use to point my camera from another hole outside my flip over....I drop a thick black line with a big sinker down my fishing hole..then, I line the camera up till I see the line...When I drop my jig down, I know it will be in the field of the camera..To hold the cable in the direction I want, I used a stck about 2" wide and a foot or so long...Drilled a 1" hole in the middle, cut a slot to the hole, and then screwed a clothspin on top to hold the cable...I also put a screw thu on each end so it sticks out of the bottom about a half inch for when the ice is bare.

[RonWBasser]

Interesting reading what everyone does.

As far as the aqua-vu goes,...I know I put up with twisted wires until the tripod. To line mine up I use my vexilar and see how deep my lure is and then set the cable from the camera down to that level. Usually all are close enough where the camera will show up on the vex, so I just lower my jig or whatever to that level and lift the stopper up and give it a 90 degree turn and watch the camera to see if my lure goes by. If not just spin it a little more.

If you have the dvr recorder for it you make make some fine little move clips to watch when you get home. Funniest one I have is of a big bullhead running right into the camera. You don't see that everyday in the winter.

[cvanderweyst]

I recently got the Mo-pod and love it! I drill a hole for the camera outside of the fishhouse and run the cable through the door or window and can turn the camera and scan the area by remote. Then you are not wasting holes in the fishhouse and you can keep some distance from your bait. It is also very nice for turning the camera to follow a fish as it swims through. Sure beats neeling down all day adjusting your tripod. I also use one of those cheap, foam, fleetfarm hole covers to keep the cable from freezing in.

The infrared on my aqua-vu is pretty worthless at night, in the water that is, so sometimes I set it up on top of the ice to watch my tipups. The infrared works well out of the water And with 60ft of cable it usually reaches pretty close to a tip-up

[zamboni]

I have always looked at that fin on the back of the aqua-vu camera and thought of facing it down but never tried it. I will try that next time.

I started doing this with mine, kind of a birds eye view. I like it better than trying to get the camera to sit still. Even with a tripod getting it where you want it is tough.

[zamboni]

I drill a hole for the camera outside of the fishhouse and run the cable through the door or window

I normally fish out of a Mankato house. It has the black tent, and I have thought that with a hole outside more light will get into the hole and I can get more viewing time out of my camera.

[newoodhntr]

I lost one a few years ago and now I tie a bobber to it.

[catflisher]

I just thought of using an aqua view to watch my tip ups....Using one with a light attachment...Double duty for the view is beauty!!!!

[Dandy Gander]

Great topic. Has anyone had any luck with attaching a light to their camera? I love using my AquaView but It is frustrating that the visability disapears right about the time the bite turns on. I see there is a light you can buy for them, but I would like to hear if it works, doesn't work, scares the fish, etc.

[polarsusd81]

I have a tripod I purchased from Capra's years ago when I bought my camera. The tripod works great if you want to set the camera up to be stationary, but this year I am going to experiment some more with downviewing using the back fin. I am just going to cut a hole in the fin and zip-tie the cable to the fin to get the angle I want.

[steve schmidt]

Cut off the bottom 3 inches of any 5 gallon pail. Now drill a hole in the center of the bottom and then cut a groove from the center to the outside. Now cut "three tabs" shaped like someones square teeth with about a 1/2" space between them on the opposite side of the groove.

Slide your cable into the groove and towards the center. Now hook your cable around the tabs to hold it in place. Simply turn the pail bottom until you have the camera on your bait and it should stay in place. It's simple and works great!

[fasternu]

I also bought the tripod from Capras a few years ago. That is almost all I use for Ice fishing. It sits far enough off the bottom it doesn't cloud things up, yet is low enough to see right on the bottom.

As for the lights, be careful, I believe they are illegal in Minnesota.