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Under water cameras?
#1
[size 2]Does anybody own one of these cameras? Do they work well? I have played with one at strawberry once but it was to murky to see. Does it have the ability to send the video out to a recording devise? If so what kind of connection is it? [/size]
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#2
I own an AquaVu and it can be lots of fun and also very frustrating. I thought that I would be able to merely drop it over the side of my boat and see fish swimming everywhere. The first place I tried was Strawberry, and I had the same experience as you did. During the summer one can proably see at the most two feet through the water at Strawberry. It is a highly productive water, and I guess that is what is floating in the water. Where I have had the most fun is ice fishing with mine. You can line it up and see your lure and a fishing partner's lures simultaneously. The water gets much clearer in the winter at many lakes (but definitely not all). A couple winters ago I had a great day at Strawberry with an AquaVu set up down about 15' and in line so both of us could see our lures while fishing in an ice shack. In the winter one can see through at least 6 - 8 feet of water at Strawberry. We caught fish after fish as we watched them bite our lures. One challenge is getting them lined up to see your lure. At least some of the newer ones have a device that indicates the direction they are pointing. That would be really nice. I even purchased the attachment to allow me to hook it to my downrigger. I found that was a major undertaking, and only tried it on one fishing trip.

Kent
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#3

I also took an Aqua view out to bear lake last year. Very clear water,but I gave up trying to line it up. I WANTED TO FISH. the vexilar did a better job for me. A half hour was frustrating enough for me.
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#4
[size 2]I too bought an AquaView, their first with IR lights. And I too was disappointed with its limitations. Since I'm a scuba diver, I expected to see as well as when I dive. But most of the time you won't see fish until they about bump into the camera. And with the IR lights, you could see in complete darkness. But using them underwater was like driving in a blizzard with your headlights on bright--it reflects all the light off the suspended particles back into your eyes.[/size]

[size 2]But I used the camera to learn about structure, identify species of fish shown on sonar, determine bottom type, etc. In short, they can be a great educational tool. But don't plan on fishing when you're using it (expect when ice fishing).[/size]

[size 2]Like Kent, I tried using the downrigger attachment and found it about worthless. Again, I had high expectations and wanted to use it at Flaming Gorge. But you couldn't get very deep because there was so much drag on the video cable that it caused too much blowback.[/size]

[size 2]After I sold mine I went ice fishing with WalleyeBob last winter and during a slow spell I dropped his camera and saw perch everywhere, but none would bite. There was an older guy there who wanted to look at it, but he couldn't see the fish. After about 5 minutes of cussing about not being able to see a single fish, he finally saw them. He was trying to see small fish farther away, but all the fish looked huge since there were inches from the camera. It was pretty funny when he finally saw them, but it also shows that it's hard to have perspective on what you see.[/size]

[size 2]As for video recorder attachment points, you can do it with the AquaView, but I'm not sure about some of the other brands. I'm glad I cashed out when I did, but sometimes wish I still had it.[/size]
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#5
[size 2]I hope that you guys with the cameras are coming to the dutch oven dinner on ice so I can play with them and possibly try to record some fish under the water. Thanks for the info![/size]
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#6
The aqua-vu is a great learning tool. It helps me fish without spending too much time trying for the wrong species. It will also teach you how to read your sonar better. If you fish for trout, good luck. I have seen zero trout in hundreds of hours of looking at fish in Deer Creek. For ice fishing, it will work, but trout use the entire water column. Makes it really hard to have the camera at the right depth when a fish swims by. Works great for Perch and Walleye. Fish that are on bottom 95% of the time. Visibility in prime conditions is usually about three feet. And looking into the monitor for a few hours can give you a splitting headache. Best to look for 20 minutes or so and take a break. We have some 1/2" PVC poles rigged up that don't take up much room in the boat and can be screwed together and attached to the camera for aiming. Only works anchored in less than 30' of water.
The aqua-vu is a fun toy and a good tool if you don't expect too much out of it. Don't know anything about the other cameras on the market these days.

WalleyeBob
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