• Eyes Underwater By Bernard Williams

    I’ve invested in the latest and greatest electronics on the market. I often spend over half my fishing time side and down scanning. I mark spots that show fish, brush piles, and ledges. It’s my opinion that one shouldn’t fish where there’s not any fish, 10% of the lake holds 90% of the fish. But what type of fish are your electronics showing. No way of knowing unless you had underwater eyes.



    Wala, introducing the Aqua-Vu Micro AV5 Plus ($499), this is an underwater camera that offers amazing color and clarity in a hand-held package. It features a high-resolution 5-inch color LCD in a waterproof case with a sun shield. It comes with 100 feet of cable and adjustable Infra-Red Lighting for dark and dirty water. The internal rechargeable lithium-ion battery provides up to 8 hours of run time with a USB charger included. All this in a digital underwater video camera with a crystal-clear screen image operating at 720p HD resolution.
    The Bass and Walleye guys have used underwater cameras for a while. It’s time the crappie fishermen join the fun. According to Bassmaster Elite Pro Brandon Lester, “Quite a few of us are using these cool little devices on tour but almost no one’s talking about it”. Fellow Elite Pro Ott DeFoe has been using an Aqua-Vu for years. Most of these guys used the Aqua-Vu in clear water lakes, but now with the Infra-Red Lighting it’s possible to search dirty and muddy water with ease.

    In my opinion, when crappie are on structure deeper than 10’ a camera is the only way to know for sure what kind of fish you’re seeing. With the AV Micro 5, I can look under docks, inside of vegetation and brush piles that others may miss. I can skip the ones with the unwanted fish, i.e. bass, catfish, gar and carp. I like the fact that with a camera I can determine the size of crappie that’s holding inside a brush pile.



    Aqua-Vu offers a Multi-Vu System ($299) to see under water on a big 12” LCD directly connected to my Lowrance 12” Touch. Lester says, “I spent time inspecting a dam on the Tennessee River. Sonar showed loads of fish in the slack water behind a current break. When I dropped the camera I saw mostly catfish and drum before finally spotting a couple of big bass working in and out of the current. They were holding near the bottom in 18 to 22 feet. Every minute or so, a bass would dash out into the current to run down bait. The Aqua-Vue saved me a ton of time here, showing me the pattern in minutes, and preventing me from wasting time chasing sonar marks that were the wrong species.” Point well taken, it saves tons of time.

    In conclusion, you can be sure of one thing, there’s a lot more fishermen using underwater cameras than you could ever imagine. Portable underwater cameras can be a game-changer for any fisherman. Will they work for crappie fishermen, my answer is definitely, even in the south where the water is so dirty, “you could track a coon across the top”. On clear water lakes I wouldn’t leave home without one. Bernard, Outdoor Writer
    Comments 7 Comments
    1. elkhunter's Avatar
      elkhunter -
      As always Bernard, a great article.
    1. brucec's Avatar
      brucec -
      That is sweet!!!
    1. Billbob's Avatar
      Billbob -
      good read
    1. scrat's Avatar
      scrat -
      Great article.
    1. lol11's Avatar
      lol11 -
      This is so true and thanks for report. Someone bought me a cheap Ebay China underwater fishing camera 2 years ago. It's crappy and nothing compared to the AquaVu, so I sealed the camera with marine grade caulking glue and still works great. I have found schools of gills in laydown logs thinking they were crappie. As soon as it breaks, I am picking up myself an AquaVu.
    1. pescador's Avatar
      pescador -
      Sure would like to see one in action, in these tannic stained waters of Florida.
    1. Ketchn's Avatar
      Ketchn -
      i wonder if one could see a fish in water with 6 to 12 inches of visibility ? i think it would be rather nice to see whats in a location but in most cases Texas waters have very poor water clarity . Am looking forward to Bee or one of them northern folks to show us them fish in them clearer northern waters for sure though
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