UNDERWATER CAMERA'S do they spook fish off or not?

[MeStevieB]

I have heard yes and no that underwater cameras will spook off fish, so I figured that this was the perfect site to find maybe a true answer, and maybe a little help on pro's and con's to which camera would be better the straight view ones or those 4x4 ones that look like a space ship.My Vexilar is a great piece to have on the ice and I hear about people seeing down there so maybe it is time to pick up another fishing toy Any help on this matter would be great.

[bamie]

I have never noticed fish being spooked, but don't move ours much after setting up and do think they definitely help you catch MORE fish when you can see whats going on, it's "sight fishing" in deep or cloudy water...kinda like weed ez's too, I've seen them hold fish and camo that cable......hooking fish on "T.V." kinda makes me feel guilty in a way, but I love em and swear by them....more fun than a flasher too !

[Lobes]

I've been using my camera for a long time now. It doesn't scare off fish unless I hit the lights when fish are staring at the camera. Then they just fly out of there! If they come along after the lights have been on they don't care.
The camera is a good addition to the flasher but will never replace them.

                                                 
NBG

[woodysouv]

They are a blast and they have never scared the fish out of my hole.  They just look at it and check it out.  I have seen them bite at it before.  I would mix one with a flasher and you should have great results.

[duke31]

 NO WAY, DO THEY SPOOK  FISH, ENTERTANING, FOR SURE.  KEEPS MEB ON MY TOES.

[Raquettedacker]

Well I'll tell ya we were using the Aqua-Vu camera last night and the fish were more interested in the camera then they were in our bait..

[derrickdavis]

what kind of underwater systems is everyone using?    i got a cheap one from ebay and as soon as it starts to get dark the camera is basically useless....  i'm being sent another one to see if it's just defective.  debated on a fishtv 7"  would ultimately like a marcum in the long run..... just getting into the whole ice fishing..... have always been summer time only... but now my son loves to go we try for at least once a week usually twice...

[baginwal]

I've been using my camera for a long time now. It doesn't scare off fish unless I hit the lights when fish are staring at the camera. Then they just fly out of there! If they come along after the lights have been on they don't care.
The camera is a good addition to the flasher but will never replace them.

                                                 
NBG

Lobes is right on!  I have had my aqua vu for a number of years and can attest to it not spooking fish.  In fact, I have seen gills, walleye, perch, crappie, burbot, and bass swim up to it and bump the front of the camera.  I have also had Mr. Pike bite it..........twice

I usually stick to my Vex and let my son use the camera, but every now and then when I just can't seem to set the hook, it's nice to see whether it's dinks playing with the bait or my reflexes giving out

[bamie]

Well I'll tell ya we were using the Aqua-Vu camera last night and the fish were more interested in the camera then they were in our bait..
[/qThats what I'm talking about....no action, and at least seeing that theres no action, even though there are fish...it's like watching them bite..no ENGULF your splitshot...and just watching the behaviour....thats the part you won't get from a flasher.....it's awesome and learning...an edcuation if you will, and it doesn't come from open water fishing...uote]

[moosehead]

Only if you drop it real fast and hits the bottom.



Or a fish on the head.

[bamie]

Last word, I've been ice fishing 43 yrs, cut my teeth on Lowrance pop open green box, Hummingbird etc. etc. etc....Nothing beats SEEING the fish, species, behaviour, reaction and so on and so on, my Lowrance M68 has GPS, but does'nt tell me it's a Whitefish, where NOBODY WOULD EVER GUESS THEY WERE..until someone is lucky enough to catch it by  accident, camera's beat flashers 10 times over, you want to talk about understanding the structure down there....?...with camera's, you not only see...you LEARN........

[TntBull]

I 100% agree cams are the next best thing to sliced bread!! Watchin a fish come in and nail your bait!! Or see what kinda action they like to see to get them to hit!! plus just to see what it looks like down there!! Or just to sit there and watch a fish stare into the cam!! My son loves to watch whats goin on down there!! I am so glad that I got a cam instead of a flasher, to each his own!!

[MeStevieB]

Great input and thanks for all of it, are there any ones a little better than another one, I saw that Cabalas has one that has a camera inside a housing that rotates 360 degrees, Aqua Vu has one that has 4 x 4 cameras inside it with a spilt screen, or would one be better off getting one that just has a camera in a Perch looking fish on the end of it. There are a few to pick from and the question is which one will hold up the best, has a good picture, and works good in stained water and after dark. Another quick question which is better "INFRARED or SPECTRAL RESPONSE" for that dark
THANK AGAIN ALL, FOR PUTTING ME ON THE RIGHT TRACK

[icecanada]

Buddy has an Aqua Vue and it's great, you can modify your jiggin pattern to see what they like the best, Sometimes the fish seem to be more interested in the camera than the bait though. Only complaint is that you view is limited wish it had a wider/panoramic lens.

[Lobes]

Just keep in mind that a part of owning a camera means you WILL occasionally lose a fish that will get tangled on your camera cable. It's rare but it is part of the package. So far I've never lost a huge fish to it but it will inevitably happen. I'm okay with that.

                                                   
NBG

[TntBull]

Cabales cams r junk!!  If your goin to buy anything buy a aqua vu!! And i would look on craigslist before goin out and spending 300 bucks on a new one!! Found mine on craigslist for half price new in the box!! For 150 bucks! Can't beat that!!   

[Bajafishboy]

I would say they do not scare the fish. My son gave me a camera for Christmas. I used it yesterday. I drilled a hole on one side of the shanty to jig and one hole on the other side for the camera. Had the camera pointed at my bait. I saw lots of bluegill and some crappie, perch and bass. The bluegill were playing with my bait. Not very agressive. I did catch a few. While cooking up some lunch,  I dropped a tip up in the hole with a large shiner for pike while I ate lunch. A big bass came up and sucked in the whole shiner. If I would have had a rod in my hands I could have set the hook. I waited for the bass to move off with th bait then I was going to grab up the tip up and set the hook. The bass never moved off with the bait. The tip up never went off. It spit it out right on camera. The fish knew something was wrong with the bait. It was cool to see it on camera. I never would have known it happened without the camera. I had several fish bump into the camera. I know there were alot of fish where I was at. I'm going to try different baits next time and see what they like the best. I did catch a nice pike on a tip up out side the shanty off camera.

[MeStevieB]

I was hoping some one out there has a Aqua Vu Quad 4x4 underwater camera they could shed some light on it for me, PROS AND CONS. I have looked at a few now and that one seems to be the one I am leaning towards . Thanks for your time..........

[mcflyfisher]

I can't help you with the 4x4.  I can tell you that i don't think any of the cameras work that well in the dark.  If you fish the night bite, you are not going to be very happy with the camera performance.  I have one that I use just a few times a year, and normally just with new fishermen.  It is fun to watch, but such a pain to set up, that I don't move as often as I need to in order to really catch fish.  Yes you can hook fish that you wouldn't even know were biting, but often often fish that bite like that are dinks. 

[TK81]

Camera only seems to scare the fish when you first drop it down.  After that, no affect.  If you are a hole hopper, the camera takes too long to employ.  That's why I prefer the vex if I had to choose between them.  That said, the vex only tells you something is there...the camera gives you the details...like the sinker bite or the inhale/exhale that even a spring bobber misses.

I love both, but vex gets ten times as much use as I move quite a bit.

[GO DEEP]

i have had the aqua veiw 4x4 and the cabelas underwater viewing system for quite some time now and  the cabelas way out did the aqua view for clarity and battery life and not to mention the price. they do not scare fish at all and as ive seen people say the fish actually come to the camera. i had to replace the cabelas one once already a pike kind of fell in love with it and tore it all to he;;. only draw back so far is that if the water  is murky and your fishing deep the camera is no good thats where the flashers come in to play... my suggestion is the cabelas camera that rotates 360 degrees all you have to do is drop it down the hole and spin the camera to find your bait.. the other cameras you have to find your bait and then fight it to stay in place. but you can not beat the action on the screen its awesome for little ones to keep them entertained and helps you get jigging motions just right. also recomend getting a Ice Pod to keep the camera off bottom.

[Michigan Mafia]

I just got my replacement camera back from Cabela's this weekend and it couldn't have shown up at a better time.

I was fishing with my bro-n-law yesterday and he lost a pole down the hole. It took a few jigs with a treble hook and depth finder and he was back in business. There were fish around us the whole time and it didn't seem to bother them.

Then today we were marking a few fish on the flasher and seeing them on the camera when all of the sudden the "motherload" of bluegill swam by. I couldn't believe how many fish we were seeing and not one of them cared about the camera, or my bait for that matter. We did manage to take a few good sized gills out of the school, but it looked like they had better places to be.

I am lucky enough to have both flasher and camera, and I have to say that knowing what the flasher is actually marking makes ice fishing a lot more enjoyable.

[pinckneyfish]

I purchased the 5" from Cabela's this year. pretty cool tool for the daylight hours. It seems to work pretty well for me. As others have stated after it gets dark you won't see very far in front of the camera. When I bought the camera it was on sale for $99.00 found a coupon on line for $20.00 so for $79.00 got some cheap entertainment. Not hard to set up but If you move alot like I do it could be more of a hassle to you.

[timetwofish]

I love my Vex

[mr.nofishfox]

i bought a cabales cam. at the beginning of the season had it for a couple of days and returned it, it sucked but then the lakes i usually fish are a bit merkey, i then bought a hummingbird 45 and love it but am still trying to get used to using it.

[southend517]

never had a problem with my 5-6 year old atlantis, I have the HF one and it works pretty good also.