spooking fish

[fishermanjake]

I just feild tested my aqua-vu mc2x series, and was pleased with the distance it can see under water.  I did have one problem however, When fishing at night and in the river you have to have the lights on.  the lights are great for seeing the bottom, naturally i had the snowstorm effect.  I could still see at least 8 feet though.  The problem was i think the camera lights were spooking the burbot.  has anyone else had this problem?  I saw 3-4 burbot, but they never came up to our lures.  when we turned the camera off we got action.  kind of a bummer, because thats the main reason i got it.  burbot are real courious, so i was surprized.  anyone have any similar problems or ideas to fix the problem?  or maybe it was just coinsidence, it wasn't the hottest night and we were afraid we would spook them. so we didn't look when we got a bite.

[Mr.Seaguar]

I have had bad experiences with some cameras. The Atlantis with the big green fin thingy would not let us catch any fish. They all swam away whenever we put the thing down there.

I think I am the only person in the world who hates these cameras. I have NEVER heard of a person saying that they sat there watching tons of fish come in and then the fish nailed the bait. Everyone always says, 'Well, I saw a lot of fish but they wouldnt bite.' I have been severely chastised for my feelings on other sites. I once heard a guy say how he saw all kinds of fish on his but someone on this very website talking about the same body of water, said you cant see anything because water is too murky. The water looks like chocolate milk. You cant see fish at the bottom of the hole when you are in a shack, let alone 3 feet from the camera.

I have watched fish on them, yes. But I have never seen the combination of watching and catching. If I just wanted to watch them, Cabelas has a real big aquarium.

[the Wizard]

I have seen a lot of fish on a camera actually bite[ perch only][ one walleye] we had to rig our cameras pointing down at an angle [and take fins off]if the cameras are above the lure or bait it didn't bother them as much.  What I don't like is catching a good fish and he wraps around the cable and gets off [anger management!!]  No cameras were harmed in this movie.  It is amazing to see how many fish bite and you never see your tip move or bobber.

[fishermanjake]

I tried mine earlier that day for trout and saw lots of fish and the fish bit.  I t was loads of fun.  The only thing is that light.  Burbot are night feeder so it might blind them when they see it.  I know the camera doesn't spook the fish, i had it down the whole time. Just the lights.  I'll have to try that tilt though, it just might work. just hard to orientate the camera sometimes.

[sbfPA_Mike]

Fellas,

     I have never seen these cameras, but I think the lights are around the lens, correct?  However the light is, try covering it with a red lens or see thru red tape, the light only, not the camera lens itself.  Red is very good for not spooking animals and letting u see, just a thought.

Mike

[CTStriper]

I had the MC2X-120 and now have the DT120. I love these cameras! I use them in both fresh and saltwater as well as ice fishing. Certain fish are spooked by the light. I've seen this with walleye while ice fishing and stripers in the salt. However, I have some amazing videos of cats and sturgeon in their wintering holes in 65 feet of water... The light didn't bother them a bit. Feel free to check some of the clips out and you'll see what I mean... http://fishingct.com/videos.html I'm looking forward to using the light this winter to see if it draws the crappie in

[Trevor]

CT Striper,  that's some spectacular footage!!  I can see a lot of time invested.  Wish I had faster internet.  However it serves to confirm the arguement that cameras are great for observing, yet are only practical fishing tools in limited situations and for a handful of species...I mostly use mine for perch...

[CTStriper]

I can see a lot of time invested

LOL... When i have the camera on the boat, I might as well leave the rods home I will spend all day watching fish rather than catching them. For me, the camera is a toy, with the exception of jigging through the ice it has never helped me hook a fish. I use it to eliminate waters without the structure and bottom content that I'm looking for. It is great in the salt for that as most of the fish I chase are very structure related

[grumpymoe]

had a good weekend for walleye and northerns--the action was steady until i had a visitor around noon-stayed and yakkked and yakkked for almost 2 hours and the one thing i did notice was  NO FISH AND NO BITES---coincedence-NOT---soon after he left, i started to pack up for the day and---wham-nice aggressive hit-my 2 cents  

[fishermanjake]

what if you tied a water proof flashlight 10-20 feet up the line 9pointing down? do you think that would take care of the spooking fish problem?  I think it would take care of the snowstorm effect.  Would it be enough light though?

[Luckydog]

....jake,

I had the exact same problem with my MC2X.  Worked great during the day...caught bluegills, perch & crappie.  Saw a huge pike swim by and scare away all the little fishes...it was way cool.  Then it got to be dusk, so I turned the light on...the "Won't bother fish at all, multi-colored light".  BS...  the fish actually slowly swam backwards into the weeds.  They wouldn't come within 3' of the jig.  I tried all different kinds of jigs...didn't matter.  I turned the light off and just used the vex.  Within 10 minutes the gill & crappie were back.  As far as I'm concerned...the camera is a good tool during the day...but once it gets dark, turn it off.  The VEX never gets turned off  

p.s.  I drill 3 holes...2 within 2.5' of each other and then one approximately 3.5' away but equidistant from the first two.  The camera goes in the farthest hole.  I try to keep it within 3' of the bottom and the lens is horizontal to the bottom.  This way I can watch the fish react to the jigs in the other two holes.

[shwung79]

Luckydog- overall would you say you were happy with your purchase of the MC2x camera?  Im putting this on my x-mas list!  How does it really work in somewhat cloudy water?
Thanks
Kevin

[chrism]

Luckydog
I'm interested in what you said in your post - are you placing the camera so it is pointing somewhat 'down' at the bait? are the fish easy to see that way? I have only seen a camera in use when it was on the factory tripod - kinda liked the view of the bottom and seeing the fish suspended in the water column. However, I'm thinking about this method spooking them -because -  the fella using the camera caught two walleye, while we caught 17 and were only 20yds away on the same flat... I'm just wondering if they were spooked from the camera and cord.
I want to take the plunge and buy one of these things, but I'm seeking more assurance that they wont limit my catch. I will only be using it through the ice and am leaning toward a mcx2 with screen magnifier.
I do like the idea of suspending it above - in the traingle you mentioned...makes great sense... how did you secure the cord so the camera didnt move? Have you tried making the triangle bigger?
I know 1001 questions....
Thanks
Chrism

[ojib2003]

I have the MC2X also......it has it's pros n cons....I think alot of people have the preconcieved notion that it's a cure all for fishin....like i always tell people it just a "another tool"...just the same as a vexilar or any other electronic....I think it is an excellent tool as other guys have mentioned, for application in a clear water environment......i have fished many types or stains of water, I have found it to be an excellent thing to have in clear water, but almost worthless in a river system. It also is like other guys have said "the Fish Frightner" at night time.......You would think that it would attract fish but it seems to me anyways to scare them away......also the the cloudy eefect sucks at night with the light on, its not a good deal!......but I have found it really helpful in ways of understanding how fish react to live bait, spoons, and other assort baits....It's far from a cure all for fishing but it does help in situations...also, I use it alot to detect certain bottom substrates and when I'm looking for change over in bottom. They can be a spendy lil toy but in my personal opinion my vexilar is more valuable....laterz!

[Wscaman]

OK Here's the Bible that I know of. I got it in a Small Tackle Shop in Kenosha, WI. "What Fish See" 1999 Colin J. Kageyama, O.D., F.C.O.V.D. This is a Optimologist from St. Louis that sold his practice in 93'then on to Portland Oregon. 12 x's fishing = 0 Stealhead in 93'. He was in search of the infamous Steelhead, frustrated he had to join the Oregon Fishing Club 94' 32 x's fishing =8 fish. Well in his book the Visible Light from 0-400 (nanometers) is UV (ultraviolet) 400=Violet across the spectrum to ~740=deep red, the > 740=Infrared. So if UV light are used in the camera system that is <400, they say it can’t be seen. The Visible light is = to the shortest wavelength that can bee seen is Violet @~400. The Multi color Lights Red ~ 640, Green ~ 520, Blue~ 470 all are the colors of our Jig's. We know they can see our Jig's of those colors;or wouldn’t we just buy White & Black Jig's

He was able to market his research to Mepps/Sheldon's in a "See Best” system. Good Luck it's a Fascinating Book.


I use the UV Lights have never scared the fish like the multi colored lights.I turn those off.