Underwater camera

[The Chemist]

So i am thinking of buying a camera.

I want to use it on the chain in the winter and also during open water to check what exactly i am seeing on the locator. Thanks on advance.

[1Crappieguy]

I've been happy with the Marcum Recon 5. Fits in pocket of my bibs and the price isn't that high. If money wasn't a issue I'd probably have a high end Aqua View.

[Wanderer]

I also have the Recon 5+.  It’s nice for portability and you can connect it to a TV in a fish house but the camera is not HD. It accomplishes the mission in a compact unit and good fishing from a portable but for wheel house use and TV viewing I’d get an HD unit with a bigger camera for better clarity.

 

This pic was taken on a lake with similar water clarity to much of the horseshoe chain and you can see the jig on the screen.  The depth and temp weren’t working then so I sent the unit in for repair.  It works well again but the issue was in the camera not the head unit.

Edited December 17, 2021 by Wanderer

[The Chemist]

So I am looking  at either of the 2 Marcomsthe HD or SD are about 500 or so. Is getting HD worth it?

[Wanderer]

5 hours ago, The Chemist said:

So I am looking  at either of the 2 Marcomsthe HD or SD are about 500 or so. Is getting HD worth it?

If you’re planning on using it hooked up to a TV, get the HD.

[The Chemist]

1 hour ago, Wanderer said:

If you’re planning on using it hooked up to a TV, get the HD.

Not any time soon. Either in my portables or in my boat. 

[Wanderer]

9 hours ago, The Chemist said:

Not any time soon. Either in my portables or in my boat. 

The bigger the camera, the better.  The Recon I have pictured above is helpful and I’m happy to have it.  I also like it’s portability and that’s been important to me.  If I wasn’t as worried about portability/size/weight I’d go with a bigger model and bigger camera, especially if I was going to rely on it a lot.

 

I hope to be purchasing a larger HD model this season for the wheelhouse.

[Rick G]

I have been running a Aqua vue 4.3 scout for the last two years. I looked at the recon 5  before deciding. The Aqua vue was a little smaller, quite a bit lighter and a little less in cost.  They both ave very good units. 

The reason I primarily chose the smaller, lighter unit is because for a good portion of the ice season it stays in my coat pocket. In this case the smaller size of the 4.3 is a plus.

 

I rarely use a camera anymore to watch my bait, but instead to confirm suspicions such as  bottom content, weed type and or the presence of invertebrates or bait fish. 

[leech~~]

I remember fishing Clearwater with a past forum member. We fished all over punching holes, and not finding much. Towards evening we went over to the big group of folks and joined in. There were about 3 guys that ran hole to hole with Aqua vue scouts.  We some how must have drilled our holes in the right spot and near sundown it was like 5-6 of us in about a 50' circle pulling up sunnies and crappies one after the other.  It was funny watching these guys work closer and closer to us as they followed what they were seeing on the cams.  Most of the time you would blow folks off if they started hogging the holes you drilled but we all had a good time BS'ing and checking out what they saw on their cams. None of them used a flasher, just the cams.  

[smurfy]

I have a Marcum camera, Yea it's bulky but depending on circumstances it's valuable. I tend to not use it in deep water, just to much cord down the hole.

 

Like Rick, I tend to use it to find weeds, etc,  well to look for fish too. Sometimes there just fun to watch.

 

I use it in the summer a fair amount when I am on a lake I don't fish much to look for fish, deep weeds etc. Depending on the light, the screen can be hard to see, even with the sun shield 

[smurfy]

I fish a lake now and then for sunfish during ice season. Most guys went to using a camera to watch there hooks/ bait because them darn sunfish where so finicky even a Thorne bro spring bobber didn't detect bites 

[papadarv]

I use one of my 2 DIY suitcase 1080p cameras, WIFI remote record to 100 ft. deploy, rotate, retrieve. M18 Milwaukee battery. Great portable learning tool, Northern reaction to bait movement and good shots of fish. Learn more of what NOT to do, checking weed beds, structure. 

 

 

[Wanderer]

Shoulda kept pulling that bait up @papadarv!

[Wanderer]

Like mentioned by others, I rarely fish with the camera, just locate things and satisfy curiosity.  My wife likes the hook up to the TV when we’re on places like Winnie.  More fun than watching the sonar for her.

[leech~~]

52 minutes ago, Wanderer said:

Shoulda kept pulling that bait up @papadarv!

That's where smurf would have dropped the barbs on um!

[smurfy]

1 minute ago, leech~~ said:

That's where smurf would have dropped the barbs on um!

 darn tootin!!

[Wanderer]

35 minutes ago, leech~~ said:

That's where smurf would have dropped the barbs on um!

EXACTLY what I was thinking to myself when I watched it!

[Mike89]

still darn fun to watch it!!!