AQUA-VU VERSUS VEXILAR which is better to have???

[elcapitanmas]

I had an aquaview which i sold a couple weeks ago to pick up a vex.  The camera was fun, but also quite the pain in the but.  I have caught a ton more fish with the vex than I have with the camera, and will not fish without it.  I found myself leaving the camera home or not taking it out of the sled last year, due to portability issues and just a plain pain in the but to take the cord off, wind it back up etc etc.  It would be nice to have both, but that would be a little overkill for me.

good luck.

E

[BUCKSKI]

Walk out on the ice and ask if you can see first hand both models from guys around you.  I did this before i bought my camera and glad I did.  It is your choice in the end, but watching flashing lines and seeing the fish firt hand was no contest for me.

HA, buy they VEX and live.
How does the camera work when:
The waters chocolate milk color
Deep water and you need the light
A big fish is caught and twists around the cable
You spend all day looking a few neutral fish trying to get em to bite.

To each their own, I have had both and can live without the camera!

[uglystickjake]

Hope all the talk about the Vex is worth it just  bought one an hour ago from Dicks....429.00 .... ...18  pro pack ....yahooo

[JEBADIAH]

you wont regret it or leave home with out it.

[Superx2]

If we don't get some cold weather soon all this will be for nothing.   

[Grady95]

Hope all the talk about the Vex is worth it just  bought one an hour ago from Dicks....429.00 .... ...18  pro pack ....yahooo

Good decision.  See ya' on the ice.
Grady

[raate]

Don't have both but I do have an aqua-vu camera and a showdown unit.Showdown is the same concept as a vexilar(much cheaper 229)but has a vertical graph instead of a round one.

Camera pros.Can see structure,weed cover,size and type of fish,what attracts fish and how they react to different bait motion.Also noticed that fish DO move around a lot in the winter.I have fished areas that look good without seeing fish knowing that they will show up at some point.

Camera cons.Bulky,cumbersome,don't see far in murky water and only see a small bit of the water column(though since I usually fish water that isn't all that deep and the fish are typically near the bottom ,I don't find this to be too much of an issue).Also can be hard to direct at your bait.I have solved this by getting a MOPOD.It's a motorized tripod with a keyfob to turn the camera cord.Works great!!!!

Flasher pros.Easy to move around,sees whole water column.
Flasher cons.Can't see structure,weed line,type of fish,fish reactions.


Bottom line.If you plan on moving around(which,sometime,is the difference between getting skunked and catching).I like the flasher. If you really know the body of water or are willing to poke some holes and look down them to scout out a good area so you don't have to move around a lot.I like the camera.

I couldn't agree more! but you really got to have both! but after you learn action / reaction, you will fish more with the flasher.

[dav]

I have a fishTV and showdown.  Together the price is cheaper the a vex. or aquaview.  Fishtv works o-k to see structure but not alot of detail, but it only cost $99.  I'm excited to try the showdown and it only cost $229.  If you have kids the aquaview is a great babysitter other wise I would say the vex/showdown is a better tool to have.  My 2cents

Slush hit it on the nose..... I have both, Aquaview and a Vex. Aquaview is great for the kids and even yourself if you own a gps to view the structure and tag your coordinates on yor gps with if you like, also found a friend of mines pole that got sucked in the water (that was a ball), "we drilled so many holes we were nervous about the ice breaking off where we drillled, trying to locate the rod on the camera" but we found it, hooked it, and the culprit was still on a pickeral  . The Vex is a a must for the more serious fisherman "just watch the screen" witout a decoy looking thing hanging in the water with the possibility of scaring the fish. JMHO, good luck, tightlines, stay on top and (No better time to wet a line).

dav  

[Wade]

I know its been said but I have had a flasher since they came out and it is a great tool. But until I got the camera and had both going at once you will see what the fish is actually doing. I sat side by side with a buddy with a flasher and he kept saying the fish is on me red on red. I was looking with my carmera and the fish was 1 foot away not even looking as his lure. I fish Simcoe and my buddies catch fish but waste time with 8 inchers when I am pulling up the 13's with the camera. Also to the people who say its a pain to set the camera up it sounds like laziness to me might as well sit on the couch at home. All tools of the trade pick one or both and to each his own.GOOD LUCK

[jbscowboy99]

you cant beat a good vexilar setup, there the cats a**!

[Tom14462]

I don't have "the touch" when it comes to feeling those light biters coming on and stealing my bait.  Since I got my aqua-vu about 4 years ago I usually have no problem laying in a lot of fat gills.  As was mentioned by several others, you can see how the fish react to your presentation. If Mr. Slob Bluegill swims up to your jig and backs off, you know it's time to try something else. And you can actually watch them suck the jig into their mouths, which leads to a high hooking percentage.  Of course I have my favorite weedbeds to set up in, so I'm not out in search mode. If you key on perch, then I'd suggest a flasher for being in search mode.
As far as depth is concerned, I got some Brady labels (1-45) and marked the cable on my camera accordingly.  Drop it down to the bottom, read the depth then pull it it a couple of feet. Works for me. Also with the camera you can cull the fish before hooking them. When a dink swims up you can try and manuveur the jig away from it.