I’m thinking about buying a camera this year. It drives me nuts seeing marks on my graph and not knowing what they are or why they aren’t biting. There are obvious benefits of having one, however there are also negatives ie: using them in stained water, low light etc. Just looking to hear some opinions on whether they are worth the money or not.
In my opinion no. Not unless your lakes are crystal clear. Buying a camera for two feet of viewing distance is not worth the money. Its a nice toy to have but money for that toy could be better spent on other gear. No camera can see through stained water
I do not use mine while fishing but I use it all the time for scouting. Its very interesting seeing what the bottom composition is and helps when looking for composition changes and transitions. I never leave without it at least in my pickup. It also stays in my boat all year. I probably use it even more in the boat then the winter. I plug it into my Lowrance touch in the summer and can view it from that screen with no screen glare. So to me it is a very useful tool for scouting.
I can not remember the model of mine off hand but it is a Marcum in black and white. I do not think color is a must because it seems that in low light the color starts to wash out and clarity goes down. I do wish mine had a heading sensor to know the camera orientation while under the ice. In a boat you are always moving so camera points into the direction of travel.
I also would not leave home without my camera. Real good tool for finding structure and bottom composition, I have a Marcum with direction and temp which is good but not a must, I find temps helpfull in finding active fish. Even in slightly stained water I set my camera back at least 5-6 ft. back from jigs, spook less fish and still able to watch the action. In these parts Walleye certain days shy away and I pull the camera, Perch are attracted, Pike especially large Pike are real interested and have tried to eat my camera half a dozen times! get to see what the throat of a 40+ inch Pike is something else too see but gets a guy little worried about bites through the cable before he finally will let it go but so far so good. Flasher, camera, both in portable all the time. Works for me. Fish safe.
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I have used one for years. I use it more in shallow water more than deep water. If you got the money to burn buy one and I’m sure you will work it out in stain water or clear. Like anything the more you spend on the camera the more better it is. I have a Cabelas camera and the only thing that I don’t like is that I have to use it in the hut. I can not use it out side. Now my son has a Marcum and he can use it just sitting it on a pail out side of a hut. That is nice! One more thing it is just other piece of equipment to haul around. lol
I’m thinking about buying a camera this year. It drives me nuts seeing marks on my graph and not knowing what they are or why they aren’t biting. There are obvious benefits of having one, however there are also negatives ie: using them in stained water, low light etc. Just looking to hear some opinions on whether they are worth the money or not.
You’ll notice I’m selling my Marcum VS825SD (in the classifieds). I’ve found that I don’t use it as much in applications where I thought when I was shopping for one and I would and I use it a lot more in applicaitons that I never even thought of when I was shopping for one. I’ll be keeping the Vexilar Fishphone and using that. Guess I don’t need two cameras. But I do like having one when I want to use it. I’ve learned a ton about the bottom structure.
I find that the best part of a camera is that I can use it year round vs a flasher. I find it makes ice fishing more interesting when you can watch fish react to your presentation, once you figure out the pattern, you pull the camera up…
Micro 2 user here.
I use it very few times a year, but I don’t mind spending the cash for the benefit I get the few times I use it.
I’ll be looking into a more expensive camera with no snow storming for the Croix/sippi and identifying fish species in the dark depths.
I would also stress that imo screen size makes a difference, I would hold off buying a new one if buying used meant you could get a bigger screen….There are deals out there if you’re patient and have cash to quickly jump on a good deal, I got a mint VS825SD for $450 last spring..
I “spose most don’t fish tournies, but there are a number of “winners” out there that “prefish” without using a rod. They locate the size of fish using a camera. Even in murky water.
The “snow storm” effect has been virtually eliminated by MarCum in the deep, dark waters which is why I sold my first camera years ago. It was pretty much useless after sundown and in deeper waters. MarCum’s Darkwater Technology is a game changer.
I’ve been busy with my mother so I don’t have last weekends video handy but it showed me there weren’t any fish where many would normally be jigging near the dam on Pool 4. Visibility is 30 some cm on P4 last weekend. (11.8 inches)
I did see some shovels and lake sturgeon though. 
Here’s a video from a few years back. It was taken out of the scour hole below L&D #3 and down stream into 25 feet of water.
You decide.
Thanks for the input guys. Talked to a buddy that has a newer Marcum camera that he doesn’t use anymore. Gonna bring that along this year and see if I think it’s worth buying or not.
No, I see the fish often in the spring w/o strikes. Then after wind lake is silted fish still bite. Talking pike and walleye. I do believe if you use it to locate a school of perch then that’s another thing it may help.
I only use mine when perch fishing in clear water, I bought the Vexilar after the camera. I hardly ever bring the camera out now. Most of my walleye fishing is on Saginaw river, terrible visibility. Not worth it and looking to even sell mine.
I had a Marcum last year, but ended up switching to the Aqua Vu Micro series. The Marcum had nice picture quality, but was too big for me to carry around while hole hopping. Also, I couldn’t see it in the sun, even with the sun shield, so I would have to lay down on the ice and try to shield the sun with my hand around my face to see anything.
The Aqua Vu Micro came with a case that you can strap to your chest. I keep it inside my jacket, then I can carry it around all day hands free. I can then use my jacket to shield the sun.
I have the Vexilar double vision. The wife loves it. First time out last year we spotted a nice mid 30’s muskie with it. Keeps her happy. Another thing I like to do is if we set up fishing perch, crappies or bluegills I like to set a dead stick with a sucker under it. With good water visibility set the camera several feet back and wait for that lurker pike to come in. It really gets your heart pumping to watch a nice pike come in and eat. Plus then you get to fight them on a rod!
If your not prepared to sit in one spot they can be a real pain. That is why I also have another Vexilar for hole hopping. When the house gets set up and the wife is warm and happy with the camera I can punch holes and move until my heart is content.
I like a camera, especially on slow days. It keeps me from getting board.
I have a humminbird flasher also, so I would not be using this as my primary fish finder. Just curious to see if it would be worth the money to be another tool to help find fish.
Thanks for the input guys. Talked to a buddy that has a newer Marcum camera that he doesn’t use anymore. Gonna bring that along this year and see if I think it’s worth buying or not.
“Try before you buy” is a great idea…you may end up loving it, or you may end up glad you saved the money to buy or upgrade something you’ll use more. Let us know how it works out!
From my perspective, once you can truly read a camera screen in bright daylight I could see the benefit of using one otherwise they are a hassle to set up and hard to impossible to view in bright light even the Marcum’s that I have seen.
Bob
From my perspective, once you can truly read a camera screen in bright daylight I could see the benefit of using one otherwise they are a hassle to set up and hard to impossible to view in bright light even the Marcum’s that I have seen.
Bob
That’s why I like the Vexilar fish phone. My iPhone 6 is small enough I can look under some cover if I really need to and the screen isn’t connected to the camera so I’m highly mobile from the camera.
Plus I can run multiple screens. I can have the iPad up for big screen quick viewing and if the sun messes with me I can pull out the iPhone 6 for scrutinizing in a dark setting.
Nope, not worth it but they are fun to have, I’ve used mine for placing the house mostly as others have mentioned but it’s fun watching fish too.
Most of the answers are in here, but I love to hear myself talk so…
I would have missed out on a LOT of bites without the aid of a camera. Seeing a pan fish double clutch, or watching a perch hit to set the hook helped me catch 2x as many in certain scenarios
Most of the answers are in here, but I love to hear myself talk so…
I would have missed out on a LOT of bites without the aid of a camera. Seeing a pan fish double clutch, or watching a perch hit to set the hook helped me catch 2x as many in certain scenarios
This is why I think I’m most interested in a camera. Actually seeing fish behavior and what jigging cadence/technique really sets them off I feel would be really beneficial.
This might be interesting to try with a camera.
Up with Tony Roach last year on Winnibigoshish we basically shut down the LX6’s after a while and used only VS825SDs. It helped us weed out the little guys from the Jumbo perch when I was using my Rippin Rap.
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