yes.
Hmmm.
Everytime I offer advice based on the cumulative knowledge of being a third generation guide in the Upper Saranac area and having 17 of the best working for me, and being blessed with lots of knowledgeable people who are willing to share that info with me I get my balls busted in private messages.
well, I can be called on the carpet one more time I guess.
I didn't want to imply they were useless, they are a tool.
we have them, we use them. Mainly because we have them. I wouldn't buy them over again.
they do not make sonar obsolete, they are limited and are no where near worth the money they cost, right now much less when we bought the first one.
We bought am aqua vu in 1997, or '96. not sure which , but I think it was summer of '97. they had just come out so do the math.
I am a diver so I knew it did not have enough light to give us any visibility distance right out of the box. Not here.
The contrast adjustment was ok, but I had to rig lights on it and build a mast to poke it around the structure we wanted to explore.
long story short the first camera cost us close to $1,500 all done and said.
was it worth it? not really.
It showed us that fish were there--- I knew they were cause my sonar showed them.
They were the species we thought they were---we knew that because we know the lakes and rivers and what lives where.
my one brother has fished the Raquette river for over 50 years and he was enthralled to be able to see what he had only guessed the bottom looked like through sonar and bottom samples. He doesn't dive.
anyway.
They are a good *addition* to an arsenal of fishing tools.
Digital Tech cameras are the best we saw. I'd wait for them to come out. I have been looking for the address of them since this topic came up. It's around here somewhere
visibility in the lakes we fish and live on varied from 3 feet to 8 feet max.
any way you position the head doesn't matter, you can only see as far as you can see
If you think there are fish down there but have no idea what they are and have $300 bucks burning a hole in your pocket get one.
what I was suggesting is instead of getting one now now now, spend the money elsewhere and get a better unit than the flasher. we have them too and they are great tools as well.
sonar can show you fish, structure, depth, thermoclines, bottom type, and bait fish. what more do I need? None of it makes them bite
Some people like to see the fish hit the bait so they know when to pull. at least that's what I'm told. well, so be it.
whatever blows wind up your skirt.
