Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Underwater Camera

Are they just toys? Are they useful? I did a Pond Boss search and did not find much info. Has anyone had any success using them to find BG beds? Areas where LMB are nesting? Determine the topography of the pond bottom? Bottom structures? What about water clarity. A disk disappears at about 30" in my pond.

Toys vs Serious Equipment is probably determined in the amount of money you spend. I can make up a "do it yourself" unit for cheap, REAL cheap, or buy a high quality, ready to go unit from Cabelas http://www.cabelas.com/ priced from $179 to $2,000. (search term "underwater camera). To help answer your question though, my wife and I are both card-carrying scuba divers and I will be buying a Cabelas underwater color camera by next Fall, mainly to watch my fish population grow in numbers and size. Also, someday, I want to know if I have to go down there with my spear gun and eliminate a 45lb LMB that is killing everything that ventures into the deep end... "Honey? Didn't little Billy go swimming a while ago???"

J.E.Craig, I think it's a good tool to have. I think it will easily show you bottom contour and detail on structure provided the water clarity is decent.

As for watching fish, it works also, but requires a little more patience.

Because I don't live at my pond, my time is "short" whenever I'm there (even if I'm staying for a few days). So whenever I pull out the camera, I always feel like I should be fishing rather than watching the monitor.

Here is some video I took ice fishing in December.
http://www.pondboss.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=20;t=003685;p=1

This one is similar to mine, has depth and water temp readout as well, 100 foot camera cord.
http://www.naturevisioninc.com/shop_nvi/product.php?productid=12&cat=4&page=1

Wood: The Walleye Vid is great! THAT IS TOO COOL!!!! Do you troll the camera and see fish? I was wondering if they are afraid of the foreign object or is it just another fish to them? I know that Cabelas sells a camera unit that looks like a yellow perch. Not sure if it's hype or actually utility and functional. What did you pay for the camera set up that you filmed the walleye with?

J. E. Craig - From my experience your 30" visibility would limit the effectiveness of an underwater camera. The clearer the water the better the results.

Yup clearer the water the better the results. I have always heard that if you have stained water your waisting your time.

Donnie

I've had the camera for six years, cost about $250 at that time. I used it once in a boat, never again. It is best used for ice fishing. Our water here is vodka clear apparently, so I would also question it's effectiveness in your pond. The fish do see the camera and cable, I had a burbot try and swallow it, not a pretty sight.

I have dark stained water that is darker than tea but more like light coffee. I think my secci disc reading is usuall only about 3 feet. I have used an underwater camera and found that I could not see very far. It was still interesting though. This camera is not mine but belongs to a guy I fish with. We've used it many times ice fishing and it doesn't seem to bother the fish at all once it's been in one place for a while. As a matter of fact they will many times swim over and touch the camera. In my pond I've found that once the camera sits there for a few minutes the fish swim around as if it's not there. Kind of fun but limited use with the low visibility. I've decided it isn't really worth owning one.

I put a boom-arm on my camera head to which I can attach a line & hook.

Then I can put a shiner or minnow on my hook and watch the brutal carnage. The shiner's range of motion is limited to the viewing range of the camera head.

All good in theory, but I haven't really figured out what to do if I catch a big fish because I'll have to reel the fish in using the camera cable.

sunil, you could use yer camera like a downrigger. in other words, attach a downrigger release clip to the cable, clip in yer (mono) line and set the distance from clip to hook (and shiner) so that its in camera range. when fish takes shiner, jerk rod tip to release mono from clip and then you have FISH ON!

D.I.E.D., that would be far too easy. When it comes to down-home innovation, you're not allowed to use any off-the-shelf items. Of course the 'vehicle' (in my case, the Aquaview) can be off-the-shelf.

Reference Matt Clark's bug catcher. The ATV is off-the-shelf, but the actual bug catching contraption has lots of duct tape.

Underwater cameras are about observation of and learning about the world below the surface.

If you have your camera in the water and a large fish on your line at the same time, you do have choices.

1. Cut the camera cable and lose the camera.
2. Cut the line and lose the fish.
3. Cut neither and lose both the camera and the fish.

awlright, lets variate this then....get a downrigger, use it the way you's suppose to, attach camera to downrigger weight...

edited post....that being said.....zip ties and/or duct tape are acceptable methods of camera attachment

Jeez, Sunil...ya bring up my only invention, and all you can remember is that it had "lot's of duct tape". That'll prolly be on my tombstone..."he really knew how to use duct tape, eh?"

Jeez, Sunil...ya bring up my only invention, and all you can remember is that it had "lot's of duct tape". That'll prolly be on my tombstone..."he really knew how to use duct tape, eh?"

As Theo once said..."it's got lot's of duct tape so we know we can trust it."

Oh, OK then, as long as it's a "good" thing!