Marcum Underwater Viewing Systems

[tberry]

Has anybody used the Marcum Underwater Viewing Systems?

[ready2fish]

nope, i would start out using a ff, then maybe

[flounderhead59]

Has anybody used the Marcum Underwater Viewing Systems?

I have the VS-250. If I do use it, I'll use it to see what condition the weeds are but generally don't even turn it on. It's a cool toy, but not a real tool as far as I'm concerned.

[GCD]

Underwater cameras can be very useful tools if used properly, mainly on bodies of water that freeze over in the winter. The rain, snow and wind don't muddy these waters up in the winter like they do down south here. Instead most of them go crystal clear and visibility is very good for underwater viewing.

Now for the useful tool part. If the fish aren't biting you can drill 3 holes in the ice, in one hole you drop your jig down, the other one will be for the camera. I f you get a bite in a couple of hours and aren't frozen to death, dump the tackle box down the third hole and watch on the camera screen to see which lure the fish go after on the fall!

Seriously though, there are some great ice fishing vids on youtube made with underwater cameras... check them out!

[Blue Duck]

Im thinking about getting one this year. I checked out several that other guys were using on the lakes I fish, last winter. Seeing fish was cool, but seeing the structure was just as important to me.

[bttmline]

I didn't have a Marcum Or AquaView but did have an underwater camera and must agree with Flounder, Cool but no Tool.

[Pool13_Jeff]

I have an old Aqua Vu and now a Marcum. I find that if I take out the camera, I might as well put away the fishing rods. The camera is a very useful too, but I don't use one while I'm fishing.

[rico]

The few guys that I fish with that have them, use them in conjunction with a flasher. More often than not, they use the camera after the flasher has located fish and will not bite.

[Lowellhturner]

A "friend" broke his out last winter on some of the cover we helped to place, neither of us BOTHERED (at first) to put springs on our poles, watched small bluegill and crappies get into line, and in an orderly fashion and politely in turn peck at our offering, 1 chance per customer; wait it`s turn, swim up, inhale and lightning fast hurl it back out, eyeball it, then swim away, never to bite again. And the ice poles with 2 and 4 lb test didn`t bob, weave, dive, nudge, "lighten up" twtich, there wasn`t even any line tightening or sudden slack, must have WATCHED 6 or 7 in a row tap the bait and "PTEW!" with as far as could tell NADA sign it was ever touched. Once the springs rapidly went on, could at least see most of the hits, still so fast it was hard to get a solid set...thought cold water fish S L O W W E D down!

[CTom]

...thought cold water fish S L O W W E D down!

The cold slows down the anglers.

I don't use or own a camera and what little experience I have had watching them while fishing I find them more of an aggravation than a help. If I had the money it took to buy a camera, I'd invest it in springs and more useful tackle. The flasher does everything the camera does except allow you to actually see the miss. In my estimation even a very cheap spring gets you more for your money than a camera.

I don't know what you guys get out east or further south than us in Minnesota for snow on the ice, but when you are dragging a portable a half mile thru 10" of new, wet snow just to fish, weight gets trimmed real quick and the weight of a camera would be likely the first to be excluded by a smart angler.